Gladwell Dives into History Of Targeted Military Bombing

Gladwell Dives into History  Of Targeted Military Bombing

Is aerial bombing a strategic weapon or an instrument of terror? Malcolm Gladwell’s new book, “The Bomber Mafia,” tells the story of how American military aviation thinking transformed from aiming to dismantle enemy industrial capability to delivering wholesale slaughter of civilians … and how the pendulum now has swung back. 

Master storyteller that he is, Gladwell brings alive charismatic historical figures who played key roles in the transition, especially Gen. Curtis E. LeMay, who in later years earned opprobrium for suggesting that North Vietnam could be bombed “into the Stone Age.” 

LeMay’s personal courage and pragmatism, as well as his dedication to excellence among the pilots and crews he led, somewhat redeem his reputation in Gladwell’s retelling. 

Also depicted in depth is the more sympathetic character of Gen. Haywood Hansell, from whom LeMay took over command of bombing of Japan and who saw his more ethical strategy of targeting only military sites replaced by LeMay’s approach of mass destruction, culminating in atomic warfare. 

The book does particularly well in limning the interpersonal dynamics of the mostly young, ambitious and competitive officers who formed the group to which the book’s title refers.

Gladwell makes a compelling case that LeMay was right and that proponents of precision bombing were wrong, at least in terms of bringing the war to an end. 

The accuracy in proving-ground tests of the legendary Norden bombsight had led a cabal of American Army aviation leaders — there was no Air Force then — to believe that precision bombing could cripple the manufacture of strategically crucial ball bearings and synthetic fuels. Such bombing required daylight missions, exposing fliers and crews to accurate enemy artillery and fighter planes. 

Many lives and aircraft later, it became apparent that, under combat conditions, very few bombs were actually hitting their targets, and the damage done was minimal compared to the human cost. 

Night-time incendiary raids aimed at homes of factory workers (and their families), however, could halt production of materiel effectively. 

Gladwell describes how cities such as Dresden in Germany and Tokyo in Japan were turned to furnaces and cinders as pilots and crews watched in dismay. 

Gladwell also takes readers to today’s world, where lasers and computers make the precision attacks strategists once dreamed of a practical reality, even as nations retain vast arsenals of weapons of mass destruction.

As with all Gladwell’s books, I found “The Bomber Mafia” a compelling and vivid read, though not on a par with “The Tipping Point” or “David and Goliath.” 

Partly to blame is that those books yielded surprising revelations, often counter-intuitive, where this story is much more straightforward and unremarkable. 

But I also felt that Gladwell skimmed over much that could have enriched the book. Nowhere does he mention how German, Japanese, Italian and Russian bombing strategists rationalized their own decisions to intentionally strike civilian targets. 

And Gladwell occasionally gets basic facts wrong: for example, he refers to a lack of a tailwind to help a heavily laden bomber take off, when a headwind is what aerodynamics demands.  

There’s also a looseness, an informality at times, to his descriptions, as if he’s chatting with the reader, that can be jarring at times. 

Overall, though, like the bombers he writes vividly about, Gladwell delivers the goods.

Latest News

Father Joseph Kurnath

LAKEVILLE — Father Joseph G. M. Kurnath, retired priest of the Archdiocese of Hartford, passed away peacefully, at the age of 71, on Sunday, June 29, 2025.

Father Joe was born on May 21, 1954, in Waterbury, Connecticut. He attended kindergarten through high school in Bristol.

Keep ReadingShow less
Club baseball at Fuessenich Park

Travel league baseball came to Torrington Thursday, June 26, when the Berkshire Bears Select Team played the Connecticut Moose 18U squad. The Moose won 6-4 in a back-and-forth game. Two players on the Bears play varsity ball at Housatonic Valley Regional High School: shortstop Anthony Foley and first baseman Wes Allyn. Foley went 1-for-3 at bat with an RBI in the game at Fuessenich Park.

 

  Anthony Foley, rising senior at Housatonic Valley Regional High School, went 1-for-3 at bat for the Bears June 26.Photo by Riley Klein 

 
Siglio Press: Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature

Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.

Richard Kraft

Siglio Press is a small, independent publishing house based in Egremont, Massachusetts, known for producing “uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.” Founded and run by editor and publisher Lisa Pearson, Siglio has, since 2008, designed books that challenge conventions of both form and content.

A visit to Pearson’s airy studio suggests uncommon work, to be sure. Each of four very large tables were covered with what looked to be thousands of miniature squares of inkjet-printed, kaleidoscopically colored pieces of paper. Another table was covered with dozens of book/illustration-size, abstracted images of deer, made up of colored dots. For the enchanted and the mystified, Pearson kindly explained that these pieces were to be collaged together as artworks by the artist Richard Kraft (a frequent contributor to the Siglio Press and Pearson’s husband). The works would be accompanied by writings by two poets, Elizabeth Zuba and Monica Torre, in an as-yet-to-be-named book, inspired by a found copy of a worn French children’s book from the 1930s called “Robin de Bois” (Robin Hood).

Keep ReadingShow less
Cycling season: A roundup of our region’s rentals and where to ride them

Cyclists head south on the rail trail from Copake Falls.

Alec Linden

After a shaky start, summer has well and truly descended upon the Litchfield, Berkshire and Taconic hills, and there is no better way to get out and enjoy long-awaited good weather than on two wheels. Below, find a brief guide for those who feel the pull of the rail trail, but have yet to purchase their own ten-speed. Temporary rides are available in the tri-corner region, and their purveyors are eager to get residents of all ages, abilities and inclinations out into the open road (or bike path).

For those lucky enough to already possess their own bike, perhaps the routes described will inspire a new way to spend a Sunday afternoon. For more, visit lakevillejournal.com/tag/bike-route to check out two ride-guides from local cyclists that will appeal to enthusiasts of many levels looking for a varied trip through the region’s stunning summer scenery.

Keep ReadingShow less