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booksandhappy1987's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
✔️Flyboys by James Bradley
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“The airmen were considered the most important passengers on the carriers.”
This is a nonfiction book that tells the story of 9 young men who were sent to bomb Japanese communications towers. It gives the reader a look into the mindset of the Japanese during this time and how the their prisoners of war were treated. I haven’t found many WWII books that focus on Japan, so I found this to be really interesting.
I thought the German Nazis were bad during WWII, but the actions of the Japanese were despicable.
Each of the flyboys were heroes. I will forever be grateful for our military and our veterans.
alex_hev's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
3.5
Interesting stories about the US pilots in the Pacific, and some stories from the Japanese perspective as well. Very graphic descriptions of some terrible events.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Cannibalism, and War
garypossum's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book, although not as much as Flags of our Fathers. I especially looked forward to the parts in which George Bush gave his accounts of events in the Pacific.
vhp's review against another edition
1.0
I couldn't trust the author to tell the history of his subject. The information he gave in the beginning of the book was half the story of each of his rant. It came across that he was trying to make America the big bad boogy-man. I'm not interested in his opinion when I'm expecting a book on history.
nimrodiel's review against another edition
4.0
This took me a lot longer to read than I had originally intended it. The intensness of the subject matter, and the history included to show readers why the Japanese army was the way it was during WWII made it hard to read straight through. However, this was a very good look at a very grizzly part of America's involvment in WWII.
See where this book travels next, at: http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/4916394
See where this book travels next, at: http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/4916394
lostinabookbrb's review against another edition
4.0
James Bradley tells the story of American airmen and the island of Chichi Jima. That is a really simplified summary bordering on insulting BUT it is not untrue. There's a lot of information about Japan's role in WWII which extends past Pearl Harbor. Bradley does his best to be objective and to see points from both sides but, understandably, his admiration for the Flyboys show through the book.
I recommend it to everyone, especially those interested in WWII.
I recommend it to everyone, especially those interested in WWII.
tashspice's review against another edition
3.0
As it is written, it feels like a compressed history of how the Flyboys won WWII in the pacific. It in that scope, it is able to also focus in on 8 airmen who were captured and killed in horrific manners on the island of Chichi Jima.
I think the most memorable parts of the book is former President George Bush's thoughts of his fallen comrades almost 60 years later, and the authors thoughts on veterans who have moved past the atrocities of WWII when younger generations have a harder time with the past. It really makes you think.
I think the most memorable parts of the book is former President George Bush's thoughts of his fallen comrades almost 60 years later, and the authors thoughts on veterans who have moved past the atrocities of WWII when younger generations have a harder time with the past. It really makes you think.
evamadera1's review against another edition
5.0
A review from my old blog...
When I started reading this book I thought that the Flyboys Bradley referred to were the Flyboys of WWI... like the movie. No, the Flyboys Bradley describes in this book are those of WWII.
Bradley begins the book with a brief overview of the history of the relationship between Japan and the United States. I treated the book with skepticism at the beginning wondering when Bradley would get around to talking about the Flyboys. I understood the background Bradley explained in his first book, Flags of Our Fathers. After all, he was talking about his father, along with several other men of course. The background Bradley gives his readers in this book while connected to the main story did seem somewhat extraneous though.
As I progressed through the book I became amazed with how objectively Bradley dealt with the facts of the war. He described the worst and the best of the Americans as well as the best and the worst of the Japanese. it's hard to hold sympathy with either side when both treat the others as if they weren't even human.
I am not an active anti-war campaigner but after reading about the atrocities of war committed by both sides I can easily see how a person can become such. So many people perished because of the egos and foolishness of a men.
I could hardly put the book down when it ended. Bradley spent many pages talking about the horrible deaths suffered by many of the Flyboys held as POWs by the Japanese after the fall of Iwo Jima. One compassionate Japanese officer when he learned that this Flyboy, Warren Earl, under his care had been ordered to be executed in such a brutal inhumane way, protected him as much as he could up until the moment of his death. Bradley alluded to something that this officer planned to do to remember this Flyboys memory but Bradley did not say then what it would be. Instead Bradley kept this precious bit of information until the very last sentences.
Bradley called this officer, Iwatake, first in his search for the Chichi Jima Flyboys. These are the words that Bradley heard. "Hello, this is Warren."
When I started reading this book I thought that the Flyboys Bradley referred to were the Flyboys of WWI... like the movie. No, the Flyboys Bradley describes in this book are those of WWII.
Bradley begins the book with a brief overview of the history of the relationship between Japan and the United States. I treated the book with skepticism at the beginning wondering when Bradley would get around to talking about the Flyboys. I understood the background Bradley explained in his first book, Flags of Our Fathers. After all, he was talking about his father, along with several other men of course. The background Bradley gives his readers in this book while connected to the main story did seem somewhat extraneous though.
As I progressed through the book I became amazed with how objectively Bradley dealt with the facts of the war. He described the worst and the best of the Americans as well as the best and the worst of the Japanese. it's hard to hold sympathy with either side when both treat the others as if they weren't even human.
I am not an active anti-war campaigner but after reading about the atrocities of war committed by both sides I can easily see how a person can become such. So many people perished because of the egos and foolishness of a men.
I could hardly put the book down when it ended. Bradley spent many pages talking about the horrible deaths suffered by many of the Flyboys held as POWs by the Japanese after the fall of Iwo Jima. One compassionate Japanese officer when he learned that this Flyboy, Warren Earl, under his care had been ordered to be executed in such a brutal inhumane way, protected him as much as he could up until the moment of his death. Bradley alluded to something that this officer planned to do to remember this Flyboys memory but Bradley did not say then what it would be. Instead Bradley kept this precious bit of information until the very last sentences.
Bradley called this officer, Iwatake, first in his search for the Chichi Jima Flyboys. These are the words that Bradley heard. "Hello, this is Warren."