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The Bomber Mafia
- A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War
- Narrated by: Malcolm Gladwell
- Length: 5 hrs and 14 mins
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Publisher's summary
In The Bomber Mafia: A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War, Malcolm Gladwell, author of New York Times best sellers including Talking to Strangers and host of the podcast Revisionist History, uses original interviews, archival footage, and his trademark insight to weave together the stories of a Dutch genius and his homemade computer, a band of brothers in Central Alabama, a British psychopath, and pyromaniacal chemists at Harvard. As listeners hear these stories unfurl, Gladwell examines one of the greatest moral challenges in modern American history.
Most military thinkers in the years leading up to World War II saw the airplane as an afterthought. But a small band of idealistic strategists had a different view. This “Bomber Mafia” asked: What if precision bombing could, just by taking out critical choke points - industrial or transportation hubs - cripple the enemy and make war far less lethal?
In Revisionist History, Gladwell reexamines moments from the past and asks whether we got it right the first time. In The Bomber Mafia, he employs all the production techniques that make Revisionist History so engaging, stepping back from the bombing of Tokyo, the deadliest night of the war, and asking, “Was it worth it?” The attack was the brainchild of General Curtis LeMay, whose brutal pragmatism and scorched-earth tactics in Japan cost thousands of civilian lives but may have spared more by averting a planned US invasion.
Things might have gone differently had LeMay’s predecessor, General Haywood Hansell, remained in charge. As a key member of the Bomber Mafia, Hansell’s theories of precision bombing had been foiled by bad weather and human error. When he and Curtis LeMay squared off for a leadership handover in the jungles of Guam, LeMay emerged victorious, leading to the darkest night of World War II.
The Bomber Mafia is a riveting tale of persistence, innovation, and the incalculable wages of war.
Critic reviews
“The Bomber Mafia is a parable written for the age of technological disruption.” (The Times, London)
"Gladwell is a wonderful storyteller. When he is introducing characters and showing them in conflict, The Bomber Mafia is gripping. I enjoyed this short book thoroughly, and would have been happy if it had been twice as long." (The New York Times)
“An innovative audio book with music, sound effects and archival clips. Gladwell’s easy conversational style works well, and his admiration for the Bomber Mafia shines through.” (The Washington Post)
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- By: Maj. Gen. Charles W. Sweeney, James A. Antonucci - contributor, Marion K. Antonucci - contributor
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
On August 9, 1945, on the tiny island of Tinian in the South Pacific, a 25-year-old American Army Air Corps major named Charles W. Sweeney climbed aboard a B-29 Superfortress in command of his first combat mission, one devised specifically to bring a long and terrible war to a necessary conclusion.... The last military officer to command an atomic mission, Maj. Gen. Charles W. Sweeney has the unique distinction of having been an integral part of both the Hiroshima and the Nagasaki bombing runs.
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A very enjoyable and interesting listen
- By Anonymous User on 09-11-23
By: Maj. Gen. Charles W. Sweeney, and others
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Operation Chastise
- The RAF's Most Brilliant Attack of World War II
- By: Max Hastings
- Narrated by: Max Hastings, Peter Noble
- Length: 11 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The attack on Nazi Germany’s dams on May 17, 1943, was one of the most remarkable feats in military history. The absurdly young men of the Royal Air Force’s 617 Squadron set forth in cold blood and darkness, without benefit of electronic aids, to fly lumbering heavy bombers straight and level towards a target at a height above the water less than the length of a bowling alley. Yet this story has never been told in full. Max Hastings takes us back to the May 1943 raid to reveal how the truth of that night is considerably different from the popularized account most people know.
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Wish He Had Stuck to the Core Story
- By John on 06-22-20
By: Max Hastings
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Enola Gay
- Mission to Hiroshima
- By: Gordon Thomas, Max Morgan-Witts
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 10 hrs
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Painstakingly researched, the story behind the decision to send the Enola Gay to bomb Hiroshima is told through firsthand sources. From diplomatic moves behind the scenes to Japanese actions and the US Army Air Force's call to action, no detail is left untold. Touching on the early days of the Manhattan Project and the first inkling of an atomic bomb, investigative journalist Gordon Thomas and his writing partner Max Morgan-Witts, take WWII enthusiasts through the training of the crew of the Enola Gay and the challenges faced by pilot Paul Tibbets.
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Poor reader
- By Dee on 04-17-22
By: Gordon Thomas, and others
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Man Who Flew The Memphis Belle
- By: Robert Morgan, Ron Powers
- Narrated by: uncredited
- Length: 4 hrs and 51 mins
- Abridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
As a young man growing up in Asheville, North Carolina, Robert Morgan was a fast-driving party boy - a hell-raiser. But when his mother committed suicide upon learning she had inoperable brain cancer, Morgan's life changed dramatically. He was no longer a carefree playboy; he was a man searching for meaning. He found that meaning at the controls of an airplane, and in the flak-and fighter-filled skies over Occupied France and Nazi Germany.
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Abridged Version = Butchered
- By Kyle on 01-03-17
By: Robert Morgan, and others
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Beyond Valor
- A World War II Story of Extraordinary Heroism, Sacrificial Love, and a Race Against Time
- By: Jon Erwin, William Doyle
- Narrated by: Zach Hoffman, Jon Erwin
- Length: 6 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
On April 12, 1945, a fleet of American B-29 bombers flew toward Japan. Their mission was simple: Stop World War II by burning the cities, factories, and military bases of the Japanese empire, thereby forcing an unconditional surrender. But it didn't go as planned. Onboard one of the B-29s, the City of Los Angeles, a phosphorus bomb detonated inside the plane. Staff Sergeant Henry E. "Red" Erwin absorbed the blast of burning phosphorus and managed to throw the still-flaming bomb overboard before collapsing from the third-degree burns that covered his body.
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One of the best books I’ve ever listened to!!!
- By katherine on 09-15-20
By: Jon Erwin, and others
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Hit the Target
- Eight Men Who Led the Eighth Air Force to Victory over the Luftwaffe
- By: Bill Yenne
- Narrated by: Corey M. Snow
- Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Less than a month after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the US Army formed its first air force designated to operate overseas, the Eighth. Within four months they had set up base in England. Three months later they were bombing German targets in occupied Europe. The Eighth was the first bomber command on either side to commit to strategic daylight bombing. It was a major change in tactics - and the men of the Eighth paid the price in both lives and blood.
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Lots of history, kinda boring.
- By Annie on 11-12-23
By: Bill Yenne
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When Tigers Ruled the Sky
- The Flying Tigers: American Outlaw Pilots over China in World War II
- By: Bill Yenne
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 12 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In 1940 Pearl Harbor had not yet happened, and America was not yet at war with Japan. But China had been trying to stave off Japanese aggression for three years - and was desperate for aircraft and trained combat pilots. General Chiang Kai-shek sent military aviation advisor Claire Chennault to Washington, where President Roosevelt was sympathetic but knew he could not intervene overtly. Instead he quietly helped Chennault put together a group of American volunteer pilots.
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A Well Written Historical Perspective
- By Donald Hill on 11-21-17
By: Bill Yenne
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The Bastard Brigade
- The True Story of the Renegade Scientists and Spies Who Sabotaged the Nazi Atomic Bomb
- By: Sam Kean
- Narrated by: Ben Sullivan
- Length: 14 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
During World War II, in the middle of building an atomic bomb, the leaders of the Manhattan Project were alarmed to learn that Nazi Germany was far outpacing the Allies in nuclear weapons research; Hitler, with just a few pounds of uranium, would have the capability to reverse the entire D-Day operation and conquer Europe. So they assembled a rough and motley crew of geniuses—dubbed the Alsos Mission—and sent them careening into Axis territory to spy on, sabotage, and even assassinate members of Nazi Germany's feared Uranium Club.
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Awesome
- By Solar red on 07-12-19
By: Sam Kean
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Road to Surrender
- Three Men and the Countdown to the End of World War II
- By: Evan Thomas
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
So begins this suspenseful, impeccably researched history that draws on new access to diaries to tell the story of three men who were intimately involved with America’s decision to drop the atomic bomb—and Japan’s decision to surrender. They are Henry Stimson, the American Secretary of War, who oversaw J. Robert Oppenheimer under the Manhattan Project; Gen. Carl “Tooey” Spaatz, head of strategic bombing in the Pacific, who supervised the planes that dropped the bombs; and Japanese Foreign Minister Shigenori Togo.
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Very thorough…
- By Dan on 10-21-23
By: Evan Thomas
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The Arsenal of Democracy
- FDR, Detroit, and an Epic Quest to Arm an America at War
- By: A. J. Baime
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 11 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The Arsenal of Democracy tells the incredible story of how Detroit answered the call, centering on Henry Ford and his tortured son Edsel, who, when asked if they could deliver 50,000 airplanes, made an outrageous claim: Ford Motor Company would erect a plant that could yield a “bomber an hour”. Critics scoffed: Ford didn’t make planes; they made simple, affordable cars. But bucking his father’s resistance, Edsel charged ahead.
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Misleading title
- By Kindle Customer on 12-01-14
By: A. J. Baime
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The Splendid and the Vile
- A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz
- By: Erik Larson
- Narrated by: John Lee, Erik Larson
- Length: 17 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
On Winston Churchill’s first day as prime minister, Adolf Hitler invaded Holland and Belgium. Poland and Czechoslovakia had already fallen, and the Dunkirk evacuation was just two weeks away. For the next 12 months, Hitler would wage a relentless bombing campaign, killing 45,000 Britons. It was up to Churchill to hold his country together and persuade President Franklin Roosevelt that Britain was a worthy ally - and willing to fight to the end. In The Splendid and the Vile, Erik Larson shows how Churchill taught the British people "the art of being fearless."
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John Lee’s narration is a struggle
- By Leslie Rathjens on 03-05-20
By: Erik Larson
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Firestorm
- Allied Airpower and the Destruction of Dresden
- By: Marshall De Bruhl
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 13 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
On February 13 and 14, 1945, three successive waves of British and U.S. aircraft rained down thousands of tons of high explosive and incendiary bombs on the largely undefended German city of Dresden. Night and day, Dresden was engulfed in a vast sea of flame, a firestorm that generated 1,500-degree temperatures and hurricane-force winds. Thousands suffocated in underground shelters where they had fled to escape the inferno above.
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Thorough, interesting discussion
- By RLV on 09-12-10
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Hog Pilots, Blue Water Grunts
- The American Military in the Air, at Sea, and on the Ground
- By: Robert D. Kaplan
- Narrated by: Don Leslie
- Length: 17 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In this extraordinary audiobook, Robert D. Kaplan lets listeners experience up close the American military worldwide in the air, at sea, and on the ground. Hog Pilots, Blue Water Grunts provides a riveting ground-level portrait of the Global War on Terrorism on several continents.
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Tedious is the Best Description
- By Samuel on 02-15-11
By: Robert D. Kaplan
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The Wild Blue
- The Men and Boys Who Flew the B-24s Over Germany
- By: Stephen E. Ambrose
- Narrated by: Jeffrey DeMunn
- Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The very young men who flew the B24s over Germany in World War II against terrible odds were an exemplary band of brothers. In The Wild Blue, Stephen Ambrose recounts their extraordinary brand of heroism, skill, daring, and comradeship. Stephen Ambrose describes how the Army Air Forces recruited, trained, and chose those few who would undertake the most demanding and dangerous jobs in the war.
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Required Reading
- By Lyle on 11-22-11
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How did Fidel Castro fool the CIA for a generation? Why did Neville Chamberlain think he could trust Adolf Hitler? Why are campus sexual assaults on the rise? Do television sitcoms teach us something about the way we relate to each other that isn't true? While tackling these questions, Malcolm Gladwell was not solely writing a book for the page. He was also producing for the ear. In the audiobook version of Talking to Strangers, you’ll hear the voices of people he interviewed - scientists, criminologists, military psychologists.
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Enjoyable listen with some facts incorrect
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David and Goliath
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Enjoyable listen with some facts incorrect
- By Jim on 09-11-19
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Outliers
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In this stunning audiobook, Malcolm Gladwell takes us on an intellectual journey through the world of "outliers" - the best and the brightest, the most famous, and the most successful. He asks the question: What makes high-achievers different? His answer is that we pay too much attention to what successful people are like, and too little attention to where they are from: That is, their culture, their family, their generation, and the idiosyncratic experiences of their upbringing.
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Engaging, but overrated
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Our Man in Tokyo
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A gripping, behind-the-scenes account of the personalities and contending forces in Tokyo during the volatile decade that led to World War II, as seen through the eyes of the American ambassador who attempted to stop the slide to war.
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What a great inside look at Japan, before 1941!
- By Charlie Ortiz on 11-20-23
By: Steve Kemper
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Masters of the Air
- America’s Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air War Against Nazi Germany
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- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
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Masters of the Air is the deeply personal story of the American bomber boys in World War II who brought the war to Hitler’s doorstep. With the narrative power of fiction, Donald Miller takes you on a harrowing ride through the fire-filled skies over Berlin, Hanover, and Dresden and describes the terrible cost of bombing for the German people.
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Incredible Listening
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By: Donald L. Miller
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Miracle and Wonder
- Conversations with Paul Simon
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Miracle and Wonder: Conversations with Paul Simon is part memoir, part investigation, and unlike any creative portrait you’ve ever heard before. Recorded over a series of 30 hours of conversation between Simon, Gladwell, and Gladwell’s oldest friend and co-writer, journalist and Broken Record podcast co-host Bruce Headlam, the conversation flows from Simon’s music, to his childhood in Queens, NY, to his frequent collaborators including Art Garfunkel and the nature of creativity itself.
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A lifelong companion who will never know my name
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American Midnight
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From legendary historian Adam Hochschild, a groundbreaking reassessment of the overlooked but startlingly resonant period between World War I and the Roaring Twenties, when the foundations of American democracy were threated by war, pandemic, and violence fueled by battles over race, immigration, and the rights of labor
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Disturbing yet Reassuring
- By Sams95 on 11-18-22
By: Adam Hochschild
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The Aviators
- Eddie Rickenbacker, Jimmy Doolittle, Charles Lindbergh, and the Epic Age of Flight
- By: Winston Groom
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
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- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Gifted storyteller Winston Groom, the best-selling author of Forrest Gump, has written the fascinating story of three extraordinary heroes who defined aviation during the great age of flight: Charles Lindbergh, Eddie Rickenbacker, and Jimmy Doolittle. These cleverly interwoven tales of their heart-stopping adventures take us from the feats of World War I through the heroism of World War II and beyond, including daring military raids and survival at sea, and will appeal to fans of Unbroken, The Greatest Generation, and Flyboys.
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Too much a hagiography
- By Joseph Valenzi on 09-08-15
By: Winston Groom
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The Sea and Civilization
- A Maritime History of the World
- By: Lincoln Paine
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
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- Unabridged
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A monumental retelling of world history through the lens of maritime enterprise, revealing in breathtaking depth how people first came into contact with one another by ocean and river, lake and stream, and how goods, languages, religions, and entire cultures spread across and along the world's waterways, bringing together civilizations and defining what makes us most human.
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Comprehensive
- By Than on 12-29-19
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Luck of the Draw
- My Story of the Air War in Europe
- By: Frank Murphy, Chloe Melas, Elizabeth Murphy
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Murphy, Jonas Moore, Chloe Melas
- Length: 12 hrs
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Beginning on August 17, 1942, American heavy bomber crews of the Eighth Air Force took off for combat in the hostile skies over occupied Europe. The final price was staggering. 4,300 B-17s and B-24s failed to return; nearly 21,000 men were taken prisoner or interned in a neutral country, and a further 17,650 made the ultimate sacrifice. Luck of the Draw is more than a war story. It’s the incredible, inspiring story of Frank Murphy, one of the few survivors from the 100th Bombardment Group, who cheated death for months in a German POW camp.
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His Duty, Honesty , and Experiences
- By Anonymous User on 12-08-23
By: Frank Murphy, and others
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Bomber
- By: Len Deighton, Malcolm Gladwell (Introduction)
- Narrated by: Richard Burnip, Malcolm Gladwell (Introduction), Len Deighton (Author's Note)
- Length: 21 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Skilled Royal Air Force bomber pilot Sam Lambert is exhausted, and his veteran crewmen have just been replaced by an inexperienced new team. Victor von Löwenherz, a German night fighter pilot who intercepts RAF bombers in his Junkers Ju 88, looks on with horror at the Nazi regime. And Hansl, a German boy in the small market town of Altgarten, sleeps at home. Lambert and his crew prepare for a bombing raid on the Ruhr area. It’s a night that many will never forget. Bomber is a masterful, gripping minute-by-minute account of what occurs over the next twenty-four hours.
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Amazing Story and Narration
- By Bruce on 12-10-23
By: Len Deighton, and others
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A Wing and a Prayer
- The “Bloody 100th” Bomb Group of the US Eighth Air Force in Action over Europe in World War II
- By: Harry H. Crosby
- Narrated by: Chris Monteiro
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
They began operations out of England in the spring of '43. They flew their Flying Fortresses almost daily against strategic targets in Europe in the name of freedom. Their astonishing courage and appalling losses earned them the name that resounds in the annals of aerial warfare and made the "Bloody Hundredth" a legend. Harry H. Crosby—soon to be portrayed by Anthony Boyle in the miniseries Masters of the Air developed by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg—arrived with the very first crews, and left with the very last.
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love love love the history
- By Kindle Customer on 01-20-24
By: Harry H. Crosby
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Skunk Works
- A Personal Memoir of My Years of Lockheed
- By: Ben R. Rich, Leo Janos
- Narrated by: Pete Larkin
- Length: 12 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
From the development of the U-2 to the Stealth fighter, the never-before-told story behind America's high-stakes quest to dominate the skies. Skunk Works is the true story of America's most secret and successful aerospace operation. As recounted by Ben Rich, the operation's brilliant boss for nearly two decades, the chronicle of Lockheed's legendary Skunk Works is a drama of Cold War confrontations and Gulf War air combat, of extraordinary feats of engineering and human achievement against fantastic odds.
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Ben Rich's life story...but not in that order
- By Allstar on 11-05-16
By: Ben R. Rich, and others
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Miracle and Wonder (Special Edition)
- Conversations with Paul Simon
- By: Malcolm Gladwell, Bruce Headlam
- Narrated by: Malcolm Gladwell, Bruce Headlam, Paul Simon
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What happens when Paul Simon, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in music history, and Malcolm Gladwell, the bestselling author and podcast host, sit down together, with a tape recorder and a guitar? Miracle and Wonder: Conversations with Paul Simon is part memoir, part investigation, and unlike any creative portrait you’ve ever heard before.
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Fantastic audio book
- By M. Kelkis on 02-25-24
By: Malcolm Gladwell, and others
What listeners say about The Bomber Mafia
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- Dustin
- 04-28-21
Listen to the same story on his podcast for free
I've purchased and read every book Malcolm Gladwell has ever released. I'd probably rate all of them five stars.
This is basically a version of one of his Revisionist History podcast stories. I felt like I was just listening to the podcast. Yes there was more information in the book but not enough to justify purchasing the book. Listen to the podcast. It's free and damn near the same exact thing.
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163 people found this helpful
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- Knutsson
- 04-30-21
Not Gladwell’s finest.
Just wished a pilot could have edited where the author stated the bombers NEEDED a very strong tail wind to get off the runway. However a strong head wind would be helpful.
Are there other mistakes or misunderstandings?
Still a huge fan of Gladwell’s work, just not this on so much.
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41 people found this helpful
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- Charlie
- 04-27-21
Great story & love the format
The storytelling is great - typical Gladwell in that sense. If you like his other stuff, I'm sure you'll like this too. But, what really stands out is the audio presentation. Interviews from other people, music, and effects are mixed in appropriately - it's not distracting. These touches add to the story and provide subtle changes of pace that make the overall experience better. Not to oversell it - it has some notes of a good podcast, but it's well applied here. I actually listened to parts of this on a stereo system - that was overkill, but the fact that such an idea popped into my head might highlight how the sound on this work really ups the engagement.
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33 people found this helpful
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- Amy
- 04-29-21
Excellent research, laid on a little thick
This book sounds like what I imagine a career military officer with advanced degrees in history and international relations sounds like if they tried to write about social psychology. It's a well-researched book which is worth reading; but he tends to beat a dead horse with a bit more drama than I feel is needed. Gladwell does an excellent job researching the key members of the bomber mafia, or those involved in bomber warfare. I've read dozens of books on these people and still learned something new.
This book also is presented more as an radio show from the 40's as opposed to an audiobook. Gladwell provides many sound effects, occasionally music, and on some level even interacts with the audience. It is impressive in that it really doesn't detract from the presentation. He primarily focuses his writing on the juxtaposition of two members of the USAAF, Generals Hansell and LeMay. These two have competing ideas on how to win the war with air power, as well as vastly different personalities. Gladwell examines these men, what drove them, and the implications of their actions from a moral viewpoint. It is fascinating, and if you've never discussed these topics before, this is a good introduction.
The only critique is that in the moral examination, I feel Gladwell "lays it on a little thick" (quoting from the book) in his comparison of Hansell to Jesus. There are also other minor exaggerations or hyperboles Gladwell uses to make points which are stretches of the truth and are not really necessary to add the drama he's trying to add.
Overall I do recommend the book, but understand it is more of a moral study as opposed to history or book on strategy. Given that the author is a social psychologist, that is appropriate.
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20 people found this helpful
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- TheRedOne
- 05-17-21
it's a damned podcast
if I wanted to listen to a podcast, I would have listened to a podcast. what kind of audiobook has guests and interviews with them?
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17 people found this helpful
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- Baboo TH
- 05-07-21
This is a podcast and not a book
Interesting but would have been better if it was a book without all the special effects
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17 people found this helpful
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- Tclements
- 06-02-21
Great topic poor execution
I love the topic but was disappointed in the story. A few items were just wrong and made me question other items in the story. One that stood out was the claim that the B-29s needed a tailwind to takeoff heavy. In fact airplanes need headwinds to takeoff in a shorter distance. I really wanted to love it and maybe that caused my disappointment.
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9 people found this helpful
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- Todd
- 06-03-21
Skip the mood music
The book was okay, not to the level of most of his other books, the mood music ruined it for me.
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7 people found this helpful
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- John R. Burleson
- 05-03-21
Audiobook first!
This audiobook is truly unique. He started with an audiobook and then created a regular book. Because he reads his own work and it was created to be read aloud, it flows extremely well.
I really love the story, and I love his interpretation of a non-fiction series of events that isn’t talked about much. I enjoy his other works, but this is a nice departure and a great story to listen to. I burned through it in a couple days!
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7 people found this helpful
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- John Shumate
- 04-29-21
Magnificent. As always.
Malcolm’s ability to put his finger exactly on the pulse of an issue, while tickling the noggin as he tells the story is truly fabulous.
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5 people found this helpful