Target Tokyo: Jimmy Doolittle and the Raid That Avenged Pearl Harbor by James M. Scott (PDF)

Description

Finalist for the 2016 Pulitzer Prize in History “Like Lauren Hillebrand’s Unbroken…Target Tokyo brings to life an indelible era.” ―Ben Cosgrove, The Daily BeastOn April 18, 1942, sixteen U.S. Army bombers under the command of daredevil pilot Jimmy Doolittle lifted off from the deck of the USS Hornet on a one-way mission to pummel Japan’s factories, refineries, and dockyards in retaliation for their attack on Pearl Harbor. The raid buoyed America’s morale, and prompted an ill-fated Japanese attempt to seize Midway that turned the tide of the war. But it came at a horrific cost: an estimated 250,000 Chinese died in retaliation by the Japanese. Deeply researched and brilliantly written, Target Tokyo has been hailed as the definitive account of one of America’s most daring military operations. 16 pages of illustrations

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: Review “Gripping, compulsively readable…will have great appeal to anyone with even a passing interest in the Second World War.” ― Terry Hartle, Christian Science Monitor”Vividly narrates the saga…Scott uses original, almost untapped sources and carefully balances praise for the 80 airmen’s valor and a sober appraisal of the terrible costs.” ― Alexander Rose, Wall Street Journal”Scott’s tight prose and meticulous research provide a gripping and at times heartbreaking account of the raid.” ― Bob Carden, Philadelphia Inquirer”The Doolittle raid and its effects need to be remembered; Target Tokyo will make them hard to forget.” ― Ray Locker, USA Today”Scott is an agile writer who offers strong portraits of key figures such as Doolittle. And his immense amount of research enabled him to produce a book that appeals not just to military buffs, but to a much broader audience.” ― Hal Bernton, Seattle Times”[A] breakthrough work of popular history.” ― Michael Giltz, Huffington Post”A fantastic story fantastically told.” ― Charleston Mercury”Filled with thrilling heroism and sacrifice, Target Tokyo is the definitive account of the amazing Doolittle raid.” ― Chris Patsilelis, Tampa Bay Times”[A] brilliant tale of adventure and bravery…The telling is fresh and packs a wallop that puts it up with the best of World War II combat stories.” ― Edward Cuddihy, Buffalo News”A terrific story and a cracking good read.” ― Ian Toll, author of Pacific Crucible, War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941-1942″One of the most incredible accounts of American military valor I’ve ever read.” ― Pat Conroy”The Doolittle raid on Tokyo was one of the most impossible, daring, and consequential missions ever taken by American military men, and James Scott brings it back to the reader with you-are-there immediacy and drama. Filled with great characters, great heroism, and great suffering, Target Tokyo is at once thorough, realistic, and thrilling.” ― Evan Thomas, author of Sea of Thunder and Ike’s Bluff About the Author James M. Scott is the author of Black Snow, Rampage, and Target Tokyo, a Pulitzer Prize finalist. He lives in Charleston, South Carolina.

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐This is the story of Jimmy Doolittle and the air raid he personally led against Japan during the early, frightening days of WW2 in the Pacific. It’s also the less well-known story of the miraculous survival and struggles of the mission’s air crews during and after WW2. The Dolittle Raid is woefully under recorded in the annals of American history. The raid’s conception, the work and challenges that made it possible and the courage of everyone involved is astounding. In short, it was a daunting, unprecedented mission that Dolittle and his B-25 bomber crews willingly undertook. And the courage of the many Chinese who aided the downed fliers must be mentioned. The Japanese extracted a horrible toll on hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians because of the aid they had given to the American fliers.Scott covers all of the bases in his book. Dolittle’s life story is compelling on its’ own. The story of the young men who volunteered for this incredible mission is riveting. Their training, challenges, terror and struggles to survive the raid and carry on with their lives is a heroic saga. We can only hope that the undaunted courage and dedication of these America airmen and sailors who made the perilous mission happen is not a thing of the past. Hopefully, it will inspire readers to remember that all Americans once shared a common cause.And finally, this book reads like a great adventure. It’s far from being a dry chronicle of history. It’s a fascinatling account.

⭐The detail in this book was just awesome. It brought tears to my eyes numerous times. Well done Mr. Scott. Well done indeed.

⭐On April 18, 1942, sixteen B-25 bombers lifted off the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Hornet, and flew due west toward Tokyo. It was the start of a combat raid undertaken in retaliation for Japan’s attack on the U. S. naval forces at Pearl Harbor four months earlier. This 480-page book presents the story of that raid, popularly known by the name of its commanding officer Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle. The idea for the raid was first presented to Admiral Ernest King by his operations officer Captain Francis Low. The idea was studied, and the planes and raiders were chosen. The book follows the raiders through their flight to Japan, their efforts to reach airfields in mainland China, their experience with Chinese (and Russian) friends and Japanese enemies, and the aftermath of their heroic efforts. It was a mission that was fraught with danger. It became even more dangerous when the carrier was sighted by the Japanese far outside the operational range of the bombers. It became close to a suicide mission when the planes encountered high headwinds that drained the fuel they would need to reach friendly airfields in China – assuming that they were not shot down over Japan. It is an exciting story. At some points, you cannot put the book down. On the other hand, there are other aspects of Doolittle’s raid that challenge the narrative skills of the author. For example, the need for the bombers to conserve every drop of fuel meant that they could not rendezvous and approach the target in a single formation. As each plane left the deck of the carrier, it headed directly west toward Tokyo without waiting for the others. As a result, you had a string of airplanes flying about 50 miles apart, each with its own separate challenges. The result is like walking through the cars of a 16-car railroad train, and in each car describing what is happening to those crew members. After about the tenth plane, the repetition bogs down the excitement of the narrative. My most serious difficulty with the book was a sense that it did not adequately reflect what was happening in other aspects of the world at war. Victories at Midway and Guadalcanal were not pre-ordained. Moreover, Japanese citizens may well have been distressed by civilian casualties inflicted by the Doolittle raiders, but their distress neither excuses nor explains Japan’s savage treatment of the raiders and the Chinese who tried to help the raiders. Indeed, the savagery was the same type of behavior that the Japanese military showed at Nanking, Bataan, and other occupied areas of the war. Also, the author mentions the leniency of General MacArthur with respect to Japanese war criminals, but one gets the impression that such leniency was limited to the officials responsible for the horrific treatment of the Doolittle raiders. It was not. MacArthur treated nearly all accused war criminals with the same leniency. He looked forward to the governance of Japan, not back to remedying past offenses. This is an excellent book.

⭐The Doolittle Raid is one of the legendary episodes of World War II…an event whose military and political impact outsized the physical damage it did to its target.The details of the actual raid need no rehearsing, as every student of World War II probably knows them by now.What this book does that is new is cover and dissect the raid in absolute detail, from start to finish, focusing with microscopic intensity on the experiences of the individual Raiders and their various flights and subsequent ordeals. These included three being murdered by their Japanese captors and one suffering the annoying indignity of being shot down over Tunisia and taken prisoner by the Germans, spending the rest of the war in someone else’s PoW camp. Another Doolittle Raider, who suffered mental agony when imprisoned by the Japanese, was caught in a bureaucratic limbo when he was liberated, and found himself as an unknown and uncared for patient in an Army mental hospital. It took the determination of this airman’s family and Doolittle’s personal intervention to “bring the last raider home.”There is also a great deal of information about the raid’s preparation and planning, the actual operation — including the tragedy of the Hornet crewman who lost an arm to a B-25 propeller during take-off — and the Japanese response to the raid. The well-known part is that it motivated the Imperial Navy to launch the fatally flawed and ultimately disastrous Midway operation, and the Imperial Army to launch a ghastly and horrifying series of attacks in China against partisans suspected of aiding the crashed Doolittle Raiders, doing so with chemical and biological weapons, which ultimately killed more than 250,000 Chinese civilians, most of whom had nothing to do with the raid. This reminds us of the vast suffering China endured in a “backwater” war. Finally, we also learn of how the Doolittle Raiders found a singular way to regularly reunite to remember their singular exploit.James Scott renders this incredible tale with detail, verve, strong research, and great energy. It recalls a proud moment in and feat by American arms, which boosted the morale of a nation that had suffered immense body blows at the hands of a seemingly invincible enemy. It should be read and remembered by every American.There is only one Doolittle Raider left with us now, as we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the attack, and the final reunion was held two years ago. The personal memory of this raid is now being borne by the descendants of the Raiders, but the nation as a whole cannot forget what they accomplished. This book will help the history buff, the history student, and the average American remember that story.

⭐I was delighted to find this book as I am fascinated by the Doolittle raid both the mission and the man itself, James Doolittle. He was an extraordinary aviator who before the war did stunts, raced planes, became the 1st man to fly on instruments alone and helped develop fuel especially for aviation before leading this mission – make a film of his life and many may not believe it. It’s no wonder he called his autobiography ‘I could never be so lucky again’. The book is thoughtfully written and explores the raid in detail starting with Pearl Harbor (as it’s about America I’ve gone for their spelling) and leading up to the planning and preparation right through to the raid itself and the aftermath. At times you feel that you get really close to some of the aircrew involved. It is moving but also harrowing – the reprisals met out by the Japanese after the raid on the Chinese are truly horrific as is the treatment to those crews captured. It was a heroic raid which did more for morale than actual damage and it has a similar feel to the Dambusters raid – if you are interested in that then this is a must read as well.

⭐This is a well written and researched book, it doesn’t show bias but presents that facts as they occurred. There are times when you feel as if your are at the mission briefing or on the raid, such is the detail. After months of trying to find a credible version of the Doolittle raid, I feel this is it.

⭐I found this an engrossing story, very easy to read. The actual attack on Tokyo was, shall I say, particularly gripping. With 500 pages of text, the author gives a comprehensive understanding of the raid, its key players, the planning and execution of the raid and its aftermath, focusing especially of the aircrews.

⭐A compelling up to date read that is clearly well researched, I was surprised just how much information was included by author James M Scott. A very comprehensive account of the build up to the raid, the mission itself and the aftermath of the crews that took part.

⭐Very engaging account that is solidly researched and beautifully written. Amazingly, in the book I discovered some family history that we were not previously aware of!

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