Flyboys: A True Story of Courage
by James Bradley
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Book Summary Information
Author: James BradleyEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2003-09
ISBN: 0316105848
Number of pages: 414
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Product features:
- Blue and red hardcopy. Dust jacket with scenes or flying aircraft.
Book Reviews of Flyboys: A True Story of Courage
Book Review: Bradley--a 5-Star General of HIstory
Summary: 5 Stars
Clearly, from the many negative reviews posted below, this is not a book for those wanting to remain immersed in the self-congratulatory victory parade of WWII--and there are enough books on that score that to fill entire libraries. I have read many, many of them, having grown up in a military family, nursed on the timeless glory WWII from infancy.
This is the first WWII book I've read in many years, and I will rate it far above almost every other in the genre. Because rather than following along where armies of previous authors have tread, Mr. Bradley has exemplified the subtitle--"A True Tale of Courage"--by recounting the unexpurgated truth about the Pacific war, truths, evidently, that many WWII cheerleaders are too timorous to hear, preferring the cocoon of simplified black-and-white propaganda and jingoism.
In no sense does Bradley spare the brutal Tojo regime--in fact, the 100 years of prehistory leading to Peal Harbor forms the single most enlightening account I've ever read on the subject--and I have read a lot. That Japan took the lessons of western imperialism in the Far East, and ratcheted it up by several orders of magnitude (just as they copied and improved on all our industrial products) is undeniable. American atrocities in the Phillipines--which ALL armies of conquest commit, bar none--is disgraceful, but it is part of the historical record, recounted far beyond this book or the selected references Bradley cites. Over 100 years later, we should have the courage to face this. The criticism from the willing amnesiacs below--how dare he rain on the victory parade!--is most likely expressed in the same breath as "How can some Germans and Japanese today still deny the guilt of what their ancestors did in the '40s?" Look in the mirror.
To call these unexpurgated accounts of American history "PC" is idiotic. One asks "Whose side is Bradley on?" Bradley is on the side of TRUTH and CIVILIZATION, for which no nation or race holds a monopoly. There has been far too much glorification of war in these books, and too little of the bloody, dehumanizing horror that all war stoops to, and that all front-line vets know only too well. That said, there is still plenty here for WWII buffs to get their spinetingling fixes--the account of Doolittle's raid is one of the most inspiring and moving I've ever read.
The book is history in its fullest sense--from the most intimate details of the flyboys' lives before they enlisted, to the broader context of the conflict they were caught up in. It contributes a new understanding to the war--something the best historians, rather than mere chroniclers, should aspire to. Among those understandings--that the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, ghastly and terroristic as they were (terrorism: killing civilians to promote politico-military goals), may have saved lives in the final analysis. I have always been conflicted about the horrible bombing of Japanese cities--not a few of our generals at the time thought Hiroshima and Nagasaki unnecessary. But Bradley leaves no doubt about the incredible callousness of the Japanese militarists, willing to sacrifice thousands of their soldiers in ill-planned campaigns. Nevertheless, rather than feeling pride about the destruction of so many innocent Japanese civilians in the fire bombing, I think we should feel some remorse, even if it was "necessary" in the brutal calculus of the time, and return to our pre-war position against the bombing of civilian populations. Otherwise, out of misplaced pride, we sanction this as a precedent for future wars.
One thing I hope this book cures--the disease that infected the Pacific war and made it so brutal--that "they" are devils, and the corollary, that "we" are angels who never have, never could, and never will do wrong. It is the same blinding disease infecting this nation now, as we tolerate and approve pre-emptive invasion, torture, incarceration without trial or defense, violations of the Geneva convention, and rampant militarism as the solution to all our problems. Look in the mirror--it happened "over there," and it can happen anywhere, including the "land of the angels" if we don't acknowledge that we are only human, and all of us have sinned, as the Lord we profess to worship knows only too well.
Summary of Flyboys: A True Story of Courage
FLYBOYS is the true story of young American airmen who were shot down over Chichi Jima. Eight of these young men were captured by Japanese troops and taken prisoner. Another was rescued by an American submarine and went on to become president. The reality of what happened to the eight prisoners has remained a secret for almost 60 years. After the war, the American and Japanese governments conspired to cover up the shocking truth. Not even the families of the airmen were informed what had happened to their sons. It has remained a mystery--until now. Critics called James Bradley's last book "the best book on battle ever written." FLYBOYS is even better: more ambitious, more powerful, and more moving. On the island of Chichi Jima those young men would face the ultimate test. Their story--a tale of courage and daring, of war and of death, of men and of hope--will make you proud, and it will break your heart.Japanese Books
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