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Title details for Black Snow by James M. Scott - Available

Black Snow

Curtis LeMay, the Firebombing of Tokyo, and the Road to the Atomic Bomb

by James M. Scott
L.J. Ganser
Audiobook
2 of 2 copies available
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2 of 2 copies available
Seven minutes past midnight on March 10, 1945, nearly 300 American B-29s thundered into the skies over Tokyo. Their payloads of incendiaries ignited a firestorm that reached up to 2,800 degrees, liquefying asphalt and vaporizing thousands; sixteen square miles of the city were flattened and more than 100,000 men, women, and children were killed. Black Snow is the story of this devastating operation, orchestrated by Major General Curtis LeMay, who famously remarked: "If we lose the war, we'll be tried as war criminals." James M. Scott reconstructs in granular detail that horrific night, and describes the development of the B-29, the capture of the Marianas for use as airfields, and the change in strategy from high-altitude daylight "precision" bombing to low-altitude nighttime incendiary bombing. Most importantly, the raid represented a significant moral shift for America, marking the first time commanders deliberately targeted civilians-which helped pave the way for the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki five months later. Drawing on first-person interviews with American pilots and bombardiers and Japanese survivors, air force archives, and oral histories never before published in English, Scott delivers a harrowing and gripping account, and his most important and compelling work to date.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    September 6, 2022

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781696608671
      • File size: 374219 KB
      • Duration: 12:59:37

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Library Journal

      March 1, 2023

      L.J. Ganser narrates Scott's (Rampage: MacArthur, Yamashita, and the Battle of Manila) history of the strategic incendiary WWII bombing campaign against Japan by the U.S. Air Force with flair and feeling. Each chapter begins with an eloquently voiced quote, setting the tone for the content that follows. The production opens with the creation of the new Boeing B-29 Superfortress and then segues into the life of General Curtis LeMay, the commanding officer of the XXI Bomber Command, who both planned and executed the 1945 bombing strategy. Scott details the political and logistical path of the air war in Asia and concludes just after the dropping of the first atomic bomb. Ganser's voice enlivens the vindication LeMay felt during the bombing campaign; the guilt, remorse, and depression felt by some of the Americans after bombing missions; and both the overwhelming sense of loss and the horrors felt by Japanese civilians when viewing the total devastation of their homes and livelihoods. Ganser's pronunciation of Japanese names and places is generally commendable. VERDICT This harrowing narrative includes the point of view of Japanese civilians who were victims of the U.S. war strategy; a timely reminder of the human costs of war.--Stephanie Bange

      Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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