Flyboys: A True Story of Courage

Rating:
Summary: Good core story, but falls far short
Review: Two words sum up James Bradley's Flyboys: muddled mess. The root of Bradley's book, the capture and horrific deaths of American pilots on Chichi Jima is absolutely compelling, and the author does his best to unearth information to shed light on this almost forgotten event. Most significantly, Bradley manages to find Japanese witnesses the supplement sketchy written documentation.

Flyboys' ultimate demise is the authors attempt to tackle the issue of moral equivalency between Japanese atrocities in World War Two and American atrocities against Native Americans in the 19th century. As most historians know, unless you have a very specific argument you are trying to support, this topic is a quagmire. Bradley does not have that defined argument and, as a result, the book becomes bogged down trying to evaluate moral equivalency. When the author must bring up the history of the Indian Wars in a book that is supposed to discuss the Second World War, that is a clear indication the author does not have a very good command of the subject matter.

I commend Bradley for trying to be fair, but he just does not do a very good job of presenting the story. Flyboys spends at least 60% of the book addressing the issue of moral equivalency, and the remaining 40% discussing the core story. Many people will undoubtedly be angered when Bradley calls the four presidents on Mount Rushmore `white supremacists', and when he completely rips Theodore Roosevelt.

However, Bradley softpedals Japan's actions from the 1850s to the end of World War Two. He argues that Japan was a peace-loving, almost pacifistic nation before the United States forcibly pushed the country on the path of imperialism. He says the `Spirit Warriors' misappropriated Bushido and turned it into a vehicle for aggression, dehumanization, rape, and murder. This then uses this issue to excuse the actions of many average Japanese soldiers who committed atrocities. Bradley claims that most soldiers were essentially conditioned to follow the Spirit Warriors, not being able to differentiate right from wrong. He later contradicts himself when he tells of sympathetic Japansese on Chichi Jima who apparently did recognize what was happing was just wrong. Daniel Goldhagen claimed in his book, Hitler's Willing Executioners, that many non-Nazi Germans were perfectly aware of the Holocaust and voluntarily went along with it. Bradley makes no attempt to examine if this possibility occurred in Japan in his book.

As World War Two slips farther into history, one has to wonder if public perceptions of Japan's (and Germany's) actions will continue to change until it is finally believed that it was the Allies who were the bad guys.

Rating:
Summary: A stunning tale of barbarism, courage and loyalty
Review: In a followup to Flags of our Fathers, James Bradley describes his detective work in determining what, exactly, happened to nine airmen shot down over the island of Chichi Jima during World War II. One was easy: the pilot was George Herbert Walker Bush, 41st President of the United States. Starting with recently declassified military trials records of Japanese officers on Chichi Jima, his discoveries are both tragic and inspiring. In fact, these true stories of brutality, courage and honor are sometimes almost beyond belief.

Rather than paint a single "snapshot" of the air war over the island near the end of World War II, Bradley looks at the big picture. His history lesson is concise, yet insightful. The brutal treatment of native Americans and Mexicans during early American expansionism... Commodore Perry's warships and the opening of international relations with Japan... the Russo-Japanese war that set the stage for World War II... the corruption of the Samurai ideal and the outrageous Japanese atrocities in China... all are covered in wide-ranging and learned prose.

Other reviewers have complained about overly harsh treatment of US involvement with native Americans, Commodore Perry's mission, and other alleged "political" agendas. Speaking as an avowed conservative, I found nothing obvious that skewed history either way. War is a brutal business and early Americans were frequently at war. We cannot pretend otherwise.

The book is crammed full of interesting, historic details: American arms accounted for only a third of Japanese troop fatalities during World War II - lack of Japanese supply planning and poor strategy account for the remainder. The religious zeal with which Japanese soldiers were inculcated with the "no surrender" philosophy resulted in a brutish and barbaric form of war, "At Kwajalein, the Japanse garrison lost 4,938, with only 79 taken prisoner, a fatality rate of 98.4 percent."

The result was a perceived need on the part of American military planners to devastate the Japanese homeland, knowing that surrender was untenable for the population. A War Department report concluded that, "defeating Japan would cost... five to ten million deaths and the United States between 1.7 and 4 million casualties, including 400,000 to 600,000 fatalities." To put this in perspective, D-Day required 175,000 invading troops. 7,000,000 American troops were in the Pacific by 1945 preparing for Operation Olympic, the first phase of invasion. Put in these terms, the fire-bombings and atomic attacks seem almost humane in that the corrupt Japanse military leaders were forced to succumb before millions of more lives were snuffed out.

This is a stunning book that paints a picture of almost unbelievable courage, honor and loyalty. Five stars, without question.

Rating:
Summary: Bradley--a 5-Star General of HIstory
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Whose Side is Bradley On?
Review: The author spent so much time talking about the Japanese and their accomplishments and exploits, you begin to wonder which side of the ocean he was writing from. If not for having included former President Bush as one of the pilots involved in this conflict, I feel doubtful this book would have the popularity it gained. Other than dropping the name of a president, it was a routine history lesson and quotes from veteran pilots who participated in this conflict. I found it very disturbing, passing over several pages at a time, considering some of his subject matter. Surely, he could find better topics to write about, than devoting an entire chapter on how some of the Japanese officers enjoyed having the American pilots executed, then having their livers cut out and specially cooked for them. And the intimate deatils he goes into, describing the methods of torture our pilots were subjected to by these sick Asian officers. For family members who lost loved ones in this area of the Pacific I am sure they were appalled to know the possibilities of their loved ones death. No doubt I'll skip this writers future books. I'll take Stephen Ambrose in a heartbeat.

Rating:
Summary: Huge disappointment
Review: When I saw this book at the store I eagerly bought it becuase I had enjoyed the author's previous work Flags of Our Fathers so much. What a terrible dissappointment this new book is. The PC revisionist history, lecturing tone and moral equivocation at its worst made me put this book down after having only read a quarter of it. I haven't returned a book for a refund in many years, and I'm happy my bookseller would take it back.

The reviews below pretty well describe the spit in the eye this book is to our efforts in WWII so I won't elaborate. Perhaps Bradley was emboldened by the success of his first book (which had a co-writer) and felt he could now lecture us all on how terrible our country is. I wonder if the many vets he interviewed knew he was going to write a book like this, or whether he simply duped them. It's fortunate that most Pacific vets of WWII, including my father, are not around anymore to read this thing.

Rating:
Summary: Misleading title, disappointment after Flags Of Our Fathers.
Review: A lot of detailed reviews are already written but I thought I'd approach mine from a more concise standpoint. First off, I should mention I bought Flyboys without hesitation because Bradley writes so well and "Flags" was so good...I bought Flyboys simply due to the author and title. Perhaps if I'd looked more into what the book contained, I would have decided against buying it and not be writing such a review. But the flipside is had I looked into it, I would have concluded that the title was somewhat misleading which I feel is worth mentioning potential buyers.

I think it's fair to say that only part of the book was really about actual Flyboys and the true story of their courage. Bradley seemed stuck betwen teaching history, the Japanese military mindset and describing the journey of a small group of American aviators. One aspect certainly had to do with the other but the history lesson was incomplete and the whole affair felt a bit disjointed. Also, I went into this book with an open mind but it was hard not to conclude that it was tinged with a degree of bias and political correctness in favor of Japan's role in WW2. It's not that his reporting wasn't insightful rather it was a case of what was left out (while other issues were overstressed) that bothered me and led me to start thinking about the bias etc. issue.

That said, Bradley still writes very well and there are interesting things to learn, and the actual "Flyboys" chapters featuring the US aviators I mentioned are hard to put down. That is what Bradley does so well but unfortunately it has to share space with non-flyboy parts of the book. And to round it all off, again I will say that it would be very tough to equal an accomplishment like Flags Of Our Fathers.

Lastly, it's just one opinion!