A review by cdjdhj
The Bomber Mafia: A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War by Malcolm Gladwell

2.0

The Bomber Mafia is largely about the competing philosophies of air war of two generals during the closing days of World War II. It is well researched and documented, and the audiobook, which I listened to, had actual interviews and other audio. I understand that Gladwell did the audiobook first and then the print version was derived from the audio. The story is certainly interesting from a historical perspective, but what I didn't much like was the moral philosophizing that Gladwell does - especially comparing the two generals involved, Hayward S. Hansell and Curtis LeMay to Jesus. That whole comparison fell completely flat for me. I learned a lot of WWII history and the air war against Japan, and even the two philosophies of the generals, but Gladwell's attempt to judge the thoughts and intentions of the two men made me not like this book much. I like history more when I can draw my own conclusions from the facts that are presented.