{"product_id":"the-bomber-mafia-a-dream-a-temptation-and-the-longest-night-of-the-second-world-war-9780316309851","title":"The Bomber Mafia: A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eDive into this \"truly compelling\" (\u003ci\u003eGood Morning America\u003c\/i\u003e) \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestseller that explores how technology and best intentions collide in the heat of war--from the creator and host of the podcast \u003ci\u003eRevisionist History.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In \u003ci\u003eThe Bomber Mafia\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003e, \u003c\/i\u003e 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e 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 \u003ci\u003eand\u003c\/i\u003e make war far less lethal? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e 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 \u003ci\u003eThe Bomber Mafia, \u003c\/i\u003eGladwell asks, \"Was it worth it?\" \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e 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. \u003ci\u003eThe Bomber Mafia \u003c\/i\u003eis a riveting tale of persistence, innovation, and the incalculable wages of war.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eMalcom Gladwell \u003c\/b\u003eis the author of seven \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestsellers: \u003ci\u003eThe Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers, What the Dog Saw, David and Goliath, Talking to Strangers, \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eThe Bomber Mafia. \u003c\/i\u003eHe is also the cofounder of Pushkin Industries, an audiobook and podcast production company. He was born in England, grew up in rural Ontario, and now lives in New York.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Little Brown and Company","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50678907109650,"sku":"9780316309851","price":27.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_02958e65-f7e1-48e6-b822-36e672105bff.jpg?v=1737243394","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-bomber-mafia-a-dream-a-temptation-and-the-longest-night-of-the-second-world-war-9780316309851","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}