An exploration of how technology and best intentions collide in the heat of war

A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice

In The Bomber Mafia, Malcolm Gladwell weaves together the stories of a Dutch genius and his homemade computer, a band of brothers in central Alabama, a British psychopath, and pyromaniacal chemists at Harvard to examine one of the greatest moral challenges in modern American history.

Most military thinkers in the years leading up to World War II saw the airplane as an afterthought. But a small band of idealistic strategists, the "Bomber Mafia," asked: What if precision bombing could cripple the enemy and make war far less lethal?

In contrast, the bombing of Tokyo on the deadliest night of the war was the brainchild of General Curtis LeMay, whose brutal pragmatism and scorched-earth tactics in Japan cost thousands of civilian lives, but may have spared even more by averting a planned US invasion. In The Bomber Mafia, Gladwell asks, "Was it worth it?"

Things might have gone differently had LeMay's predecessor, General Haywood Hansell, remained in charge. Hansell believed in precision bombing, but when he and Curtis LeMay squared off for a leadership handover in the jungles of Guam, LeMay emerged victorious, leading to the darkest night of World War II. The Bomber Mafia is a riveting tale of persistence, innovation, and the incalculable wages of war.

Other Formats & Editions

The Bomber Mafia
Malcolm Gladwell
Paperback
June 2022
$27.99
Loading...
 
 

More from Malcolm Gladwell

The Bomber Mafia
Malcolm Gladwell
Paperback
June 2022
$27.99
Loading...
 
 
Tipping Point
Malcolm Gladwell
Paperback
August 2020
$30.99
Loading...
 
 
Talking to Strangers
Malcolm Gladwell
Hardcover
September 2019
$42.60
$38.99
Loading...
 
 
Talking to Strangers
Malcolm Gladwell
Hardcover
September 2019
$63.99
Loading...
 
 
David and Goliath
Malcolm Gladwell
Paperback
April 2015
$27.99
Loading...
 
 
David and Goliath
Malcolm Gladwell
Hardcover
October 2013
$58.99
Loading...
 
 
David and Goliath
Malcolm Gladwell
Hardcover
October 2013
$41.18
$38.99
Loading...
 
 
Outliers
Malcolm Gladwell
Paperback
June 2011
$28.99
Loading...
 
 
What the Dog Saw
Malcolm Gladwell
Paperback
December 2010
$28.99
Loading...
 
 
What the Dog Saw
Malcolm Gladwell
Hardcover
October 2009
$66.99
Loading...
 
 
Outliers
Malcolm Gladwell
Hardcover
November 2008
$77.99
Loading...
 
 
Outliers
Malcolm Gladwell
Hardcover
November 2008
$41.18
$38.99
Loading...
 
 
Blink
Malcolm Gladwell
Paperback
April 2007
$28.99
Loading...
 
 
Blink
Malcolm Gladwell
Hardcover
March 2006
$48.99
Loading...
 
 
Blink
Malcolm Gladwell
Hardcover
January 2005
$42.60
$38.99
Loading...
 
 
The Tipping Point
Malcolm Gladwell
Paperback
January 2002
$27.99
Loading...
 
 
The Tipping Point
Malcolm Gladwell
Hardcover
March 2000
$42.60
$38.99
Loading...
 
 

All of the products displayed on this website are supposed to be Christian.

However, occasionaly some products get added and slip through our automated content filters unnoticed by our Admins.

If you notice anything that shouldn't be here, please help us out and let us know by clicking the following button:

Flag this Product