Rating: 
Summary: Very poor work
Review: Just too many errors. Do not waste your time or money.
Rating: 
Summary: Skewed History
Review: Flyboys is skewed. Bradley starts with a non-objective, skewed view of war history (Japanese and American), collects and interprets facts to support his skewed view, and then writes a skewed book. This book is a disappointing lecture by a non-historian who proves he has no credentials or impartiality as an historian.
Rating: 
Summary: All Over The Map
Review: I was excited to read this book because I had read the authors first book and found it very enjoyable. I finished the book, but my experience this time was not as positive. I thought the book was going to be about US pilots that were shot down during one battle in the Pacific war, at least that is what the dust jacket lead me to believe the book was going to be about. What I found was that the author really gave the reader a spotty history of Japan war crimes, US POW's in Japan and a jumpy history of the US air war. I also found the bits on George W H Bush to be so light that it was obvious the author included it as a way to increase word of mouth for the book. One last critical comment, the author left no question as to his politics about warfare and at times it got in the way of the story. I am reading the book to discover something about history, not to learn the authors' political leanings.With all these negative comments out of the way I must admit that I enjoyed a large amount of the book. Despite the shortcomings I found, I just could not put the book down. The start of the book was a bit slow with its history of Japan, but once the book got into World War 2 it got interesting. The details on both the way Japan treated American POW's and the way the bombing campaign took place were both very eye-opening. The cruelty of war never ceases to amaze me, how people can treat other humans this way is really sad. The book gives the reader an idea of the life, however short it was, of an American POW and the down right sick way they were treated. Overall the book was mixed for me, the writing was good, it brought out interesting facts, but it was too jumpy and opinionated for a high mark.
Rating:
Summary: I was one of those flyboys.
Review: The events of 18 February 1945 bring back sad memories for me. I participated in the strike on Chichi Jima as a combat air crewman on a TBM Avenger piloted By Ens Jack Keinath with turret gunner Ed Nowak. I saw the plane of Ens Hall and his crew heading for a water landing due to antiaircraft damage. I transmitted a mayday in hopes that a submarine rescue could be made. Only after reading Flyboys did I learn the ultimate fate of Ens Hall, Mershon arm3/c,and Frazier aom/2/c. The news was very distressing to say the least. I found the book very accurate and informative.
Rating:
Summary: Distorted Agenda
Review: Bradley has a bias that clearly shows in this book. Full of selected anecdotal illustrations. I have study much of the US history that he is portraying as things that taught the Japanese to be what they were. His biased flavor really comes through when you hear him read the book on audio as I am doing. The way he talks about western (and in particular American) Christian values shows that the author in his heart feels that Christian values are nothing more than hypocrisy. He states that ALL THE FACES ON MOUNT RUSHMORE are of men who were racists, who hated the Indians. Excuse me! Abraham Lincoln a racist?! I don't think so. He attempts to show that Americans raping, killing, pillaging and burning during wartime were examples (causes) for the Japanese to become the evil empire that they became. By his selection of the minority and ignoring of the majority, one can easily be duped into believing this if this book were the only thing someone read. The reality is that there is too much out there that proves his examples to be the 10% of minority incidents that always occurs in wartime. Having been an officer in the military (navy), I can say that the US Military never in history condoned as a matter of policy the things Bradley is attempting to describe as normal behavior. In fact, violations of military law were dealt with more harshly back then than now. Such things were rare. In contrast, the Japanese government, with its roots in the brutal Shogun warrior, did condone their behavior. Finally, Bradley attempts to portray Japanese Imperialism as a self-defense response to the world. That is an argument that all aggressive nations throughout history have used. Hitler took over Czechoslovakia in self-defense of the ethnic Germans in the country. However, history shows that he created the crisis that he defended. Bradley ignores a principle reason for Japanese Imperialism. When Japan learned of the things the western culture had, they lusted after them. It lusted to become a dominant nation. Having been in Japan twice in the last decade, I can say beyond a doubt that the Japanese people still love the materialistic things of the west and despise the cultures that made those things possible.
Rating: 
Summary: Important account that should be read
Review: . Flyboys is an excellent book that contains an
important account that should be read. This book and its author was brought to my attention
by a friend who heard of such on a TV show. A rare discovery. At the close of the 2003, Flyboys enjoys an Amazon
sales rank of 108 out of the hundreds of thousands, if
not millions, of the books that are for sale on Amazon. Much of the Japanese behavior in WWII is inexcusable. The book addresses the dangers of extreme nationalism
and the danger it can lead too. The genesis of Flyboys is about secret trials regarding
events hidden on Chichi Jima, not far from Iwo Jima,
during WWII. A number of Japanese officers on Chichi Jima are cannibals,
and their favorite cuisine were American prisoner of war
captives. The secret trials, held on Guam, doesn't make a lot
of sense unless taken into the broader context of WWII. George Bush, the 41st President of the United States, almost
ended up on their dinner table. The Pacific has a history of atrocities that propagate further
atrocities. The cycle of atrocities continues. It shouldn't be a surprise that Americans were involved in
various atrocities in the Pacific region. To say otherwise
is to lie when it is unnecessary. That is history. To call Japan's radical WWII military leadership "Spirit
Warriors" is justifiable, as they forgot lessons learned in
the previous war with Russia and they over-emphasized
the spirit in a modern industrial technological war. The false Bushido code practiced in Japan during WWII
carries a warning for many other societies now drunk with
power. The book Flyboys 0316105848 deserves to be read more
than once. Other books that should be read along with Flyboys are:
Downfall 0141001461 and Flags of Our Fathers 0553111337. .
Rating:
Summary: Though Provoking and Disturbing
Review: Flyboys is the kind of book that begins with a goal in mind, but finds that the story can only be told in a larger context. In this case the idea of telling the stories of some of the World War II aviationists in the Pacific theater and their fate at the hands of the enemy. But this story cannot exist in a vacuum, especially in light of what Bradley found happening in the Pacific during the early 20th century. Many criticize the book for going into an extended history of the Japanese mindset, culture and history. But I believe that this is where Bradley does his best work, for it is in this history that makes the decisions and actions of the Japanese in the Pacific more understandable. To simply state as a fact that the Japanese had little respect for the individual's life, and thus could commit atrocities is narrow-minded and almost racist. There is a path that led to this. What is disconcerting for some readers is that the book is a collision of both revisionist views of American history and how it brought other countries to view America as saying "Do As I Say, Not As I Do!" At the same time it is another book celebrating the "greatest generation" and both the contributions of the American soldier, but also the American ingenuity, bravery and drive that helped to bring about the modern air force. The tale told is a familiar one, with many of the protagonists wide-eyed young men trying to do their duty, emboldened and hampered by their youth. Much has been made of George H.W. Bush's role in this story, but for the most part his story is extraneous to the main focus, except to have him be able to serve as a counter point to what happened as one of the lucky ones to get away. The fate ultimately met by many of the American flyers captured on Chichi Jima is horrifying, and Bradley looks at this unflinchingly. He brings to light a very dark part of an already dark period of history. Still the book was fascinating to read and became difficult to put down as you are drawn into the lives of these flyboys. The book sheds light upon tales previously unknown, and allows us to see a larger evil in the miniature of one small area of the Pacific towards the end of the war. One of the best books of 2003.
Rating:
Summary: Confused.
Review: Flyboys is indeed a worthwhile book, however I think Mr. Bradley should have done more work on his script prior to publication. I don't think a book of this type needed to start with a history lesson on the reasons the Japanese thought as they did, to prepare us for what was to follow. I also am puzzled by the fact that Bradely seems to relate all the Japanese atrocities to those allegedly committed by Americans in the past. He seems to excuse the behavior of those Japanese on Cichi Jima because they were "ordered" to perform these actions. I must say he has left me with less respect for the Japanese now than I had before. I think this book will only serve to reinstitute a bad feeling toward to Japanese. I don't believe Mr. Bradley did a service to anyone by the tone he used in writing this book. He "mandates" forgiveness. I don't think he can do this. The Japanese initiated the war, I don't believe everyone in Japan was kept in the dark by their military leaders. I feel they knew and they agreed. They then suffered the consequences. I am sure they accepted them with their usual resolve.
Rating:
Summary: Very Interesting
Review: I think this is one of the better books written on WWII. Especially for the Pacific Theater. Yes, it's honest about horrors commited by both sides - before, durring and after WWII. So it's not for those who wish to believe that the enemies of the USA were the only ones to commit horrible war crimes. I'm glad that the author has included input from people who were actually there. Both Japanese and American. The history of Japan presented in this book is interesting and explains well the state of mind of Japan's government of WWII. I'm sad to hear of how those on Chichi Jima died, but I'm glad to finally have found out. Great read.
Rating:
Summary: A fascinating view into the war in the Pacific
Review: This is a fascinating look into the treatment of Naval aviators captured by the Japanese. Although it's supposedly the story of eight captured airmen, the book covers so much historical ground that you sometmes wonder which eight people the book really is about. It is a little curious why a story of Japanese atrocities spends so much time educating us about American abuses, but perhaps this is to lend a sense of balance so current readers will learn about the Japanese behavior without continuing to demonize them like we did during the war. The story is sad and shocking, but very interesting. This book will not bore you, and should be read by anyone wanting to know about some of the more shocking aspects of the war.
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