Attack On Yamamoto [Hardcover]

Carroll V. Glines (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 23, 1990

Here is the dramatic story of the American mission to shoot Japan's greatest admiral out of the sky, told by the award-winning author of the Doolittle Raid.On April 18, 1943, against overwhelming odds, Yamamoto's plane was shot down. Following the mission, a controversy arose: Which pilot actually shot down Yamamoto's plane? C.V. Glines turns his formidable research skills on this extraordinary tale of adventure and detection. This updated edition contains the official 1993 Air Force decision on this controversy.

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, commander of the Japanese navy and mastermind of the attack on Pearl Harbor, was killed on April 18, 1943, in an aerial ambush by a squadron of U.S. Army P-38s based on Guadalcanal. Glines ( The Doolittle Raid ) describes how the trap was set after U.S. naval intelligence discovered that Yamamoto would be flying between New Guinea and Bougainville on that date, and describes in detail how it was sprung. For nearly half a century a controversy has raged over which P-38 pilot deserves credit for the kill. Until now the leading contender has been Thomas G. Lanphier Jr., who until his death in 1987 was persistent in calling attention to himself as "the man who got Yamamoto." Glines here painstakingly collects accounts from eyewitnesses (including the testimony of one of the Japanese escort pilots) plus evidence at the crash site, and concludes that the credit belongs to Lanphier's wingman, Rex T. Barber. All this makes for engrossing reading, but the most memorable element is Glines's portrait of Lanphier, a feverishly self-glorifying character whose behavior was rooted in his postwar political ambitions. Photos.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

On April 18, 1943, a flight of Army P-38 fighter planes intercepted and shot down the bomber carrying Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, commander in chief of the Japanese Combined Fleet. This book is less a popular reprise of the event than an attempt to settle the controversy over which of two American pilots actually killed the enemy warlord. Glines, the author of other aviation dramas (e.g., The Doolittle Raid, LJ 10/15/88; Doolittle's Tokyo Raiders, 1981), is not impartial about the matter. This is a lively and well-researched account, but frequently repetitious. Still, it is the best since Davis Burke's Get Yamamoto (Random, 1969. o.p.). For general collections only.
- Raymond L. Puffer, U.S. Air Force History Prog., Los Angeles
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Crown; 1st edition (June 23, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0517577283
• ISBN-13: 978-0517577288
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,379,997 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Retired Air Force Colonel Carroll V. Glines is the author of 36 books and more than 700 magazine articles on aviation and military subjects. Three of the books are about the 1942 Doolittle Raid on Japan and he was co-author of General Jimmy Doolittle's autobiography titled I Could Never Be So Lucky Again. He was formerly editor of Air Cargo, Air Line Pilot and Professional Pilot magazines and is now the Curator for the Doolittle Library at the University of Texas, Dallas and Historian for the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Attack On Yamamoto, March 18, 2001

By 

John M. Monihan (Fairfax, VA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Attack on Yamamoto: (Hardcover)

The attack on Yamamoto is considered to be one of the finest acheivements and most fascinating epsiodes of World War II. Caroll Glines brings the authoritative and final word on the events leading up to and the subsequent downing of the Admiral's plane over Bougainville Island.

This book is a focus on the controversy that has erupted over who officially shot down Yamamoto. Going against what the Official Military Record says about who shot down Yamamoto, Glines, through interviews, letters, reports, testimonies, and expert analysis, brings a balanced approach to the controversy. Glines examines all the evidence, and provides that evidence so the reader may decide for himself who they believe actually shot down Yamamoto, although Glines clearly favors one side of the argument.

Attack on Yamamoto also contains useful discussions into the intelligence and code-breaking capabilities of the US during World War II, and it portrays the desperations and absolute necessity of accomplishing this mission and it's overall impact on the Japanese Fleet's ability to continue fighting.

A killer book, this is a must read for anyone who enjoys history, World War II, and a "sit on the edge of your seat" story.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very well written, April 1, 2010

By 

Book Reader "Tim" - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Attack on Yamamoto: (Hardcover)

This book does a very good job of covering the mission, as well as exposing how Tom Lanphier tried to get credit for shooting down Yamamota when in fact he did not. Lanphier almost caused a major security breach by going around the country while the war was still going on, telling people his mission knew they were after Yamamota, which could have tipped off the Japanese that their codes were broken. Fortunately, the Japanese never got this information.

I highly recommend this book because of the facts it presents.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Attack on Yamamoto, by C. V. Glines (Aug. 4, 2001), August 4, 2001

By 

R. W. Russell "midway42.org" (Lodi, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Attack on Yamamoto: (Hardcover)

Glines reports on every aspect of the Yamamoto mission in painstaking detail, particularly on the decades-long debate regarding who actually shot down the admiral's plane. Indeed, barely half of the book covers the mission's planning and execution; the rest consists of in-depth analysis of every conceivable piece of information and speculation on the buring question as to who should get credit for the kill. If the reader just wants a comprehensive, overall history of the mission and its background, there may be better choices. "Get Yamamoto," by Burke Davis fills that bill nicely. But if you want a book that is thorough to the last possible detail with regard to the post-mission controversy, this is the one.