Review: The Bomber Mafia: A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War

The Bomber Mafia: A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War by Malcolm Gladwell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There’s something fascinating about the Bomber Mafia that is difficult to pinpoint. The flow is engaging, the facts and stories interesting, and Gladwell’s writing is crisp as always, but that’s not it. There’s something else here that makes it special, and I’m not quite sure what.

My best guess is that it’s the opposition. The duality of LeMay’s empiricism and Hansell’s theoreticism, realism vs idealism, that Gladwell sets up as a debate we’ll have to settle for ourselves (or so he says). This is a brilliant way to keep the reader thinking about where he wants to position himself.

The big tragedy here is the ending, where Gladwell firmly positions himself with Hansell, dissolving the opposition set up for so much of the book. While I spent most of it debating with myself, drawing my own conclusions, the ending took away the space I wanted to consider the questions for myself.

That one gripe aside, I found this a fascinating book. Gladwell’s style works well with the historical setting, the easy-to-read voice mixing with romanticism and asides that don’t drag but fit in seamlessly. Worth checking out.

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