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  • The Bomber Mafia

  • A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War
  • By: Malcolm Gladwell
  • Narrated by: Malcolm Gladwell
  • Length: 5 hrs and 14 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (661 ratings)
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The Bomber Mafia

By: Malcolm Gladwell
Narrated by: Malcolm Gladwell
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Summary

In The Bomber Mafia: A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War, Malcolm Gladwell, author of New York Times best sellers including Talking to Strangers and host of the podcast Revisionist History, uses original interviews, archival footage, and his trademark insight to weave 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. As listeners hear these stories unfurl, Gladwell examines 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 had a different view. This “Bomber Mafia” asked: What if precision bombing could, just by taking out critical choke points - industrial or transportation hubs - cripple the enemy and make war far less lethal?

In Revisionist History, Gladwell reexamines moments from the past and asks whether we got it right the first time. In The Bomber Mafia, he employs all the production techniques that make Revisionist History so engaging, stepping back from the bombing of Tokyo, the deadliest night of the war, and asking, “Was it worth it?” The attack 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 more by averting a planned US invasion.

Things might have gone differently had LeMay’s predecessor, General Haywood Hansell, remained in charge. As a key member of the Bomber Mafia, Hansell’s theories of precision bombing had been foiled by bad weather and human error. 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.

©2021 Malcolm Gladwell (P)2021 Malcolm Gladwell
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

Critic reviews

The Bomber Mafia is a parable written for the age of technological disruption.” (The Times, London)

"Gladwell is a wonderful storyteller. When he is introducing characters and showing them in conflict, The Bomber Mafia is gripping. I enjoyed this short book thoroughly, and would have been happy if it had been twice as long." (The New York Times)

“An innovative audio book with music, sound effects and archival clips. Gladwell’s easy conversational style works well, and his admiration for the Bomber Mafia shines through.” (The Washington Post)

What listeners say about The Bomber Mafia

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Oh dear!

Oh dear - I don’t think I can listen any more. While the subject seems interesting there is endless superfluous din in the back/foreground. A plane is mentioned so we hear a plane (thanks for that- I don’t feel in the least bit patronised!).
Please don’t treat readers to any more than the narration - we can fill-in the rest ourselves!

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18 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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Not the usual standard...

I've got almost all of Malcolm's other audiobooks. He has a great and compelling style of delivery that can make anything seems interesting. However, this one is a stretch too far. Yes, it's vaguely entertaining but it's not really particularly surprising, dramatic, or interesting enough to hold a whole book. I can boil it down to "One set of airmen wanted to bomb carefully, one set indiscriminately. Bombing carefully didn't work because the tech wasn't good enough. Went back to bombing indiscriminately"

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7 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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Already heard on Revisionist History

Disappointing to have already heard a lot of this story on Malcolm’s Revisionist History podcast

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Great audible presentation

Felt a little disappointed at first here, as the book is short and I do listen to revoluionist history podcast so was already with some of the material.
But the presentation is really next generation audible entertainment, the angles in the narrative and the story telling is brilliant.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Superb and harrowing

Gladwell is always a brilliant listen.
I don’t normally like listening to war stories so this was an accidental pick due to the author. But as usual, he hooked me in a few lines.
It’s fascinating, humbling and horrific to listen to. And I feel like a better person for understanding the horrors unleashed on Germany and Japan. Somehow Gladwell makes it bearable. Thoroughly recommend.

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1 person found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Good, but not my cup of tea

I generally like Gladwell, but this book is somewhat different from those that I read before. Excellently narrated, good story, but I just find it as interesting as his other work. I don't agree with conclusions either, but that's my own opinion.

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This is the future of audio

This is how history should be written. Balanced, fair, researched, and compelling. Sublime audio production and flawless delivery and execution. Six stars.

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Nonsense


I’ve enjoyed Gladwell’s books very much in the past, this bored me to tears and I was unable to stand even half an hour. I tried, I persevered, I was insulted and eventually angered.
No more Gladwell for me

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Very average

Just a bit boring, excessively niche and loosely woven together. More patchwork than narrative. It will probably appeal to the dedicated crontrarian intellectuals

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Utterly brilliant

perceptive, thoughtful, insightful. This book draws together so much about the air war in the 1940s. MGs masterly delivery is both fascinating and horrifying by turns. I was rivetted.

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