Rating: 
Summary: A Dark Hole with Unfathomable Secrets
Review: It strikes me as inappropriate to evaluate this book in correlation with Bradley's previously published Flags of Our Fathers. Although both books examine portions of World War Two in the Pacific, each focusing on specific individuals (i.e. the six Marines who raised the American flag on Mount Surabachi and the eight "Chichi Jima Flyboys"), Bradley's two books examine quite different situations and raise quite different issues. His father (John Bradley) was among the six who raised the flag so presumably young James knew quite a bit about the conquest of Iwo Jima, defended by 22,000 Japanese soldiers. Only decades later did Bradley learn (from recently declassified material) that an even greater number (about 25,000) defended Chichi Jima only 150 miles nearby. The same material also revealed the fates of eight Flyboys who had been captured by the defenders of Chichi Jima. In this volume, Bradley tells their story, one which is "a story of war, so it is a story of death. But it is not a story of defeat." To a significant extent, the best military historians demonstrate the skills of cultural anthropologists as they create a context or frame-of-reference within which to present their accounts of combat and of those engaged in it. For example, Bradley explains why Chichi Jima had even greater strategic importance than did Iwo Jima in 1944. Of even greater interest to me is the macro perspective he provides on the Japanese military mentality which viewed surrender as an act cowardice. To understand the "why" of what happened on Chichi Jima in 1944, Bradley invites his reader to accompany him on a "journey" back in time, "back 149 years...to another another century. Back to when the first American military men walked in No Man's Land." Much of what Bradley then shares is comparable with events and insights revealed by James Clavell in his novel Shogun. Barbarity is often in the eyes of the beholder. While most of the heroes in Bradley's book are Flyboys and most of the villains are Japanese officers, it would be simplistic to accept that as a definitive explanation of the "why," the ultimate destination of the aforementioned "journey." However brutal and barbaric decapitations and cannibalism may be, are they any more or less so than systematic incineration of urban areas and all who reside there? War is indeed "a story of death." Nonetheless, I felt revulsion in response to the behavior of the senior officers on Chichi Jima. Those who survived were tried and convicted of crimes against humanity, then executed...and should have been. With mixed results, Bradley juxtaposes his macro view of quite different cultures with a close examination of those involved in events occurring in No Man's Land. The narrative is less cohesive than in Flags of Our Fathers, probably because Bradley attempts to cover more, and much more complicated human experiences. Thanks to him and his extensive research, we now know exactly what happened to the eight airmen on Chichi Jima. Their fates are no longer "a dark hole, an unfathomable secret." For that, we and especially their loved ones and comrades should be grateful.
Rating: 
Summary: Bias not balance
Review: The author purports to tell a story of courage. Instead the reader is subjected to an exercise in moral equivalency masquerading as balance. He obliquely blames America for causing the war and creating the Japanese monsters who then treated foreign prisoners of war and civilians so horribly. The book is readable and clear and appears to be reasonably accurate regarding general events in history and would agree with other accepted historical references. The "new" information he presents is supported by first person accounts and corroborated by other witnesses. However, deception and bias are subtle and widespread in this book. The leaders of Japanese imperialism are referred to throughout the book by the positive euphemism "Spirit Warriors", while American aviators are flippantly called "Flyboys." Mao is called "wily" and the Japanese "ruthless," even though Mao's record of murdering 65 million of his own countrymen dwarfs the transgressions of the Japanese. He waxes nostalgic about the closed Samari culture of pre Commodore Perry Japan, where the price of peace is the absence of personal freedom and threat of instant beheading. Every mention of a Japanese crime against humanity is followed by a description of an American act which he implies justifies the crime or a flashback of an atrocity committed by Americans on other continents or another century. The author readily admits that the indiscriminant bombing of Japanese cities precluded the need to invade Japan proper and therefore saved more lives than it cost. However, he uses the application of American airpower anywhere, even in battle, as justification for cruelty and inhumanity. As a student of history my whole life, the only news in this book was how truly evil and unspeakable the behavior of the Japanese leaders was toward people who were not blessed enough to live in the "Land of the Gods." If you have any doubt of this, after reading this book, ask yourself whether you would rather be a Japanese prisoner of the Americans or an American prisoner of the Japanese.
Rating: 
Summary: Simply Outstanding
Review: I recently read Flags of our Fathers and found it an amazing story of one of the most brutal battles in the Pacific war. The author has the ability to put an epic event in human terms.
Flyboys is no less compelling. Bradley should be commended for his even portrayal of all combatants involved. Many readers seem insulted that American atrocities are mentioned along with Japanese. I believe that Bradley is right on.
When Bradley relays his conversation with one Flyboy who is ambivilent about comparisons between American conduct and Japanese, Bradley reminds him that the Japanese civilians being intentionaly straffed were likely moraly outraged too.
Bradley has the remarkable ability to honor the bravery of our fighting men, while reminding us of the inexcusable horror of war.
Rating:
Summary: Moral equivalence not withstanding, I liked this book
Review: As numerous previous reviewers have stated, the offensive portion of this book is its attempt to equate Japan's conduct of the war with America's conduct of the war and other wars in America's history. In order to suport his view, the author disregards two key points: 1) The American reporting of American atrocities such as the Sand Creek Massacre and certain incidents in Phillipines was clearly of an accusatory nature as, indeed, the American press accurately presented the My Lai Massacre of Viet Nam vintage in an accusatory manner. The Japanese press's coverage of the Japanese atrocities including the infamous beheading contests sparkles with all of the joy of a drunken tailgate party or touchdown celebration. There is simply no moral equivalence between a country that exposes and condemns its excesses and a country that celebrates its atrocities. 2) There is simply no American equivalent to the cannibalism practiced on several of the victims mentioned here as well as other victims elsewhere in the Pacific War. Cannibalism would never have been allowed by the American government, the American military, or the American people. If not official policy, Cannibalism was at least tacitly approved by the Japanese government, military, and people. Despite these obvious errors of analysis, the author is at least honest enough to present the facts disproving his thesis even if his thesis itself is never repudiated by him. The story told here is a compelling one and the style of writing is interesting. If you can stomach the anger the author's bias well engender, this is a good book. I have a thesis, incidentally, and I will use this book as exhibit A. My thesis is that there is no anti-American like and American anti-American.
Rating:
Summary: WAR IS HORRIFIC NO SPIN NECCESARY
Review: Some reviewers felt that the description of war atrocities in the phillipines and the napalm bombings of Japan as being apologetic or having a political slant. This is my first review so bear with me. I have read many accounts of many wars particularly the Civil war ( not very civil) James Bradley I feel shows that in war, regardless of all the rules of war, is in any and all events horrific- civillians and many innocent men women and children kiled and mamed in horrible ways even today. In Iraq our news broadcasts hide some of these things from the american people but we should know that war is horrific and not some TV edventure. Bradleys history is one of war in perspective.I recommend this book for anyone interested in what our aviators faced when they scrambled thair planes into the air day after day.
Rating:
Summary: Simply Terrific
Review: I was somewhat apprehensive when getting this book. I had read Flag of Our Fathers by Mr. Brady and truly enjoyed it; but, that book was partially about his father and I was afraid he would not be able to carry through on another book. I was thrilled that my apprehension was misplaced. This is a terrific book. Mr. Brady uses the story of eight aviators shot down over an island called Chicha Jimo (neighbor to Iwo Jima) as the thread that holds the book together. Fortunately, the book is far more than that. Mr. Brady gives a thumbnail history of Japan for the 250 years preceding Pearl Harbor. With that history he explains the evolution (devolution?) of that country's thinking about colonization (why can't it do in China what the European powers were doing all through Asia?), the Kamikaze military and honor system and then the bastardization of that system. He is even-handed in his relating Japan's history as well as our own hypocrisies in the waging of the war. Although he points out our short-comings, he by no means takes the revisionists' side in the anti-atomic and anti-American strategy debate. He also provides the history of aviation in American military history starting with Billy Mitchell's extremely accurate predictions on air dominance and its ability to ruin Japan. As he follows the air war in the Pacific, he provides great insight with amazing supporting statistics about the effectiveness of our air power in the that theatre. He also includes surprising insight to our aviation losses. I could not put this book down. It is readable, although graphic at times. Mr. Brady effectively uses the thread of the eight downed flyboys to tell the story of aviation in the Pacific theatre which is nicely set up by Japn's history leading to the war. I highly recommend this book.
Rating: 
Summary: A Story About America's Cruelty
Review: A book ostensibly about the capture and beheading of American pilots by the Japanese on Chichi Jima in WWII. This is the island whose guns shot down President Bush's Avenger -- he narrowly avoided capture when a submarine picked him up just offshore, otherwise there would be another beheading in James Bradley's book.
I said 'ostensibly' up there 'cause the book isn't really about those airmen so much as it's about how inhumane we Americans are as a race. Oh, Bradley allowed as how the Japanese on Chichi JIma not only beheaded four or five airmen (mostly navy) and served up their livers as hors d'oeuvres -- chunks of American thighs and buttocks became the main course at the officers' mess on these occasions. One of those Japanese officers told Bradley how he raped a Chinese woman, then cut her up to feed his starving troops in China (talk about exemplary leadership!). But Bradley spends fully two-thirds of his book describing how cruel we Americans were -- how Doolittle's raiders bombed a hospital in Yokahama (of course he got that from Japanese sources 50 years later), and how American pilots shot Japanese pilots descending in their parachutes... He brings up our inhumane bombing of Berlin and Dresden, harkens back to our inhuman cruelty to the Phillipinos when we were expanding our empire in that part of the world. Then, of course, we fire bombed those poor Japanese people in their paper houses, not to mention two atomic bombs, ad infinitum... Bradley is very sympathetic to those poor Japanese who beheaded and ate our airmen -- they were just obeying orders lest they themselves be executed. Somehow I had a hard time equating bombing and combat deaths, even cruelty in the heat of combat, with the cold murder and cannabalism that transpired on Chichi Jima (and God knows how many other places). True, the old Japanese veterans he interviewed (one of whom is a nice old Rotarian) said sometimes they had to kill each other in order to have enough food to survive... Hell, that sounds fair...
Anyhow, I don't recommend this apology for the unspeakable crimes committed against our guys...
James Bradley's military savvy, by the way, comes from having a father who was one of the flag raisers on Iwo Jima... Some of his attempts at military terminology are downright embarrassing, but that's a misdemeanor compared to his felonies... bb
Rating:
Summary: Great book - sad story
Review: This was a sad story - but a story the needed to be told. It really made me understand the War in the Pacific a lot better - despite the fact that I've been studying World War II for the past 25 years.
Rating:
Summary: A Story that Should be Told---but it is soiled
Review: During my 18th & 19th years I was what Bradley called, a "Flyboy". I read and enjoyed Flags of Our Fathers, as well as Flyboys which I just finished. But I must tell you I am surprised and shocked about how----and mystified by why---- he made such an effort to equate American military actions toward Japan with the brutal treatment, including enslavement,by the Japanese of Allied POWs. In my case, the war was ended----and the killing stopped----just as I was finishing Bombardier School and slated to go to the Pacific in the nose of a B-25. Except for the B-29 battering of Japan by Gen LeMay and the dropping of the A-Bomb----both of which he seems to suggest to be at least quasi-atrocities----I , along with many thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of other teenaged Americans would have become candidates for the same fate as the eight he wrote about. Mr Bradley is obviously a brilliant man and a gifted writer. Hence ----whether he will admit it or not----- he is surely aware of the absurdity of these comparisons. I have searched my mind for a wholesome reason for his actions and I am truly sad to have to say that the only reason that makes any sense (but dubious morality) is that he is pandering to the Japanese market in order to sell books. In doing so he insults the memory of every American who sacrificed so much---many with their very lives----in World War II to preserve his right to do so.
Rating:
Summary: Worthy addition
Review: Before I really get started, I have to ask a question. When you only watch 20 minutes of a 2 hour movie or only read 3 chapters in a 400 page book, should you be writing a "review" of that book or movie? I don't think so. If you plan to write a review of a book (which by definition would include everything from the front cover to the back cover) please read the entire book. Otherwise, your opinion and review should be automatically excluded. Read the whole book and then write your review.
On to the book itself...
I read Flags of Our Fathers and found it to be one of the most incredible books that I have ever had the pleasure of reading. So, naturally, when I saw that James Bradley was writing another book on WWII, I was excited.
My excitement was well-founded.
Flyboys is a fantastic book and is a worthy sophomore effort for Bradley. I, unlike a number of other reviewers, find his writing style to be very comfortable and easy to read. He manages to include a plethora of factual information and statistics in a well crafted and emotionally charged narrative. My only minor complaint is that the book spends quite a bit of time explaining the overall morality of war and does not focus on the Flyboys themselves as much as I would have liked. I must remember though that much of the information about the Flyboys themselves was attained from second hand sources which makes detailed writing quite difficult.
My most glowing bit of praise would have to be the fact that Mr. Bradley manages to paint so vivid a picture of these young men that I found myself nearly crying while reading their story. Keep in mind that this is about men that died nearly 60 years ago. That is powerful storytelling...
Flyboys is a wonderful story and a worthy addition to my home collection.
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