The First Heroes

The Extraordinary Story of the Doolittle Raid

By: Craig Nelson

Narrated by: Raymond Todd

Length: 17 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

Immediately after Japan's December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt sought to restore the honor of the United States with a dramatic act of vengeance: a retaliatory bombing raid on Tokyo itself. In those early days of World War II, America was ill-prepared for any sort of warfare. But FDR was not to be dissuaded, and at his bidding a squadron of scarcely trained army fliers, led by the famous daredevil Jimmy Doolittle, set forth on what everyone regarded as a suicide mission.

The First Heroes is the story of this extraordinary mission, a moment in history that is surprisingly unfamiliar today. To give these heroes their due, Craig Nelson interviewed 20 of the surviving participants and researched more than 40,000 pages of archival documents.

Here is a true account of great personal courage and a powerful reminder that ordinary people, when faced with extraordinary circumstances, can rise to the challenge of history.

©2002 Craig Nelson (P)2003 Blackstone Audiobooks

This Review Needs a Title...So, I

Comprehensive account of the Doolittle raid--well written. Complexity increased because of the number of persons involved. A very good read overall.

What Heroes we used to have!

If you could sum up The First Heroes in three words, what would they be?

The men of this mission were really brave men - I know is sounds stupid, but I cried several times during the reading - these guys gave it all!

What other book might you compare The First Heroes to and why?

None really

Have you listened to any of Raymond Todd’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

We kicked Jap butt

Learning experience

I really enjoyed this book, both for the history as well as for the detailed information on the men from the raid. It made me want to learn more about the Raiders and their association after reading through it. The mispronounciations were bad at times, but the book itself was excellent. Good read, but long.

Great Story Poor Narration. .

I was looking for General Doolittle's book Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo. Apparently it’s out of print. This seemed like the best alternative. The more I listened the more I realized that this narration was one of the worst I had ever heard. Sentences were chopped into pieces, words were repeatedly mispronounced . The narrator actually ruined the authors work. In fact as soon as I write this I’m returning the book.

A Great WWII Read!

Narrarrator kept me engaged on an already interesting topic. I love WWII stories and this book offered a great world overview along with personal stories.

Outstanding

Much respect to these men and all who served.
Well written truly fascinating I could not stop listening

Americas greatest generation

A superior book chronicling the raiders, god bless them and rest in peace to all

Sloppy naval research

I really, really wanted to like this book. I'd just finished Hornfischer's outstanding "Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors" and wanted some more inspirational reading. Unfortunately, the author has no - and I repeat no - required knowledge of the US Navy. There are many, many small, factual errors that are really annoying - referring to the HMS Repulse as a "cruiser", describing the Japanese torpedoes as "two feet long", etc, etc. Anyone with even a basic knowledge of the US Navy in WW2 should have been given an opportunity to preview this book before publication. Additionally, his overuse of military jargon - bombs referred to as "cabbages", torpedoes as "eels" by such a rank amateur was just too much.

The narrator has no idea regarding correct pronunciation of naval terms - (en-sine, indeed.)

I find that when there are so many factual errors in an area that I'm familiar with, I have a tough time accepting the new - often interesting on its face - data that an author brings up. It's too bad that such a terrific topic couldn't have been treated more professionally. I read "Thirty Seconds over Tokyo" as a kid and really was looking for some new information. I blame the editors completely for this second rate attempt.

Poor narrator and religious emphasis

Most of the actual content is very interesting, apart from a few glaring factual errors obvious to anyone with much knowledge of the Pacific Theater of World War Two. The narrator, however, mispronounces so many words that it's very distracting. If you're considering this audiobook because you already have an interest and a little knowledge of the subject, it may drive you up the wall. Additionally, the last few chapters focus heavily on the role Christianity played in some of the POW's lives in captivity. this may be of interest to some, but I found it largely irrelevant and dull. This is one of my few Audible purchases I intend to return - I have no intention of listening to it again.

Stay away from this one

Would you try another book from Craig Nelson and/or Raymond Todd?

Do yourself a favor and stay away from this audio book. The author was clearly out of his league in attempting to write about anything related to aviation, and the narrator makes it even worse. The factual errors and mispronunciations left me laughing and cringing at the same time. The author takes deep excursions into subjects that are so far from the Doolittle Raid, you wonder if you have accidentally downloaded the wrong book. Sorry to be so harsh, but other readers/listeners need to be warned not to waste your money on this one. The books by Carroll V. Glines are the best ever written on the Raid. His work was so valuable, they made him an honorary member of the Raiders. Read his books if you can.