Black Snow: Curtis LeMay, the Firebombing of Tokyo, and the Road to the Atomic Bomb Black Snow: Curtis LeMay, the Firebombing of Tokyo, and the Road to the Atomic Bomb

Black Snow: Curtis LeMay, the Firebombing of Tokyo, and the Road to the Atomic Bomb

    • 4.5 • 15 Ratings
    • $30.99
    • $30.99

Publisher Description

“Black Snow brilliantly vivifies the horrific reality of the most destructive air attack in history, against Tokyo on the night of March 9-10, 1945. James Scott deftly employs sharply etched portraits of individuals of all stations and nationalities to survey the global, technological, and moral backdrop of the cataclysm, including the searing experiences of Japanese trapped in a gigantic firestorm. This riveting account illuminates an historical moment of profound contemporary relevance.” —Richard B. Frank, author of Tower of Skulls: A History of the Asia-Pacific War: July 1937–May 1942

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.

GENRE
History
RELEASED
2022
September 6
LANGUAGE
EN
English
LENGTH
432
Pages
PUBLISHER
W. W. Norton & Company
SELLER
W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
SIZE
48.9
MB

Customer Reviews

ccccccc. g ,

Too much background

Great when the author stayed with the title

More Books Like This

Target Tokyo: Jimmy Doolittle and the Raid That Avenged Pearl Harbor Target Tokyo: Jimmy Doolittle and the Raid That Avenged Pearl Harbor
2015
The Bomber Mafia The Bomber Mafia
2021
Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor
2016
Crucible of Hell Crucible of Hell
2020
The Fleet at Flood Tide The Fleet at Flood Tide
2016
Masters of the Air Masters of the Air
2006

More Books by James M. Scott

Target Tokyo: Jimmy Doolittle and the Raid That Avenged Pearl Harbor Target Tokyo: Jimmy Doolittle and the Raid That Avenged Pearl Harbor
2015
Rampage: MacArthur, Yamashita, and the Battle of Manila Rampage: MacArthur, Yamashita, and the Battle of Manila
2018
The Attack on the Liberty The Attack on the Liberty
2009
2 Corinthians (Understanding the Bible Commentary Series) 2 Corinthians (Understanding the Bible Commentary Series)
2011
Deciding to Intervene Deciding to Intervene
1996
After the End After the End
1999

Customers Also Bought

Our Man In Tokyo Our Man In Tokyo
2022
Retribution Retribution
2008
Bloody Okinawa Bloody Okinawa
2020
Deadly Sky Deadly Sky
2016
Damn Lucky Damn Lucky
2022
The Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain
2011