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

One thing I noticed when I first started reading this book is that for as much as I love reading historical books, they tend to be historical fiction instead of historical nonfiction. I must like that invisible unknowing line between reality and fiction.

“The more you invest in a set of beliefs—the greater the sacrifice you make in the service of that conviction—the more resistant you will be to evidence that suggests that you are mistaken. You don’t give up. You double down.”

Malcolm Gladwell

A not so typical genre from the very talented Malcolm Gladwell. Gladwell dives into history and explores how technology and intentions come together in the heat of the war. The airplane was often overlooked by some of the top military officials during WWII, but there was a group of strategists knows as the “Bomber Mafia” who questioned what if precision bombing could ruin the enemy. Malcolm studies Hiroshima and Nagasaki and asks was it really worth it?

It probably wouldn’t have normally been a book I picked out for myself, however, every year at Christmas I gift my dad a new book and when I was browsing the different historical book lists, I came across this one and thought it would be an interesting read for the both of us. Plus I love reading anything by Gladwell. He is better known for his social psychology books, and he just has a way with words that even if it’s a topic I am not all that interested about, he somehow is able to make me interested. Apparently, he is a huge history buff and a huge fan of airplanes and decided to write his first historical nonfiction on this topic. If you have any interest in war setting historical books or books involving the evolution of airplanes in combat, this book is a super fascinating read.

Until Next Time, The Library Abroad

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