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Black Snow: Curtis LeMay, the Firebombing of Tokyo, and the Road to the Atomic Bomb
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.
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.
432 pages, Hardcover
First published September 6, 2022
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James M. Scott
22 books97 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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December 18, 2022
“America had invested heavily to arrive at this pivotal moment. The United States had spent $3.7 billion to develop the four-engine bombers that lined the crushed coral taxiway on Saipan, making the B-29 the single most expensive weapons system of the war. The exorbitant price tag of Boeing’s aeronautical monster did not account for the casualty toll – 25,000 dead and wounded – exacted by the capture of the Mariana Islands of Saipan, Tinian, and Guam. This prized Pacific real estate placed Tokyo for the first time within range of American bombers…”
- James M. Scott, Black Snow: Curtis LeMay, the Firebombing of Tokyo, and the Road to the Atomic Bomb
In 1943, the United States Army built a mock Japanese-German village at the Dugway Proving Grounds in Utah. The purpose of these miniature towns was to practice the best ways in which to raze a city using incendiary bombs, should America decide to leave behind the practice of precision bombing.
The level of detail that went into the Japanese village was astounding. Houses were surrounded by narrow roads to mimic the congestion of Japanese urban centers. The roof-area percentage likewise tracked the coverage found in places like Tokyo, Yokohama, and Osaka. Instead of utilizing stud-frame construction, as found in typical American houses, the workers applied a more accurate keyed or mortised joint style. Comparable woods were selected to best reflect the moisture content in Japan.
The specifics of this reconstruction extended to the interiors of the houses, which were furnished with futons, hibachi stoves, amado shutters, and straw tatami mats on the floors. As James M. Scott points out in Black Snow, the military even outfitted one bedroom with two single beds pushed together, next to an infant’s cradle.
The reason, of course, is that Army Air Force leadership wanted to know how a Japanese family burned.
***
The decision to rain fire from the sky, the execution of that decision, and its grisly aftermath forms the three-part tale told in Black Snow.
In the first section, Scott takes a looping approach, beginning in Saipan – with American B-29s about to begin their assault – but frequently flashing back to broadly cover the history of bombing in general, and the air war in Europe in particular. He also intersperses the action with biographical sketches of some of the major players, including commanding general of the Army Air Force Henry “Hap” Arnold; General Haywood S. Hansell, who initially led XXI Bomber Command, and advocated for precision attacks rather than incendiaries; and General Curtis LeMay, who took over from Hansell and – essentially on his own authority – changed the rules of the game.
Scott’s handling of LeMay is extremely well done. Devastatingly parodied as General Jack D. Ripper in Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove, LeMay is one of the most controversial and polarizing soldiers in American history. As head of the postwar Strategic Air Command, he played an important role in developing America’s nuclear deterrence. Later, he nearly ended the world, strongly advocating for bombing and invading Cuba during the Missile Crisis. He then cemented his reputation for questionable doctrine and ethics by advocating – in his memoirs – that America bomb Vietnam back to the Stone Age.
Before all this, LeMay was a hard-luck kid who worked his way through college, joined the Air Corps, and served admirably in Europe, before being given Hansell’s job. LeMay realized that Hansell had failed because precision bombing from high altitude would not work with the weather patterns over Japan. Against fierce opposition – some moral, but mainly tactical – he scrapped high-level raids and decided to strip the Superfortresses of guns and ammunition, pack them with M-69 incendiary devices, and send them in at 5,000 feet.
After some initial test runs, he targeted Tokyo for the big show.
***
Toggling back and forth between Japanese and American perspectives, Scott sets the stage by discussing Tokyo’s woeful preparations for an air raid. The fire department was tiny, their equipment insufficient, the shelters too few (with many only partially-finished), and fire mediation measures far below what proved to be necessary (despite the warning provided by the Great Kantō Earthquake of 1923). Scott also gives a sympathetic portrayal of the people living in Tokyo at the time: the hunger, the rationing, the families split apart as children were sent to the countryside, and the gnawing doubts that rose even as Japanese leadership kept the losing tide of war a secret.
The account of the infamous March 10, 1945 fire raid is top notch. While Scott presents some viewpoints from the air, he mostly focuses on the Japanese victims. Moreover, instead of throwing out a bunch of unconnected anecdotes, he tethers the fire-bombing sequence to a smaller number of participants, allowing us to get to know them, before following them through the nightmarish experience of a flaming hurricane. As in his prior books, Scott is uncannily good at finding nasty, pungent recollections that show war as an uncontrollably savage sundering of humanity.
Unsurprisingly, given the context, most people involved, both the bombers and the bombed, fell back on the obvious cliché: It was hell.
***
The final section, after the dramatic peak of the Tokyo inferno – which killed between 80,000 and over 100,000 people – is necessarily a bit of a letdown. At its most heartrending, it remains in Tokyo, as the ash-covered survivors try to collect and bury the dead.
Much of the narrative, though, is given over to a pretty quick recounting of LeMay’s other firebombing raids, and ultimately, the dropping of the twin atomic bombs. There’s nothing inherently wrong with these portions, but they don’t stand out, either. The dawn of nuclear war has been covered in many, many fine books, and Scott’s telling breaks no new ground. If you haven’t read much about Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the finale might work better for you.
***
The fire-bombings of Japan received a great deal of contemporary support, both within the American military and the public. In the years since, though, it has become one of the most controversial aspects of the Second World War, along with Hamburg and Dresden, Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Two broad discussions have sprung up around the fire bombing campaign, with a great deal of overlap.
First, there is the moral component, which typically breaks down between the utilitarian view that the bombings ultimately saved lives by shortening the war, and the deontological perspective, which holds that burning people in their homes is never justified.
Second, there is the question of strategy, which asks whether bombing – as opposed to a naval blockade or even a negotiated peace – might have worked better.
Interestingly – though not surprisingly, given his past work – Scott does not engage these issues directly. To be sure, they come up within Black Snow, but he does not take a side or set forth any analysis. The only ethical framework that Scott creates is that of the brutal context of war. He shows how the horrific decision to drop fire from the sky came at the end of a long and horrific war that not only blurred the lines of decency, but erased them altogether.
It is axiomatic of war that the innocent are punished with the guilty. Many of the war’s individual perpetrators – the rapists of Nanking and Manila, the death squads in Bataan and Singapore – faced no repercussions for their actions. Sure, some eventually died in combat, in captivity, or from disease. But most probably slipped back into civilian life when hostilities ended. Meanwhile, thousands of noncombatants, including the very old and very young, endured heat and flame and suffocation as punishment for a conflict started and waged by others. Rather than trying to disentangle the threads of blame and justification, Scott does a good job focusing on the people below the bombs, with the empathy to which they are entitled as humans.
- James M. Scott, Black Snow: Curtis LeMay, the Firebombing of Tokyo, and the Road to the Atomic Bomb
In 1943, the United States Army built a mock Japanese-German village at the Dugway Proving Grounds in Utah. The purpose of these miniature towns was to practice the best ways in which to raze a city using incendiary bombs, should America decide to leave behind the practice of precision bombing.
The level of detail that went into the Japanese village was astounding. Houses were surrounded by narrow roads to mimic the congestion of Japanese urban centers. The roof-area percentage likewise tracked the coverage found in places like Tokyo, Yokohama, and Osaka. Instead of utilizing stud-frame construction, as found in typical American houses, the workers applied a more accurate keyed or mortised joint style. Comparable woods were selected to best reflect the moisture content in Japan.
The specifics of this reconstruction extended to the interiors of the houses, which were furnished with futons, hibachi stoves, amado shutters, and straw tatami mats on the floors. As James M. Scott points out in Black Snow, the military even outfitted one bedroom with two single beds pushed together, next to an infant’s cradle.
The reason, of course, is that Army Air Force leadership wanted to know how a Japanese family burned.
***
The decision to rain fire from the sky, the execution of that decision, and its grisly aftermath forms the three-part tale told in Black Snow.
In the first section, Scott takes a looping approach, beginning in Saipan – with American B-29s about to begin their assault – but frequently flashing back to broadly cover the history of bombing in general, and the air war in Europe in particular. He also intersperses the action with biographical sketches of some of the major players, including commanding general of the Army Air Force Henry “Hap” Arnold; General Haywood S. Hansell, who initially led XXI Bomber Command, and advocated for precision attacks rather than incendiaries; and General Curtis LeMay, who took over from Hansell and – essentially on his own authority – changed the rules of the game.
Scott’s handling of LeMay is extremely well done. Devastatingly parodied as General Jack D. Ripper in Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove, LeMay is one of the most controversial and polarizing soldiers in American history. As head of the postwar Strategic Air Command, he played an important role in developing America’s nuclear deterrence. Later, he nearly ended the world, strongly advocating for bombing and invading Cuba during the Missile Crisis. He then cemented his reputation for questionable doctrine and ethics by advocating – in his memoirs – that America bomb Vietnam back to the Stone Age.
Before all this, LeMay was a hard-luck kid who worked his way through college, joined the Air Corps, and served admirably in Europe, before being given Hansell’s job. LeMay realized that Hansell had failed because precision bombing from high altitude would not work with the weather patterns over Japan. Against fierce opposition – some moral, but mainly tactical – he scrapped high-level raids and decided to strip the Superfortresses of guns and ammunition, pack them with M-69 incendiary devices, and send them in at 5,000 feet.
After some initial test runs, he targeted Tokyo for the big show.
***
Toggling back and forth between Japanese and American perspectives, Scott sets the stage by discussing Tokyo’s woeful preparations for an air raid. The fire department was tiny, their equipment insufficient, the shelters too few (with many only partially-finished), and fire mediation measures far below what proved to be necessary (despite the warning provided by the Great Kantō Earthquake of 1923). Scott also gives a sympathetic portrayal of the people living in Tokyo at the time: the hunger, the rationing, the families split apart as children were sent to the countryside, and the gnawing doubts that rose even as Japanese leadership kept the losing tide of war a secret.
The account of the infamous March 10, 1945 fire raid is top notch. While Scott presents some viewpoints from the air, he mostly focuses on the Japanese victims. Moreover, instead of throwing out a bunch of unconnected anecdotes, he tethers the fire-bombing sequence to a smaller number of participants, allowing us to get to know them, before following them through the nightmarish experience of a flaming hurricane. As in his prior books, Scott is uncannily good at finding nasty, pungent recollections that show war as an uncontrollably savage sundering of humanity.
Unsurprisingly, given the context, most people involved, both the bombers and the bombed, fell back on the obvious cliché: It was hell.
***
The final section, after the dramatic peak of the Tokyo inferno – which killed between 80,000 and over 100,000 people – is necessarily a bit of a letdown. At its most heartrending, it remains in Tokyo, as the ash-covered survivors try to collect and bury the dead.
Much of the narrative, though, is given over to a pretty quick recounting of LeMay’s other firebombing raids, and ultimately, the dropping of the twin atomic bombs. There’s nothing inherently wrong with these portions, but they don’t stand out, either. The dawn of nuclear war has been covered in many, many fine books, and Scott’s telling breaks no new ground. If you haven’t read much about Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the finale might work better for you.
***
The fire-bombings of Japan received a great deal of contemporary support, both within the American military and the public. In the years since, though, it has become one of the most controversial aspects of the Second World War, along with Hamburg and Dresden, Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Two broad discussions have sprung up around the fire bombing campaign, with a great deal of overlap.
First, there is the moral component, which typically breaks down between the utilitarian view that the bombings ultimately saved lives by shortening the war, and the deontological perspective, which holds that burning people in their homes is never justified.
Second, there is the question of strategy, which asks whether bombing – as opposed to a naval blockade or even a negotiated peace – might have worked better.
Interestingly – though not surprisingly, given his past work – Scott does not engage these issues directly. To be sure, they come up within Black Snow, but he does not take a side or set forth any analysis. The only ethical framework that Scott creates is that of the brutal context of war. He shows how the horrific decision to drop fire from the sky came at the end of a long and horrific war that not only blurred the lines of decency, but erased them altogether.
It is axiomatic of war that the innocent are punished with the guilty. Many of the war’s individual perpetrators – the rapists of Nanking and Manila, the death squads in Bataan and Singapore – faced no repercussions for their actions. Sure, some eventually died in combat, in captivity, or from disease. But most probably slipped back into civilian life when hostilities ended. Meanwhile, thousands of noncombatants, including the very old and very young, endured heat and flame and suffocation as punishment for a conflict started and waged by others. Rather than trying to disentangle the threads of blame and justification, Scott does a good job focusing on the people below the bombs, with the empathy to which they are entitled as humans.
October 21, 2022
Audible Audiobook – Unabridged
James M. Scott (Author), L.J. Ganser (Narrator), HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books (Publisher)
Generously provided by
James M. Scott (Author), L.J. Ganser (Narrator), HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books (Publisher)
Generously provided by
January 12, 2023
I don’t think Mr. Scott can write a bad/boring book. I’ve now read all 4 of his WW II books and they are all excellent. In this offering, the author looks at the fire bombings of Japan’s cities in the spring and summer of 1945. In telling the story, Mr Scott also looks at the doctrine, tactics and personalities of the men who were tasked to carry out the strategic bombing of Japan staring in the spring of 1944. The two men, Hayward Hansel and his replacement Curtis LeMay were opposites in both experience and temperament. Hansel who was the first commander of the B-29s based in the Mariannas was a career staff officer and an Arnold acolyte with not a whole lot of command experience. Mr. Scott characterized him as the last true believer of the concept Daylight Precision Bombing. LeMay was a very experienced combat commander and had a reputation of a problem solver– he flew on some of the toughest missions the 8th AF flew against Germany and developed many of the tactics used by the Americans in Europe.
As the B-29s arrived in Saipan to begin the bombing offensive against Japan, Hansel was their commander. There were immediate problems. The B-29 was a buggy aircraft to say the least, with constant problems with engines. There were mission that less than half the A/C dispatched actually bombed the target. The bombing altitudes (30,000+ ft) brought the previous unknown Jet Stream into play. This caused havoc with bombing accuracy. There was also the problem of weather. It was estimate there were only 3 days a month that were clear enough to bomb visually. Mr Scott states that on the first mission to Japan, the Saipan based bombers utterly failed in hitting their target. Of 120+ A/ dispatched, less than 80 aircraft bombed the primary target and only only 2 of their bombs actually landed in the target area – a 100+ acre engine factory. Hansel was never able to solve the reliability or accuracy problems and was replaced by LeMay who had been the commander of the B-29s based in India/China.
The author makes a point that the firebombing of Japan’s cities was not a spur of the moment tactical change. He goes into some length in describing the research the AAF had done on the makeup of Japan’s cities and how best to destroy them. Some of Hansel’s subordinates were urging him to switch to area bombing and incendiaries long before LeMay came on the scene. That said the decision to go in low, at night and burn Tokyo to the ground was LeMays alone. He did not run it by higher, but made the decision. Hansel later called it the gutsiest decision of the War.
In looking at LeMay’s decision, Mr. Scott looks at the pressure Gen Arnold was putting on him to get results. Some of the reasons for this were the post war future of the Air Force, the fact that the B-29 was the single most expensive weapons program of the war and Arnolds desire to cause Japan to quit before an invasion was needed thus proving the worth of the Air Force.
This is not just a high level look at the bombing campaign. The author also looks at the crews who carried out the campaign and probably just as importantly, what the experience of the people getting bombed was like. To say that it was horrific is an understatement! He relates several first person accounts of survivors of the March Tokyo raid in particular.
Mr Scott also recounts the Hiroshima mission from both the American and Japanese perspective. Again as with the Tokyo mission – the experiences of those underneath the B-29 was horrific.
By the end of the bombing campaign – LeMay had burned out more than 170 square miles of Japans largest 60+ cities. By July/August he was running out of targets.
Finally Mr. Scott talks about the the Atomic Bomb missions and their effect. His opinion is that they along with the USSR’s declaration of War on the same day as Hiroshima finally convinced the Emperor to call it quits
All in all and superb/excellent/fantastic or whatever superlative you care to use read. Definitely a 5 star read.
As the B-29s arrived in Saipan to begin the bombing offensive against Japan, Hansel was their commander. There were immediate problems. The B-29 was a buggy aircraft to say the least, with constant problems with engines. There were mission that less than half the A/C dispatched actually bombed the target. The bombing altitudes (30,000+ ft) brought the previous unknown Jet Stream into play. This caused havoc with bombing accuracy. There was also the problem of weather. It was estimate there were only 3 days a month that were clear enough to bomb visually. Mr Scott states that on the first mission to Japan, the Saipan based bombers utterly failed in hitting their target. Of 120+ A/ dispatched, less than 80 aircraft bombed the primary target and only only 2 of their bombs actually landed in the target area – a 100+ acre engine factory. Hansel was never able to solve the reliability or accuracy problems and was replaced by LeMay who had been the commander of the B-29s based in India/China.
The author makes a point that the firebombing of Japan’s cities was not a spur of the moment tactical change. He goes into some length in describing the research the AAF had done on the makeup of Japan’s cities and how best to destroy them. Some of Hansel’s subordinates were urging him to switch to area bombing and incendiaries long before LeMay came on the scene. That said the decision to go in low, at night and burn Tokyo to the ground was LeMays alone. He did not run it by higher, but made the decision. Hansel later called it the gutsiest decision of the War.
In looking at LeMay’s decision, Mr. Scott looks at the pressure Gen Arnold was putting on him to get results. Some of the reasons for this were the post war future of the Air Force, the fact that the B-29 was the single most expensive weapons program of the war and Arnolds desire to cause Japan to quit before an invasion was needed thus proving the worth of the Air Force.
This is not just a high level look at the bombing campaign. The author also looks at the crews who carried out the campaign and probably just as importantly, what the experience of the people getting bombed was like. To say that it was horrific is an understatement! He relates several first person accounts of survivors of the March Tokyo raid in particular.
Mr Scott also recounts the Hiroshima mission from both the American and Japanese perspective. Again as with the Tokyo mission – the experiences of those underneath the B-29 was horrific.
By the end of the bombing campaign – LeMay had burned out more than 170 square miles of Japans largest 60+ cities. By July/August he was running out of targets.
Finally Mr. Scott talks about the the Atomic Bomb missions and their effect. His opinion is that they along with the USSR’s declaration of War on the same day as Hiroshima finally convinced the Emperor to call it quits
All in all and superb/excellent/fantastic or whatever superlative you care to use read. Definitely a 5 star read.
February 8, 2024
As the sun began to peek over the horizon, the airfield on Saipan stirred with activity. It was the dawn of another day in the heart of World War II, and a squadron of B-29 Superfortress bombers stood ready on the runway, their sleek silhouettes contrasting against the backdrop of palm trees and distant coral reefs. As the engines roared to life, the B-29s taxied down the runway, gathering speed as they prepared to take flight. Their cargo: a combined total 277.5 tons of bombs. Their destination: Tokyo, Japan.
It was their first mission. Expectations were high. The B-29 Superfortress was an engineering marvel, consisting of 55.000 parts and 600.000 rivets with pressurized cabins that allowed the crew to fly in their t-shirts. Rushed into production, general Hap Arnold had staked his career on this plane. The 8th air force had begun the war in the skies above Europe with great expectations but had devolved into a slug. In the end, the infantry still had to storm the beaches. Arnold wanted to promote the cause of military aviation by bombing Japan to their knees, hoping to establish once and for all an independent United States Air Force. General Haywood S. Hansell Jr. served as the commander of the XXI Bomber Command in the Pacific and as a proponent high-altitude precision daylight bombing missions, was determined to target key industrial and military facilities with accuracy.
But the high expectations proved not to be. Although the fear of Japanese fighters and Flak proved non-existent, the results of Hansell's precision bombing had difficulty of accurately hitting targets from high altitudes. None of his strikes had succeeded in destroying a single plant. Japan's war machine still hummed. Hap Arnold had enough: Hansell out, Curtis LeMay in. LeMay quickly decided to a change in tactics. Instead of precision bombing, he would switch to low-altitude nighttime incendiary bombing raids. The raids targeted Tokyo's urban area created, combined with the tactic of flying at low altitudes to evade Japanese air defenses, created a firestorm of unprecedented scale and intensity.
In his narrative history "Black Snow," James M. Scott skillfully captures the essence of these events, delving into the personalities and motivations of figures like Arnold, Hansell, and LeMay. Through his vivid portrayal, Scott confronts readers with the harrowing experiences of those affected by the bombing raids, leaving a profound impact that underscores the human cost and tragedy of war. Few writers possess Scott's ability to convey the brutal realities of conflict with such depth and clarity.
Tokyo, after the firebombing (Source)
It was their first mission. Expectations were high. The B-29 Superfortress was an engineering marvel, consisting of 55.000 parts and 600.000 rivets with pressurized cabins that allowed the crew to fly in their t-shirts. Rushed into production, general Hap Arnold had staked his career on this plane. The 8th air force had begun the war in the skies above Europe with great expectations but had devolved into a slug. In the end, the infantry still had to storm the beaches. Arnold wanted to promote the cause of military aviation by bombing Japan to their knees, hoping to establish once and for all an independent United States Air Force. General Haywood S. Hansell Jr. served as the commander of the XXI Bomber Command in the Pacific and as a proponent high-altitude precision daylight bombing missions, was determined to target key industrial and military facilities with accuracy.
But the high expectations proved not to be. Although the fear of Japanese fighters and Flak proved non-existent, the results of Hansell's precision bombing had difficulty of accurately hitting targets from high altitudes. None of his strikes had succeeded in destroying a single plant. Japan's war machine still hummed. Hap Arnold had enough: Hansell out, Curtis LeMay in. LeMay quickly decided to a change in tactics. Instead of precision bombing, he would switch to low-altitude nighttime incendiary bombing raids. The raids targeted Tokyo's urban area created, combined with the tactic of flying at low altitudes to evade Japanese air defenses, created a firestorm of unprecedented scale and intensity.
In his narrative history "Black Snow," James M. Scott skillfully captures the essence of these events, delving into the personalities and motivations of figures like Arnold, Hansell, and LeMay. Through his vivid portrayal, Scott confronts readers with the harrowing experiences of those affected by the bombing raids, leaving a profound impact that underscores the human cost and tragedy of war. Few writers possess Scott's ability to convey the brutal realities of conflict with such depth and clarity.
Tokyo, after the firebombing (Source)
February 8, 2023
A tough book to read. Not because the author hasn't done a great job, but because he has: his is a dynamic, high-stakes account of a terrible campaign. And I was a bag of contradictory feelings reading it because he does such a fine job presenting things from all sides. Here you get the real Curtis LeMay: in many ways a ruthless and stoic figure, but also a competent and effective field commander who cared about his airmen and ending the war as soon as possible (because, as Scott notes, every day the war went on thousands more lives were lost), and who had tried high-altitude precision bombing like his predecessor but also made a failure of it. What to make of the man is ultimately up to the reader, but the facts are there before you.
And then the firebombing campaign itself. Easy to say it shouldn't have been done when it wasn't you or your son, father, brother or husband storming Peleliu, Iwo Jima, or Okinawa; easy to forget about what it would have cost to invade the Japanese home islands, and who can even begin to imagine, after the Battle of Manila, just what that would have been like, what it would have cost the Japanese people and American GIs? And how can one discount the absolute barbarism of the Japanese Imperial Army in China, in POW camps, in the Philippines? It's almost beyond reckoning. And yet... as a husband and father, it is so difficult, impossible really, to read of the firebombing of Tokyo and not imagine my own wife or sons there, a literal hell on earth. Could nothing else have been done? Could less cities have been razed? Any alternative at all? And how could Japan's leaders have been so selfish, so blind to the misery they were plunging their own people into?
Then there are the American military leaders whose foresight, energy, and determination helped to win the war, but who were not above self seeking, back biting, and such tertiary aims as the establishment of an independent air force. But, at the risk of sounding too philosophical, who among us are not like them? These were real people, and Scott portrays them as such.
All in all, a great book about terrible events. And may we never forget them.
And then the firebombing campaign itself. Easy to say it shouldn't have been done when it wasn't you or your son, father, brother or husband storming Peleliu, Iwo Jima, or Okinawa; easy to forget about what it would have cost to invade the Japanese home islands, and who can even begin to imagine, after the Battle of Manila, just what that would have been like, what it would have cost the Japanese people and American GIs? And how can one discount the absolute barbarism of the Japanese Imperial Army in China, in POW camps, in the Philippines? It's almost beyond reckoning. And yet... as a husband and father, it is so difficult, impossible really, to read of the firebombing of Tokyo and not imagine my own wife or sons there, a literal hell on earth. Could nothing else have been done? Could less cities have been razed? Any alternative at all? And how could Japan's leaders have been so selfish, so blind to the misery they were plunging their own people into?
Then there are the American military leaders whose foresight, energy, and determination helped to win the war, but who were not above self seeking, back biting, and such tertiary aims as the establishment of an independent air force. But, at the risk of sounding too philosophical, who among us are not like them? These were real people, and Scott portrays them as such.
All in all, a great book about terrible events. And may we never forget them.
September 6, 2022
Thank you NetGalley and HighBridge Audio for accepting my request to audibly read and review Black Snow.
Author: James M. Scott
Published: 09/06/22
Genre: History -- Nonfiction (Adult)
Narrator: L.J. Ganser
At 13 hours, I found this as an incredibly long audiobook. The narrator did his job. He read the text. I was struggling to focus and stay there. The text with full respect to the author and all those this book represents is dry.
I've come to realize that I like a story. Black Snow is a book, that resembles a textbook. I refer you back to the synopsis. While this includes documented world history, the line is thin between spoiler and known facts. This is written following a dark day in history, March 10, 1945 (Tokyo). The question posed in the synopsis will stay with me forever. "Should civilians be considered legitimate targets?"
I would recommend this for history buffs, someone who enjoys reading and does not need entertained.
I'm rounding up to 4 stars from my 3.5. This is written for smart people.
Author: James M. Scott
Published: 09/06/22
Genre: History -- Nonfiction (Adult)
Narrator: L.J. Ganser
At 13 hours, I found this as an incredibly long audiobook. The narrator did his job. He read the text. I was struggling to focus and stay there. The text with full respect to the author and all those this book represents is dry.
I've come to realize that I like a story. Black Snow is a book, that resembles a textbook. I refer you back to the synopsis. While this includes documented world history, the line is thin between spoiler and known facts. This is written following a dark day in history, March 10, 1945 (Tokyo). The question posed in the synopsis will stay with me forever. "Should civilians be considered legitimate targets?"
I would recommend this for history buffs, someone who enjoys reading and does not need entertained.
I'm rounding up to 4 stars from my 3.5. This is written for smart people.
August 24, 2022
I received this audiobook from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. The description above pretty accurately describes the subject matter of the book, so I won't go into plot details here.
Although the beginning of the book dragged a little bit, the pace picked up speed when America starting bombing the Japanese. The description of the animals and people, especially children, being burned to death was so heart wrenching that I nearly broke down in tears several times. I would even go so far as to provide a trigger warning here, as at times it was really hard to listen to. People being burned alive, boiling to death in super heated rivers, or drowning to death while trying to escape the flames. Yikes. It is the stuff of nightmares -- and this really happened.
If this were fiction, it would be classified as a horror novel.
It is unfathomable to me that after seeing all this death and destruction, humans CONTINUE to do engage in war, death, destruction -- right now we are amidst a war that is decimating an entire people and culture. WHY DO WE NEVER LEARN???
The book is immensely well researched and well written and is regarding a subject that I had not known about previously. Yes, everyone has (surely) learned about the atomic bomb in school, but I do not remember ever learning about prior incendiary attacks on Tokyo.
My emotions on the subject are so torn. On the one hand it is shameful that America was responsible for such atrocities. On the other hand, the Japanese were not saints, and they were also guilty of their own atrocities for which they should feel equally ashamed. That is not to say that anyone "deserved" it -- especially not the innocent children and babies who were killed in the air raids. I hugged my daughter a little tighter after hearing some scenes.
I think war is ugly and stupid and that there must be better ways to resolve conflict. It is for this reason that books like this are important to make people SEE / HEAR / LEARN about what the impact of war is, in the hopes to avoid the same in the future.
I highly recommend this book.
Although the beginning of the book dragged a little bit, the pace picked up speed when America starting bombing the Japanese. The description of the animals and people, especially children, being burned to death was so heart wrenching that I nearly broke down in tears several times. I would even go so far as to provide a trigger warning here, as at times it was really hard to listen to. People being burned alive, boiling to death in super heated rivers, or drowning to death while trying to escape the flames. Yikes. It is the stuff of nightmares -- and this really happened.
If this were fiction, it would be classified as a horror novel.
It is unfathomable to me that after seeing all this death and destruction, humans CONTINUE to do engage in war, death, destruction -- right now we are amidst a war that is decimating an entire people and culture. WHY DO WE NEVER LEARN???
The book is immensely well researched and well written and is regarding a subject that I had not known about previously. Yes, everyone has (surely) learned about the atomic bomb in school, but I do not remember ever learning about prior incendiary attacks on Tokyo.
My emotions on the subject are so torn. On the one hand it is shameful that America was responsible for such atrocities. On the other hand, the Japanese were not saints, and they were also guilty of their own atrocities for which they should feel equally ashamed. That is not to say that anyone "deserved" it -- especially not the innocent children and babies who were killed in the air raids. I hugged my daughter a little tighter after hearing some scenes.
I think war is ugly and stupid and that there must be better ways to resolve conflict. It is for this reason that books like this are important to make people SEE / HEAR / LEARN about what the impact of war is, in the hopes to avoid the same in the future.
I highly recommend this book.
October 29, 2022
Comprehensive narrative covering a very dark period of American history. James Scott brings the history to life, holding nothing back in the sense of graphic or grit. I could feel the heat, I could see the devastation, and I wanted to look away. It is quite clear that this book is research driven, and that thousands of hours were spent perusing archives, diaries, journals, and conducting interviews with participants and survivors.
I am hoping this one makes the Pulitzer.
I am hoping this one makes the Pulitzer.
September 4, 2022
This was a well-constructed telling of this period of history. The book didn't stay focused on the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In fact, this was a very small portion of the book. It focused more on Curtis LeMay and the firebombing of Tokyo (as mentioned in the title). The author not only told this history, but also weaved in what was going on in Europe and America at this time. The author showed the horrific devastation of the firebombing and the thought processes of the various leaders that led up to their decisions. Sometimes historical books can just tell a straight chronological tale of events, but this one added details from other areas that enriched the story.
Thank you to NetGalley and HighBridge Audio for giving me an ARC audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to NetGalley and HighBridge Audio for giving me an ARC audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
October 14, 2022
Unlike LeMay, I don't think I'll be able to sleep again
March 18, 2024
The author spares no one in this excellent book on the two pivotal events that culminated in the surrender of Japan. From the details of the firebombing of Tokyo to the final bombing of two cities with one bomb for each city, the details are gruesome at times and necessary to understand how terrible war from the air can be, both mentally and physically. For a better understanding of these events, this is a must-read.
August 11, 2023
This was no ordinary mission – and LeMay knew it.
There’s a (very) solid argument that World War II was “good guys” versus “bad guys”, even if you want to put in some awkward caveats about the good guys (horrors of communism, holdovers of imperialism, internment camps etc).
Black Snow challenges the narrative without overthrowing it. It makes you feel uncomfortable about the actions of the US Army Airforce, while keeping an eye on the context, which elevates the book about being a straight retelling of events.
Japan Should Have Surrendered
While Black Snow does devote significant space to the preparatory matters such as leadership and the production of the B-29, I’m not overly interested in that. It’s fine, necessary even, but there’s little additional material from reading the manual Aces Of the Pacific in 1992.
What Black Snow does get across is that from November 1944, at the very latest, Japan was done:
No one was exempt from sacrifice, including the deceased. “One borrows coffins for the dead but cannot buy them,” journalist Kiyoshi Kiyosawa noted in his diary. “They are used any number of times.”
Distinct from “Britain Alone” in 1940, or the privations suffered by the Soviet Union in 1941-42, Japan was unable to protect or properly feed its people, could expect no meaningful help from friendly-aligned parties, nor do anything to remedy its strategic situation. The unrealness of Hirohito, requiring one more victory first to guarantee a better position at the bargaining table is damning.
Black Snow does not specifically say that Japan should have surrendered, but it sets out very well Japan’s inability to meaningfully resist the destruction of its cities and the suffering continued war inflicted on its people. The lack of moral courage of its leaders to accept defeat should feature in any discussion of the Tokyo Fire Bombing and subsequent campaign against Japan’s cities.
Was it a War Crime?
Black Snow shows in detail that the intent of the Tokyo Fire Bombing was to kill vast numbers of people:
Those failings left the winding Sumida River as the largest firebreak in the target area, aided only by a few smaller rivers, canals, and thoroughfares. LeMay countered this by spreading his four primary aiming spots equally across both sides of the Sumida. Residents on the ground would be trapped with nowhere to flee. “No mission in history,” Nutter marveled, “had ever been planned to create such mass devastation.”
You should not, because of one book, make a call whether the Tokyo Fire Bombing or elements of the Allies bombing campaign(s) were war crimes. Black Snow should make you uncomfortable about them though. You should read this and compare the actions with terrorist attacks such as 9/11, particularly the terrorism part. What should draw your attention is not whether the acts are morally equal, rather the ways they could be.
Black Snow does provide comparative actions by the Axis in World War II, as well as Japan’s atrocities, but Black Snow also notes that LeMay thought the Allied leaders would be “tried as war criminals” if they had lost the war over the bombings. The book also that care was taken in how information was provided to the press:
“Editorial comment beginning to wonder about blanket incendiary attacks upon cities therefore urge you continue hard hitting your present line that this destruction is necessary to eliminate Jap home industries and that it is strategic precision bombing,” the March 14 cable warned. “Guard against anyone stating that this is area bombing.”
Again, like Japan’s complicity, Black Snow does not pass any judgement on whether the Tokyo Firebombing was a war crime. It doesn’t have to – it provides plenty of information (both supportive of the case and otherwise) for a reader to consider.
This was murder.
Along with its harrowing recountings of the bombing from Japanese civilians, Black Snow makes itself necessary World War II reading by making you think – just how right were we?
There’s a (very) solid argument that World War II was “good guys” versus “bad guys”, even if you want to put in some awkward caveats about the good guys (horrors of communism, holdovers of imperialism, internment camps etc).
Black Snow challenges the narrative without overthrowing it. It makes you feel uncomfortable about the actions of the US Army Airforce, while keeping an eye on the context, which elevates the book about being a straight retelling of events.
Japan Should Have Surrendered
While Black Snow does devote significant space to the preparatory matters such as leadership and the production of the B-29, I’m not overly interested in that. It’s fine, necessary even, but there’s little additional material from reading the manual Aces Of the Pacific in 1992.
What Black Snow does get across is that from November 1944, at the very latest, Japan was done:
No one was exempt from sacrifice, including the deceased. “One borrows coffins for the dead but cannot buy them,” journalist Kiyoshi Kiyosawa noted in his diary. “They are used any number of times.”
Distinct from “Britain Alone” in 1940, or the privations suffered by the Soviet Union in 1941-42, Japan was unable to protect or properly feed its people, could expect no meaningful help from friendly-aligned parties, nor do anything to remedy its strategic situation. The unrealness of Hirohito, requiring one more victory first to guarantee a better position at the bargaining table is damning.
Black Snow does not specifically say that Japan should have surrendered, but it sets out very well Japan’s inability to meaningfully resist the destruction of its cities and the suffering continued war inflicted on its people. The lack of moral courage of its leaders to accept defeat should feature in any discussion of the Tokyo Fire Bombing and subsequent campaign against Japan’s cities.
Was it a War Crime?
Black Snow shows in detail that the intent of the Tokyo Fire Bombing was to kill vast numbers of people:
Those failings left the winding Sumida River as the largest firebreak in the target area, aided only by a few smaller rivers, canals, and thoroughfares. LeMay countered this by spreading his four primary aiming spots equally across both sides of the Sumida. Residents on the ground would be trapped with nowhere to flee. “No mission in history,” Nutter marveled, “had ever been planned to create such mass devastation.”
You should not, because of one book, make a call whether the Tokyo Fire Bombing or elements of the Allies bombing campaign(s) were war crimes. Black Snow should make you uncomfortable about them though. You should read this and compare the actions with terrorist attacks such as 9/11, particularly the terrorism part. What should draw your attention is not whether the acts are morally equal, rather the ways they could be.
Black Snow does provide comparative actions by the Axis in World War II, as well as Japan’s atrocities, but Black Snow also notes that LeMay thought the Allied leaders would be “tried as war criminals” if they had lost the war over the bombings. The book also that care was taken in how information was provided to the press:
“Editorial comment beginning to wonder about blanket incendiary attacks upon cities therefore urge you continue hard hitting your present line that this destruction is necessary to eliminate Jap home industries and that it is strategic precision bombing,” the March 14 cable warned. “Guard against anyone stating that this is area bombing.”
Again, like Japan’s complicity, Black Snow does not pass any judgement on whether the Tokyo Firebombing was a war crime. It doesn’t have to – it provides plenty of information (both supportive of the case and otherwise) for a reader to consider.
This was murder.
Along with its harrowing recountings of the bombing from Japanese civilians, Black Snow makes itself necessary World War II reading by making you think – just how right were we?
October 27, 2022
There is a unique and deeply affecting permanent exhibit on the Battle of Gallipoli at the Museum of New Zealand in Wellington. One part of that exhibit is an interactive kiosk. Visitors can choose an individual who was killed in the battle, view their personal history, and then learn the cause of death of each soldier—the exact physical effects of the terrible weapons of the First World War on a fragile human body. The kiosk is not in the least sensationalist. Instead, it generates compassion and engagement. My wife and I could hardly pull ourselves away even though the rest of the exhibit beckoned.
I thought of that exhibit more than once while reading James M. Scott’s extraordinary new book, Black Snow: Curtis LeMay, the Firebombing of Tokyo, and the Road to the Atomic Bomb, from which I also found it very hard to pull away. In Black Snow, Scott chronicles the lives of ordinary civilians in wartime Japan, who by late 1944 were always hungry, often cold, and mostly alienated from the adventurist war their leaders have inflicted on them. But their afflictions, of course, had just begun, and Scott describes in empathetic detail the effects on these civilians and their built environments of the vicious weapons—napalm, high explosives, and radioactivity--employed intentionally against them in the American effort to force the surrender of Japan.
As the subtitle signals, Black Snow interweaves three stories. It is the story of Curtis LeMay, a child of poverty and neglect who became a bold and brilliant air commander but remained an outsider and loner throughout his military career. LeMay planned and implemented the firebombing campaign—the most destructive in the history of warfare--entirely on his own, without the input, or even the express permission, of his superiors. To his last day he insisted that the 159-day campaign, which killed more than 100,000 Japanese men, women, and children in a single night, was “not conceived as a terror [campaign] against the civilian population of Japan.”
Terror, however, was what LeMay’s B-29 Superfortress bombers sowed in every major city in Japan, as well as several minor ones. As he did in his previous book on the Battle of Manila, Rampage, Scott treats the horrible toll of total war on helpless civilians with great humanity by never losing the perspective of ordinary individuals caught in the cataclysm, suffering, surviving, grieving, and overcoming.
Black Snow is also a complex morality tale about how a nation which entered World War II declaring that the intentional bombing of civilians was “abhorrent to our humanity”, ended the war by dropping an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. By the time that bomb appears at the end of the book, Scott has prepared us to view the nuclear attack on Hiroshima –undeniably a watershed event in the history of humanity—in the context of the previous 159 days. For Japan, a nation utterly devastated by LeMay’s firebombing campaign, Hiroshima was one more destroyed city. If was not the fact of its destruction, but the ease with which it occurred (with only a single bomb rather than thousands) that prompted the already-defeated Japanese Empire to capitulate at last.
James Scott tells a larger-than-life story of total war with remarkable intimacy. Black Snow is a must-read book for anyone interested in knowing more about how the Pacific War was won and how the two nations who fought it were profoundly transformed in the process.
I thought of that exhibit more than once while reading James M. Scott’s extraordinary new book, Black Snow: Curtis LeMay, the Firebombing of Tokyo, and the Road to the Atomic Bomb, from which I also found it very hard to pull away. In Black Snow, Scott chronicles the lives of ordinary civilians in wartime Japan, who by late 1944 were always hungry, often cold, and mostly alienated from the adventurist war their leaders have inflicted on them. But their afflictions, of course, had just begun, and Scott describes in empathetic detail the effects on these civilians and their built environments of the vicious weapons—napalm, high explosives, and radioactivity--employed intentionally against them in the American effort to force the surrender of Japan.
As the subtitle signals, Black Snow interweaves three stories. It is the story of Curtis LeMay, a child of poverty and neglect who became a bold and brilliant air commander but remained an outsider and loner throughout his military career. LeMay planned and implemented the firebombing campaign—the most destructive in the history of warfare--entirely on his own, without the input, or even the express permission, of his superiors. To his last day he insisted that the 159-day campaign, which killed more than 100,000 Japanese men, women, and children in a single night, was “not conceived as a terror [campaign] against the civilian population of Japan.”
Terror, however, was what LeMay’s B-29 Superfortress bombers sowed in every major city in Japan, as well as several minor ones. As he did in his previous book on the Battle of Manila, Rampage, Scott treats the horrible toll of total war on helpless civilians with great humanity by never losing the perspective of ordinary individuals caught in the cataclysm, suffering, surviving, grieving, and overcoming.
Black Snow is also a complex morality tale about how a nation which entered World War II declaring that the intentional bombing of civilians was “abhorrent to our humanity”, ended the war by dropping an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. By the time that bomb appears at the end of the book, Scott has prepared us to view the nuclear attack on Hiroshima –undeniably a watershed event in the history of humanity—in the context of the previous 159 days. For Japan, a nation utterly devastated by LeMay’s firebombing campaign, Hiroshima was one more destroyed city. If was not the fact of its destruction, but the ease with which it occurred (with only a single bomb rather than thousands) that prompted the already-defeated Japanese Empire to capitulate at last.
James Scott tells a larger-than-life story of total war with remarkable intimacy. Black Snow is a must-read book for anyone interested in knowing more about how the Pacific War was won and how the two nations who fought it were profoundly transformed in the process.
September 20, 2022
“Black Snow” details the development of the B-29 bomber and its deployment against Japan in World War II. At its core, the book deals with the ensuing strategies from strategic bombing to the large scale firebombing of major Japanese cities. To his credit, the author James Scott details the frustrating efforts to develop both an effective weapon as well as successful military tactics to defeat Japan. The development and manufacturing off the B-29 was viewed as “the perfect weapon to bring the war home to the Japanese people.”
The book centers on the careers of three individuals, Hap Arnold, the father of the B-29 as well as the early advocate of an independent Air Force branch; Haywood Hansell, the military leader of the early efforts to deploy the B-29 against Japan; and lastly, Curtis LeMay, the dominant figure in the air war against Japan.
Scott portrays the Japanese citizen as constantly being buffeted from war with increasing privations in daily life as well as the daily fears of American bombing. On the other hand, the Japanese record of wartime atrocities, led the American public to view the Japanese as “barbaric”. Therefore, bringing the war home to the enemy was justified in the minds of the American public.
The central figure of Curtis LeMay emerges as an individual who rose from poverty to becoming a leader in the military who personally flew on missions to evaluate for himself the outcomes of strategic bombing as well as its effects on men and material. It is LeMay whose knowledge of the effects of incendiary bombing against German cities, would now propose the same tactics against Japan. The utilization of home industries in Japanese cities validated for LeMay the use of incendiary bombing.
Scott’s portrayal of the March 1945 bombing of Tokyo is quite horrifying with his effective use of oral histories and the author’s interviews from later survivors. The casualty figures of over a hundred thousand killed for the March 9-10 Tokyo bombing would exceed the atomic bombing of Nagasaki. LeMay’s positive evaluation of incendiary bombing led to its further deployment against more and more Japanese cities. Ultimately, by June, 1945 the Japanese emperor asked of his wartime council for ways to end the war. But it would be 159 days from the March Tokyo bombing to Emperor Hirohito’s order to surrender in August 1945.
Scott is able to demonstrate the seamless way the United States had moved to the combination of the B-29 and atomic weaponry in order to end the war. The moral question of bombing civilians had been answered in the affirmative with the incendiary bombing of cities as an approved tactic. Ending the war before an invasion of Japan became the supreme guiding principle for American military leadership. Scott shows that for some military veterans, the use of incendiaries plagued their consciences for years afterwards.
Scott’s volume is disturbing reading. Few Americans at the time questioned the morality of wide scale bombing against Japanese cities. As Scott accounts, one letter to a Connecticut paper asking fellow citizens to temper wartime jubilation considering that it was innocent civilians who were mainly the victims of wartime bombing, was an exception to the American mind set.
James Scott writes well in a good narrative style that moves the reader to understand the development of wartime policy as well as the impact of certain individuals had on such evolving wartime strategies. Scott combines a depth of research and a writing style that makes “Black Snow” an excellent volume that asks troublesome questions of past policy.
The book centers on the careers of three individuals, Hap Arnold, the father of the B-29 as well as the early advocate of an independent Air Force branch; Haywood Hansell, the military leader of the early efforts to deploy the B-29 against Japan; and lastly, Curtis LeMay, the dominant figure in the air war against Japan.
Scott portrays the Japanese citizen as constantly being buffeted from war with increasing privations in daily life as well as the daily fears of American bombing. On the other hand, the Japanese record of wartime atrocities, led the American public to view the Japanese as “barbaric”. Therefore, bringing the war home to the enemy was justified in the minds of the American public.
The central figure of Curtis LeMay emerges as an individual who rose from poverty to becoming a leader in the military who personally flew on missions to evaluate for himself the outcomes of strategic bombing as well as its effects on men and material. It is LeMay whose knowledge of the effects of incendiary bombing against German cities, would now propose the same tactics against Japan. The utilization of home industries in Japanese cities validated for LeMay the use of incendiary bombing.
Scott’s portrayal of the March 1945 bombing of Tokyo is quite horrifying with his effective use of oral histories and the author’s interviews from later survivors. The casualty figures of over a hundred thousand killed for the March 9-10 Tokyo bombing would exceed the atomic bombing of Nagasaki. LeMay’s positive evaluation of incendiary bombing led to its further deployment against more and more Japanese cities. Ultimately, by June, 1945 the Japanese emperor asked of his wartime council for ways to end the war. But it would be 159 days from the March Tokyo bombing to Emperor Hirohito’s order to surrender in August 1945.
Scott is able to demonstrate the seamless way the United States had moved to the combination of the B-29 and atomic weaponry in order to end the war. The moral question of bombing civilians had been answered in the affirmative with the incendiary bombing of cities as an approved tactic. Ending the war before an invasion of Japan became the supreme guiding principle for American military leadership. Scott shows that for some military veterans, the use of incendiaries plagued their consciences for years afterwards.
Scott’s volume is disturbing reading. Few Americans at the time questioned the morality of wide scale bombing against Japanese cities. As Scott accounts, one letter to a Connecticut paper asking fellow citizens to temper wartime jubilation considering that it was innocent civilians who were mainly the victims of wartime bombing, was an exception to the American mind set.
James Scott writes well in a good narrative style that moves the reader to understand the development of wartime policy as well as the impact of certain individuals had on such evolving wartime strategies. Scott combines a depth of research and a writing style that makes “Black Snow” an excellent volume that asks troublesome questions of past policy.
November 18, 2022
This is a well-told story about a controversial military campaign in the waning days of WW II. From the perspective of the 21st century, the decison to firebomb Japanese cities starting in Spring, 1945 could be considered one of the most shameful episodes in American military strategy. Hap Arnold even commented that American decision-makers would be considered war criminals if the campaign failed and the US lost the war.
American military leaders justfied the decision based on the estimates that the US could lose hundreds of thousands of lives if required to invade the Japanese home islands. This campaign was designed to "soften up" the country and reduce public support in Japan, already waning by this narrative, for continuation of the war. The civilan lives lost were collateral damage in the larger campaign to save American lives from any planned invasion.
The logistics of incorporating a new weapon, the B-29 bomber, flying thousands of miles in thousands of sorties to bomb the home islands was incredible in its design and execution. The men who planned the campaign achieved astoundingly successful results despite the obstacles they had to overcome to do so.
This book focuses primarily on General Curtis LeMay, put in charge of the campaign to bomb Japan. It was his idea to initiate and sustain night-time, low-altitude incendiary bombing on civilian targets, given the middling success of high-altitude "strategic" bombing of military targets by his predecessor. LeMay's plan succeeded wildly.
For those my age, we remember LeMay as George Wallace's crackpot running mate in the 1968 presidential election, and for his comments about bombing the Vietnamese "back into the stone age." This book shows that before that, he was a successful bomber pilot, stratgeist, commander and logistical wizard.
The grusome results of the firebombing exceeded in some instances the death and destruction of the two atomic bomb blasts in August, 1045. The initial raid on Tokyo is believed to have take more Japanese lives than either of the atomic explosions.
After these harrowing raids, the idea of using the A bomb doesn't seem so horrible in contrast. Seventy-seven years later, both decisions are likely ones we'd find abhorrent today, regardless of the rationale given for their use.
War is indeed hell and this story is a prime example of that writ large in the 1940s. Scott has written a thoroughly-researched, objective, and page-turning recounting of this horrible chapter of WW II history. The horror and atrocity of the tale he tells in no way detract from this well-written book.
Strongly recommend for anybody with interest in WW II history, specifically the final year of the Pacific campaign to induce the Japanese surrender.
American military leaders justfied the decision based on the estimates that the US could lose hundreds of thousands of lives if required to invade the Japanese home islands. This campaign was designed to "soften up" the country and reduce public support in Japan, already waning by this narrative, for continuation of the war. The civilan lives lost were collateral damage in the larger campaign to save American lives from any planned invasion.
The logistics of incorporating a new weapon, the B-29 bomber, flying thousands of miles in thousands of sorties to bomb the home islands was incredible in its design and execution. The men who planned the campaign achieved astoundingly successful results despite the obstacles they had to overcome to do so.
This book focuses primarily on General Curtis LeMay, put in charge of the campaign to bomb Japan. It was his idea to initiate and sustain night-time, low-altitude incendiary bombing on civilian targets, given the middling success of high-altitude "strategic" bombing of military targets by his predecessor. LeMay's plan succeeded wildly.
For those my age, we remember LeMay as George Wallace's crackpot running mate in the 1968 presidential election, and for his comments about bombing the Vietnamese "back into the stone age." This book shows that before that, he was a successful bomber pilot, stratgeist, commander and logistical wizard.
The grusome results of the firebombing exceeded in some instances the death and destruction of the two atomic bomb blasts in August, 1045. The initial raid on Tokyo is believed to have take more Japanese lives than either of the atomic explosions.
After these harrowing raids, the idea of using the A bomb doesn't seem so horrible in contrast. Seventy-seven years later, both decisions are likely ones we'd find abhorrent today, regardless of the rationale given for their use.
War is indeed hell and this story is a prime example of that writ large in the 1940s. Scott has written a thoroughly-researched, objective, and page-turning recounting of this horrible chapter of WW II history. The horror and atrocity of the tale he tells in no way detract from this well-written book.
Strongly recommend for anybody with interest in WW II history, specifically the final year of the Pacific campaign to induce the Japanese surrender.
January 5, 2023
After extensive reading about WWII over many years, I still find books which significantly add to my understanding of the big picture; this was one of them. I knew, of course, of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and that more Japanese were killed by firebombing than the nuclear weapons, but I did not have a feeling for the extent and duration of the firebombing. Some thoughts:
1. If one viewed the U.S. attacks on Japan's homeland in isolation, war crimes would understandably come to mind. It would be hard to read the descriptions of the devastation and suffering. However, these events did not take place in isolation. Knowledge of the Japanese actions in the preceding years throughout the region and continuing in the Pacific contemporaneously with the U.S. firebombing eliminate any thoughts of moral equivalency between the U.S. and Japanese actions.
2. This story reemphasizes in my mind the extreme importance of freedom of thought, speech, and press. In both Japan and Europe, you can blame evil leaders and organizations for taking their countries into wars of aggression. However, in both cases the wars were popular until they were not. In both cases, it was clear early on that the war could not be won. Totalitarianism and suppression of freedom of expression were critical to both the initiation of the wars and the continuation of them.
3. We are slowly giving up our freedoms in the U.S. Our government is corrupt, incompetent, far too large and bloated, and constantly lying to us. The thought that our political parties have combed through all the possibilities and chosen Biden and Trump as the best individuals to lead us is pretty depressing. It makes it harder to criticize Germany for supporting Hitler or Japan for supporting their warlord class.
4. We would love to live in a world without war, but one side cannot achieve lasting peace by disarming and assuming the other side will behave the same way. Perhaps the Startrek model of a powerful enforcer of peace is as realistic as it gets.
1. If one viewed the U.S. attacks on Japan's homeland in isolation, war crimes would understandably come to mind. It would be hard to read the descriptions of the devastation and suffering. However, these events did not take place in isolation. Knowledge of the Japanese actions in the preceding years throughout the region and continuing in the Pacific contemporaneously with the U.S. firebombing eliminate any thoughts of moral equivalency between the U.S. and Japanese actions.
2. This story reemphasizes in my mind the extreme importance of freedom of thought, speech, and press. In both Japan and Europe, you can blame evil leaders and organizations for taking their countries into wars of aggression. However, in both cases the wars were popular until they were not. In both cases, it was clear early on that the war could not be won. Totalitarianism and suppression of freedom of expression were critical to both the initiation of the wars and the continuation of them.
3. We are slowly giving up our freedoms in the U.S. Our government is corrupt, incompetent, far too large and bloated, and constantly lying to us. The thought that our political parties have combed through all the possibilities and chosen Biden and Trump as the best individuals to lead us is pretty depressing. It makes it harder to criticize Germany for supporting Hitler or Japan for supporting their warlord class.
4. We would love to live in a world without war, but one side cannot achieve lasting peace by disarming and assuming the other side will behave the same way. Perhaps the Startrek model of a powerful enforcer of peace is as realistic as it gets.
July 26, 2024
Excellent history of the bombing campaign against Japan in WWII. There's plenty of technical data, mostly concerning the development of the B-29; the commanders are also featured, especially General LeMay.
The author doesn't neglect the emotional and moral aspects of the bombing, which killed about half a million Japanese civilians. Strangely, LeMay comes off as pragmatic rather than merely ruthless. LeMay was given the B-29 as a tool, which he applied to a specific job--destroying Japanese cities.
The imprecise technology of the time made the concept of strategic bombing either terrible or useless; burning and blowing people up, or sometimes missing a target altogether. It's obvious that daylight attacks on purely military targets were not working. What was the use of a gigantic bomber force if it couldn't have a decisive effect in the war?
Comparisons with Japanese Army atrocities, mostly in China, are relevant, if only to illustrate the purely pointless cruelty of, for example, the Rape of Nanking. The author points out that no one on either side would say that the bombing of Japanese cities wasn't awful.
The final part of the book covers the Hiroshima and Nagasaki A-Bomb attacks. After so many casualties from the incendiary attacks all over Japanese cities in 1945, the nuclear blasts almost seem inevitable. Fortunately, the Emperor was wise enough to give in at that point, and the bureaucracy and Army was loyal enough to follow his decision to surrender.
This is a complex topic of geography, weaponry, leadership, and decision-making that's covered with a remarkably smooth and concise narrative.
Highly recommended for those interested in WWII history
The author doesn't neglect the emotional and moral aspects of the bombing, which killed about half a million Japanese civilians. Strangely, LeMay comes off as pragmatic rather than merely ruthless. LeMay was given the B-29 as a tool, which he applied to a specific job--destroying Japanese cities.
The imprecise technology of the time made the concept of strategic bombing either terrible or useless; burning and blowing people up, or sometimes missing a target altogether. It's obvious that daylight attacks on purely military targets were not working. What was the use of a gigantic bomber force if it couldn't have a decisive effect in the war?
Comparisons with Japanese Army atrocities, mostly in China, are relevant, if only to illustrate the purely pointless cruelty of, for example, the Rape of Nanking. The author points out that no one on either side would say that the bombing of Japanese cities wasn't awful.
The final part of the book covers the Hiroshima and Nagasaki A-Bomb attacks. After so many casualties from the incendiary attacks all over Japanese cities in 1945, the nuclear blasts almost seem inevitable. Fortunately, the Emperor was wise enough to give in at that point, and the bureaucracy and Army was loyal enough to follow his decision to surrender.
This is a complex topic of geography, weaponry, leadership, and decision-making that's covered with a remarkably smooth and concise narrative.
Highly recommended for those interested in WWII history
March 22, 2023
(Audiobook) A good overview of one the more effective and controversial aspects of aerial warfare: The firebombing of Japan by the US in the last year of the war. In 1944, the US finally reclaimed enough land in the Pacific to launch bombers, mainly the B-29s, against Japan. The development of the B-29 was not the easiest of machines to build or produce, but the US did. General "Hap" Arnold drove much of the effort to get the bombers out there, all in an effort to show that the Air Force needed to be a separate branch.
Yet, once they got to the Pacific, the bombers were not effective, as they tried the tactics from Europe in the Pacific, to little effect. Enter LeMay. A tough airman who took over the forces slated to bomb Japan. Thus, he altered the training, the employment of the bombers and in some cases, the makeup of the bomber itself. The firebombing of the cities in Japan were evidence enough of the devastation of those actions. It raised questions about morality and ethics, but to win a war, the US was willing to forego those questions.
This work is generally positive on LeMay, and as an air leader, that is understandable. The author does a good job of incorporating the Japanese perspectives along with the American side. He is of the opinion that the firebombing probably could have done what the atomic bomb eventually did. Maybe a bit too optimistic about the firebombing, but not by much. It is a key part of military and air power history. Worth the read for that aspect.
Yet, once they got to the Pacific, the bombers were not effective, as they tried the tactics from Europe in the Pacific, to little effect. Enter LeMay. A tough airman who took over the forces slated to bomb Japan. Thus, he altered the training, the employment of the bombers and in some cases, the makeup of the bomber itself. The firebombing of the cities in Japan were evidence enough of the devastation of those actions. It raised questions about morality and ethics, but to win a war, the US was willing to forego those questions.
This work is generally positive on LeMay, and as an air leader, that is understandable. The author does a good job of incorporating the Japanese perspectives along with the American side. He is of the opinion that the firebombing probably could have done what the atomic bomb eventually did. Maybe a bit too optimistic about the firebombing, but not by much. It is a key part of military and air power history. Worth the read for that aspect.
August 31, 2023
A difficult history to read. Lost to our history is the firebomb destruction of 66 cities in Japan. In one night bombing of Tokyo 110,000 people were killed. We focus on Hiroshima and Nagasaki because atomic bombs were used. But the night bombings using incendiaries killed many more and destroyed more than the two atomic bombs. At the time people justified the bombings because of the brutality of the Japanese towards prisoners and that the Japanese army had killed an estimates 500,000 - 600,000 Chinese and committed many atrocities through out Asia and never apologized or publicly regretted these atrocities. After all of the destruction of their cities (people and buildings) by these bombings, the breakdown of their economy because of submarine warfare, they refused to surrender unconditionally. In fact the emperor never said the word surrender in his 625 word recording.
"The enemy has begun to employ a new and most cruel bomb, the power of which to do damage is, indeed, incalculable, taking the toll of many innocent lives....Should we continue to fight, not only would it result in an ultimate collapse and obliteration of the Japanese nation, but also it would lead to the total extinction of human civilization." It strikes me as no remorse for what the Japanese armed forces had done. Having said that and considering the effect of the incendiary bombing and submarine warfare I'm not sure the atomic bomb was needed. Both hastened the end of the war and certainly saved many allied soldiers' and sailors' lives if an invasion had happened.
"The enemy has begun to employ a new and most cruel bomb, the power of which to do damage is, indeed, incalculable, taking the toll of many innocent lives....Should we continue to fight, not only would it result in an ultimate collapse and obliteration of the Japanese nation, but also it would lead to the total extinction of human civilization." It strikes me as no remorse for what the Japanese armed forces had done. Having said that and considering the effect of the incendiary bombing and submarine warfare I'm not sure the atomic bomb was needed. Both hastened the end of the war and certainly saved many allied soldiers' and sailors' lives if an invasion had happened.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 18, 2022
On its face, James Scott’s “Black Snow: Curtis LeMay, the Firebombing of Tokyo, and the Road to the Atomic Bomb” is a book about events… However, at its essence, it’s more a book about a simple-yet-fraught moral question: In war, is the deliberate killing of civilians ever justified?
In “Black Snow” we get many different actors who have many different answers to that question. Among the countries in the war, I sussed about four variations (you can probably guess which countries):
1) It’s never justified.
2) It’s always justified, i.e., a logical measure when moving against an enemy, even preemptively.
3) It’s justified in self-defense, i.e., if our enemy has done it to us first, we have the right to retaliate in kind.
4) It’s not justified, and should be avoided whenever possible... unless it puts the enemy on its heels and a subsequent action—one that would bring more death to both sides—can be averted. In other words, it’s justified if we decide it’s justified.
Following his previous works—“Target Tokyo” and “Rampage”—Scott delivers another excellent World War II book using the same formula: a relatively short (for war nonfiction) read about a major WWII event that emphasizes human experiences and, occasionally, gory details.
NOTE: “Black Snow” would make an good double-read with a 2020 book about the second most famous firebombing of the war, Sinclair McKay’s “The Fire and the Darkness: The Bombing of Dresden, 1945.”
In “Black Snow” we get many different actors who have many different answers to that question. Among the countries in the war, I sussed about four variations (you can probably guess which countries):
1) It’s never justified.
2) It’s always justified, i.e., a logical measure when moving against an enemy, even preemptively.
3) It’s justified in self-defense, i.e., if our enemy has done it to us first, we have the right to retaliate in kind.
4) It’s not justified, and should be avoided whenever possible... unless it puts the enemy on its heels and a subsequent action—one that would bring more death to both sides—can be averted. In other words, it’s justified if we decide it’s justified.
Following his previous works—“Target Tokyo” and “Rampage”—Scott delivers another excellent World War II book using the same formula: a relatively short (for war nonfiction) read about a major WWII event that emphasizes human experiences and, occasionally, gory details.
NOTE: “Black Snow” would make an good double-read with a 2020 book about the second most famous firebombing of the war, Sinclair McKay’s “The Fire and the Darkness: The Bombing of Dresden, 1945.”
April 24, 2023
a tough subject to read about, but I thought it was a great historical account. I'll check out more by James M. Scott.
The pain of failure (Hap Arnold), haunted him for four years until he finally summoned the courage to climb back into a cockpit. "When I'm going to die," he finally realized, "I'm going to die." (14)
"We charted each airplane," Irvine said. "Everything that happened to that airplane around a 24-hour clock went on the chart." (26)
"I would concentrate on the scotch in front of me. That scotch was my instrument panel through those nighttime navigations." (43)
"The best chance of creating social chaos and administrative failure," one report stated, "lies in a concentration of attacks against all targets in the shortest possible period." (83)
A pragmatists, LeMay valued hard work over intellect. "If a man is really motivated and he really wants to get something done, he'll get it done..." (108)
"I can forgive a mistake - once anyway," LeMay often told his men. "But God help you if you ever lie to me." (110)
"If we lose," LeMay confided to an aide, "we'll be tried as war criminals." (170)
Ishikawa grabbed his Leica loaded with Kodak film... (212)
The dead not only littered the ground but also clogged rivers and canals. (240)
He rolled her over to discover a deceased infant she had placed in a hole beneath her. (241)
"Come," she said, "be born in a peaceful period next time." (241)
The pain of failure (Hap Arnold), haunted him for four years until he finally summoned the courage to climb back into a cockpit. "When I'm going to die," he finally realized, "I'm going to die." (14)
"We charted each airplane," Irvine said. "Everything that happened to that airplane around a 24-hour clock went on the chart." (26)
"I would concentrate on the scotch in front of me. That scotch was my instrument panel through those nighttime navigations." (43)
"The best chance of creating social chaos and administrative failure," one report stated, "lies in a concentration of attacks against all targets in the shortest possible period." (83)
A pragmatists, LeMay valued hard work over intellect. "If a man is really motivated and he really wants to get something done, he'll get it done..." (108)
"I can forgive a mistake - once anyway," LeMay often told his men. "But God help you if you ever lie to me." (110)
"If we lose," LeMay confided to an aide, "we'll be tried as war criminals." (170)
Ishikawa grabbed his Leica loaded with Kodak film... (212)
The dead not only littered the ground but also clogged rivers and canals. (240)
He rolled her over to discover a deceased infant she had placed in a hole beneath her. (241)
"Come," she said, "be born in a peaceful period next time." (241)
September 26, 2022
This was a great read. I really learnt so much from reading this book. It was a well wrote history book following the lead up to and during the 10th of March 1945 attack on Japan. It was a fascinating account of this event in history that used lost of different accounts to tell. It was a very shocking read. It definitely opened my eyes to the horror of war. Also how bad these events effected the people living there. I listened to the audiobook and liked the narrator his voice was perfect to the book genre. This book is rated at 3.5 rounded up as it is better than a average rating. This book seemed a little long winded although it did use plenty of sources to tell the story. I think it would of been better if it was more concise and to the point. The books main focus is surrounded fire bombing residential areas of Tokyo which to me was more horrific than the dropping of the atomic bomb. It might seem hard but at least it would of been fast death with that atomic bomb rather than fire. I'm just thankful all this is in the past and not today. I do recommend reading this as it's very eye opening.
Many thanks to the author and publishers for bringing us this history book so people know just how bad war was.
Many thanks to the author and publishers for bringing us this history book so people know just how bad war was.
April 21, 2024
This is a Kindle version of the book I received through the Goodreads Giveaways; Thank you.
I'm asked what I think thus far. I can easily say I have thoroughly enjoyed this reading by James Scott. Well written and documented. For me, this has been the most detailed account I have read regarding Curtis LeMay and his actions during the Pacific encounter. I'm a bit over halfway through, so I cannot give a full review. I can say though, I feel this will easily rate at least 4 stars on my review profile.
Follow up. Easy 4 star book. Probably a five in many readers eyes. I may be comparing it unfairly to other books I have read. For my, I learn a lot about this general. I had heard of the name, of course, throughout other WII readings, but this was the most focused reading on LeMay I have had the opportunity to read due to the giveaway, otherwise, it would have rested in my "books to read" list for a while. I'm glad I had the opportunity. Scott's writing held my interest throughout the book, making me want to continue reading at times when I had to set it down. There were many area's of tragedy and it shook me a bit due the bombing of "innocents" that are as always caught up in the politics of the leaders whom bring these decisions on. We have seen it throughout history.
I respected Lemay's tough decision making and how he fearlessly proceeded forward, gambling his career, on his decisions, and the sacrifice's that needed to be made, to bring an end to this horrific war. His decisions, quick response and constant pressure, a period of approximately 8-9 months, successfully contributed to bringing the Pacific war to an end. You will find some area's difficult to read, but unfortunately, it's all a part of war. Something the majority of us do not want.
I'm asked what I think thus far. I can easily say I have thoroughly enjoyed this reading by James Scott. Well written and documented. For me, this has been the most detailed account I have read regarding Curtis LeMay and his actions during the Pacific encounter. I'm a bit over halfway through, so I cannot give a full review. I can say though, I feel this will easily rate at least 4 stars on my review profile.
Follow up. Easy 4 star book. Probably a five in many readers eyes. I may be comparing it unfairly to other books I have read. For my, I learn a lot about this general. I had heard of the name, of course, throughout other WII readings, but this was the most focused reading on LeMay I have had the opportunity to read due to the giveaway, otherwise, it would have rested in my "books to read" list for a while. I'm glad I had the opportunity. Scott's writing held my interest throughout the book, making me want to continue reading at times when I had to set it down. There were many area's of tragedy and it shook me a bit due the bombing of "innocents" that are as always caught up in the politics of the leaders whom bring these decisions on. We have seen it throughout history.
I respected Lemay's tough decision making and how he fearlessly proceeded forward, gambling his career, on his decisions, and the sacrifice's that needed to be made, to bring an end to this horrific war. His decisions, quick response and constant pressure, a period of approximately 8-9 months, successfully contributed to bringing the Pacific war to an end. You will find some area's difficult to read, but unfortunately, it's all a part of war. Something the majority of us do not want.
June 27, 2024
As made clear in the title, the focus of this well-written history of the final months of the pacific air campaign against Japan is the firebombing of Tokyo in March, 1945. The description of that event derived from the statements of survivors and from Army Air Force personnel is horrific (one post-bombing analysis concluded that "more persons lost their lives by fire at Tokyo in a six-hour period that at any time in the history of man"). The author provides context and perspective by covering such topics as the development of the B-29 Superfortress, the earlier British firebombing of Hamburg and Dresden, the transition of U.S. policy of high altitude precision bombing to low altitude incendiary bombing (effected essentially solely by LeMay), the pushback and regrets of some as to the incineration of hundreds of square miles of Japanese cities (not just Tokyo) and the lead-up to the dropping of the atomic bomb. The epilogue covers LeMay's subsequent career with both accomplishments and controversy.
October 10, 2022
4.5 stars
A very well written, well researched history, made even better by all the individual stories the author included. These stories, however, are so heartbreaking and it ended up being a very emotional reading experience for me. Whether one considers civilian deaths as collateral damage or the fortunes of war or justified by the evil the afflicted country brought upon itself, it was hard for me to read about the huge numbers of Japanese civilians who died in not just the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but also in the fire bombings of Tokyo, Osaka and so many other cities in Japan. By discussing the personal stories of these Japanese, the author puts a human face upon the horror of war. He, as well, illuminates the stories of the American military members who lost their lives. An excellent history that goes beyond dates and events to bring home to the reader how devastating war is for both the winners and the losers.
A very well written, well researched history, made even better by all the individual stories the author included. These stories, however, are so heartbreaking and it ended up being a very emotional reading experience for me. Whether one considers civilian deaths as collateral damage or the fortunes of war or justified by the evil the afflicted country brought upon itself, it was hard for me to read about the huge numbers of Japanese civilians who died in not just the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but also in the fire bombings of Tokyo, Osaka and so many other cities in Japan. By discussing the personal stories of these Japanese, the author puts a human face upon the horror of war. He, as well, illuminates the stories of the American military members who lost their lives. An excellent history that goes beyond dates and events to bring home to the reader how devastating war is for both the winners and the losers.
February 14, 2023
I knew we bombed Japan.
Most vividly via James Dickey, in his epic poem "The Firebombing" (1964) and his final novel, TO THE WHITE SEA (1993). What both works have in common is a singular POV. You get a sense of the horror, but only as it occurs within the narrators' field of vision. I had no idea the vast scope of it.
BLACK SNOW gives you that. Gives and gives and gives until you too are choking on the stench of burning flesh. LeMay attacked 66 cities, incinerated hundreds of square miles of densely-populated urban centers, killed hundreds of thousands. He wanted to end the war by bombing alone, yet for all his efforts, he failed. Japan refused to surrender. It took two atom bombs to seal the deal.
Which gives me zero hope that the Russian people are going to rise up against Putin. Yeah, losing McDonald's and tech imports sucks, but compared to Japan in mid-1945, Russia is a Shangri-La.
Most vividly via James Dickey, in his epic poem "The Firebombing" (1964) and his final novel, TO THE WHITE SEA (1993). What both works have in common is a singular POV. You get a sense of the horror, but only as it occurs within the narrators' field of vision. I had no idea the vast scope of it.
BLACK SNOW gives you that. Gives and gives and gives until you too are choking on the stench of burning flesh. LeMay attacked 66 cities, incinerated hundreds of square miles of densely-populated urban centers, killed hundreds of thousands. He wanted to end the war by bombing alone, yet for all his efforts, he failed. Japan refused to surrender. It took two atom bombs to seal the deal.
Which gives me zero hope that the Russian people are going to rise up against Putin. Yeah, losing McDonald's and tech imports sucks, but compared to Japan in mid-1945, Russia is a Shangri-La.
January 21, 2024
Great book providing a history and a background on American strategy to conquer Japan. I stumbled upon this book as a follow-up to the Godzilla movie. The movie shows Japan/Tokyo after the bombings and this book explains why it is important period in Japan history.
Interesting story of leadership, strategy that is used to to achieve goals and how cruel the war might be.
Black Snow is a backstory that explains how the United States used its air-force and strategy of fire bombing to force Japan to surrender and how this strategy led to the drop of atomic bomb.
I found a bit of this story already familiar as I read "The Bomber Mafia" - a book, that explains how the air force strategy towards using bombardments from the air developed and how thinking of small group of people shaped the US approach to it during the WWII.
Important piece of WWII history I didn't knew before.
Interesting story of leadership, strategy that is used to to achieve goals and how cruel the war might be.
Black Snow is a backstory that explains how the United States used its air-force and strategy of fire bombing to force Japan to surrender and how this strategy led to the drop of atomic bomb.
I found a bit of this story already familiar as I read "The Bomber Mafia" - a book, that explains how the air force strategy towards using bombardments from the air developed and how thinking of small group of people shaped the US approach to it during the WWII.
Important piece of WWII history I didn't knew before.
February 26, 2024
I discovered James M. Scott's writing almost by accident. I read that he was collaborating with Jack Carr on Beirut Barracks Bombing Research. I didn't know that James lived a town over from me until I attended a book signing on Veterans Day for Black Snow. This book has special meaning for me because I was stationed in Yokosuka while in the Navy. I visited some of the places firebombed. I also served during OIF. Scott does a good job of highlighting the Psyche of war. Are there good guys and bad guys? What about civilians? Where do they fall into the category? Scott also discusses in detail General Curtis LeMay's aerial combat strategies over Japan during WWII. I came out with a different understanding upon completing the book as to the human toll of destruction war takes on each side. Having served during wartime myself, I try not to think about things like this but still do from time to time. I enjoyed Black Snow so much that I checked out Rampage from the local library. I'm a fan!
December 13, 2022
A fairly slow first half and a perfunctory ending, with about 40 pages of hell in between. It's one thing to see aerial photos of the destruction wrought by firebombing a population center, read a chart of acreage burned and buildings destroyed; it is something different to put words into the mouths of those who survived, on the ground, as the bombs fell and the fires raged and the people died. Those words are here, more so than in any other book on the topic I have ever read.
Mid-way through so many quotes and recollections, I had to go to author James M. Scott's notes on sources to believe he wasn't doing some cheap Bill O'Reilly inventions of dialogue, feelings, and internal thoughts. Scott professes to have only included what was sourced from diaries, interviews, and historic records, and that verisimilitude is harrowing.
Mid-way through so many quotes and recollections, I had to go to author James M. Scott's notes on sources to believe he wasn't doing some cheap Bill O'Reilly inventions of dialogue, feelings, and internal thoughts. Scott professes to have only included what was sourced from diaries, interviews, and historic records, and that verisimilitude is harrowing.
March 23, 2023
Black Snow was a very good book about Curtis LeMay and the bombing of Japan. I found it very well-balanced and it provided a vivid picture of a part of WW2 that has really been reported on very poorly. Where it comes up short is that it lacks focus and depth. A greater profile of all aspects of the story would have been appreciated. For example, it does a great job of talking about the firebombing of Tokyo and a good job about Hiroshima. (So many books about that and if he went into more detail he would have ruined the book)
I found it came up short in talking about the experiences of the B-29 crews. We saw some stories but the lack of detailed information on how they handled life and focusing on what they went through as people, not just crews, would have made for a stronger book.
Still a good book if you don't know about this part of WW2.
I found it came up short in talking about the experiences of the B-29 crews. We saw some stories but the lack of detailed information on how they handled life and focusing on what they went through as people, not just crews, would have made for a stronger book.
Still a good book if you don't know about this part of WW2.
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