#14 in History
The Bomber Mafia
- 256
- Pages
- about 4.5 h
- Reading time
- NYT bestseller · 12 weeks on the list, peaked at #2
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About the book
The Bomber Mafia: A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War is a 2021 book by Canadian writer Malcolm Gladwell that examines the US Bomber Mafia of World War II, which advocated precision aerial bombing as a means to win a war. Gladwell stated the audiobook for The Bomber Mafia came about as an expansion of material from his podcast Revisionist History, and that the print book originated from the audiobook. The book follows the Bomber Mafia, especially Major General Haywood S. Hansell, and the development of a high-altitude precision aerial bombardment strategy in World War II as a means to limit casualties. After difficulties in applying the Bomber Mafia's theoretical strategy, Major General Hansell was replaced by Major General Curtis LeMay, who utilized tactical changes such as attacking Japanese population centers with napalm to ensure a Japanese surrender. Upon release, The Bomber Mafia was met with mixed reviews, with reviewers praising its audiobook version but criticizing the book for a lack of detail and factual accuracy.
Where the score comes from
The sources average 7.7 across 167 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 53% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the History average of 8.0. That is how 7.9 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 8.3 | 8 | 5% |
| Hardcover | 7.7 | 159 | 95% |
Reader voices
The most-liked reviews on Hardcover (credited to their authors).
“I listened to this as an audiobook, which makes the most sense because it was originally an audio script and then turned into a book. It's almost like a 5-hour podcast with inserted interviews and sound effects. Of the World Wars, I'm much more interested…”
“This is basically a long episode of his podcast. Which, fine, but it shouldn't have been a book. It doesn't feel like a Gladwell book- it feels like an episode of Revisionist History. And a third of the book being clips did not work for…”
Frequently asked
How long is The Bomber Mafia?
It has 256 pages — shorter than 81% of the ranked books in History.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — History — with scores between 7.7 and 8.3, closest to this book.
