Rating: 
Summary: enjoyable and informative
Review: In this book Craig Nelson tells the full tale of the men involved in the famous Doolittle Raid during WWII. With exhausting notes and quotations, and daunting research, every possible detail that is important to the story of the raid and the men is given. And despite the attention to detail, and despite the length, this book reads like a novel. Even people who are not history buffs will like this book. There's a fascinating short biography in the book of Jimmy Doolittle, one of our nation's greatest aviators. There is the story of the POW camps after the fact and the conversion of Jacob DeShazer, who would later be a leading evangelist in Japan. Much information is given to the planes themselves, the B-24s that carried the weapons of the raid. This book combines all those great elements into one very readable volume.
Rating:
Summary: Very good book
Review: Interesting, exciting and very readable. It might not be the definitive version, but it DOES make me want to find that version (if there is one) and read it. If you've never read much about the Doolittle Raid (which I haven't for some reason), you'll wonder why after reading this account. Also, if you enjoyed Flags for Our Fathers you'll definitely enjoy this one. Give it a try.
Rating: 
Summary: Still an amazing story no matter how many times you hear it
Review: Most people used to recall the Doolittle raid of 1942 from Capt. Ted Lawson's book Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo that was made into a movie. Now, more people recall it for the historically inaccurate rendition it was given in the movie Pearl Harbor. For the real story with more to offer than Doolittle's own biography and Lawson's earlier work, we have The First Heroes.
This book solidly provides the historical background of two important factors. One, the career of air pioneer Jimmy Doolittle, who commanded the raid, and two, the war's progress to that point and the reason the raid was needed.
A thorough (but not dull) description of the challenges facing the unit formed for the raid is provided, as are the issues that developed as training was winding down in preapration for the raid. The relationship that grew between Doolittle and his men is notable, and also touching is the way that the sailors on the carrier Hornet grew from disdain to admiration when the bomber crews came aboard for their mission.
A blow by blow account of each of the 16 planes launched is given, as are the struggles each crew faced in getting back to safety. Information is given on how each crew fared, and the end of the book does a great job at providing an epilogue that tells the reader what happened to each Raider in the years that followed the mission.
No matter how you look at it, the mission was challenging and mind-boggling then, and 60-plus years later, should still inspire us with respect for the sacrifices made on our behalf so long ago.
Rating:
Summary: America Strikes Back
Review: On April 18, 1942, sixteen B-25 bombers piloted by all volunteer crews lifted off from the flight deck of the carrier USS Hornet. Their target: Tokyo. Conceived by President Roosevelt and commanded by Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle, this raid was designed to strike back at the Japanese as well as avenge the Pearl Harbor attack. The Hornet was supposed to cruise to within 400 miles of the Japanese coast, but the task force was detected by Japanese fishing boats while they were still over 600 miles from their target. Doolittle wasted no time in launching his strike, all the while knowing that it would now be virtually impossible for the planes to reach their pre-arranged landing sites in China. Although the damage done to Tokyo was slight, the psychological impact of the raid on the Japanese military was considerable. The raid forced the Japanese to keep more of their planes in the home islands for defense and also sped up the planning for the ill-fated Midway campaign in which the Japanese navy would lose four aircraft carriers.This book does a good job of describing the planning involved in the attack as well as the attack itself and the subsequent aftermath for the crews. However, there are some factual mistakes, and I felt that the section dealing with the actual bombing could have had a little more detail, and only one chapter really delved into the eight crew members who were taken prisoner by the Japanese. Only four of these men made it home. Three were executed by the Japanese and one died in prison. I would have liked to have seen a little more attention in this area. The part of the book dealing with the plane which landed in Vladivostok, the internment of its crew, and their subsequent escape to freedom through Persia is a definite high point. I was mesmerized by these men's heroic efforts to regain their freedom. I also enjoyed the final chapter which gives a brief synopsis of the major personalities involved with the raid and how their lives during and after the war played out. I recommend this book for the following reasons. I enjoyed the recollections of the surviving raiders very much. Hearing the description of the raid from the men who actually participated in it made the book much more enjoyable. Also, the book flows in a manner which is easy to read and understand. Although technical, it is not so much so that the reader becomes bogged down. For more information on the Doolittle raid, I would also recommend "The Doolittle Raid" and "Four Came Home" by Carroll V. Glines.
Rating:
Summary: America Strikes Back
Review: On April 18, 1942, sixteen B-25 bombers piloted by all volunteer crews lifted off from the flight deck of the carrier USS Hornet. Their target: Tokyo. Conceived by President Roosevelt and commanded by Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle, this raid was designed to strike back at the Japanese as well as avenge the Pearl Harbor attack. The Hornet was supposed to cruise to within 400 miles of the Japanese coast, but the task force was detected by Japanese fishing boats while they were still over 600 miles from their target. Doolittle wasted no time in launching his strike, all the while knowing that it would now be virtually impossible for the planes to reach their pre-arranged landing sites in China. Although the damage done to Tokyo was slight, the psychological impact of the raid on the Japanese military was considerable. The raid forced the Japanese to keep more of their planes in the home islands for defense and also sped up the planning for the ill-fated Midway campaign in which the Japanese navy would lose four aircraft carriers. This book does a good job of describing the planning involved in the attack as well as the attack itself and the subsequent aftermath for the crews. However, there are some factual mistakes, and I felt that the section dealing with the actual bombing could have had a little more detail, and only one chapter really delved into the eight crew members who were taken prisoner by the Japanese. Only four of these men made it home. Three were executed by the Japanese and one died in prison. I would have liked to have seen a little more attention in this area. The part of the book dealing with the plane which landed in Vladivostok, the internment of its crew, and their subsequent escape to freedom through Persia is a definite high point. I was mesmerized by these men's heroic efforts to regain their freedom. I also enjoyed the final chapter which gives a brief synopsis of the major personalities involved with the raid and how their lives during and after the war played out. I recommend this book for the following reasons. I enjoyed the recollections of the surviving raiders very much. Hearing the description of the raid from the men who actually participated in it made the book much more enjoyable. Also, the book flows in a manner which is easy to read and understand. Although technical, it is not so much so that the reader becomes bogged down. For more information on the Doolittle raid, I would also recommend "The Doolittle Raid" and "Four Came Home" by Carroll V. Glines.
Rating: 
Summary: Save your money, look elsewhere
Review: The author of this book says that he only learned of the Doolittle mission a few years ago. One wonders why Viking, his publisher, the publisher of such distinguished WWII authors as Prof. Ronald Spector, commissioned this author to write on the Doolittle raid. The book is full of basic factual errors and strange assertions about combat and World War II. It tells us that American battleships were armed with torpedoes and that Mitchell B-25 bombers had diesel engines. (Both are not the case.) More importantly and even more bizarrely, it states that if the U.S. didn't win the battle at Midway, Japan's empire would still be "intact today." One would be better served (and informed) watching the movie "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo," which was produced with technical advisers who actually flew the mission. The author would have been too.
Rating:
Summary: Very readable account
Review: The First Heroes is not only an excellent rendition of the Doolittle Raid but it does a nice job of setting the general historical stage of the period as well. WW2 aficionados may find this stage setting a bit general but Mr Nelson does a fine job with it and its inclusion will certainly help those not familiar with the period put the Raid in its proper context. The book is very well written, entertaining, and is easily on par with Ambrose's best works. One reviewer complained "He was known as "Bull" Halsey to anyone else with just a modicum of knowledge of the major WWII players." This was odd I thought because not only does Mr Nelson cover this fact but also explains HOW Adm Halsey got the nickname. If you have never read anything on the Raid before this is a great place to start. If you have read other works Mr Nelson's is so well done you will certainly find it an enjoyable read.
Rating:
Summary: The definitive story on Doolittle's bombing of Tokyo
Review: This book on America's response to Pearl Harbor is exhaustively researched and very interestingly written. The author follows, the subsequent journeys of some of the men thru China, in the case of others their capture and fate as prisoners of war at the hands of the Japanese, and again in other cases their eventual experience fighting in Europe. In my opinion this is a book that is worthy of the courage of those Americans who died and those who survived this daring raid on Japan.
Rating:
Summary: Impeccable Research
Review: This is a thoroughly well-researched account of the Doolittle Raid. Nelson had extensive contact with both the survivors and their families. A uniquely thorough study.
Rating:
Summary: Very exciting
Review: This is a thrilling adventure story of an episode in American History that many of us know little or nothing about - the Jimmy Doolittle Raid over Tokyo following Pearl Harbor. In it, a devastating sneak surprise attack is avenged by a group of soldiers from the USA. The parallels to today's events are eerily similar, and the author brings the action alive. He has actually interviewed many of the surviving members of the actual Raid, and makes this a story of heroism displayed by ordinary citizens in extraordinary times. The First Heroes is a real page-turner. I wholehearatedly recommend it to those who are history neophytes as well as to those who consider themselves WWII buffs.
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