Customer Reviews

BLANKETS OF FIRE PB (Smithsonian History of Aviation and Spaceflight)

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I was unsure if I would like this book at first, all a bit too technical. I was wrong, this was a very easy to read and well presented book covering the American Strategic bomber campaign against Japan using the B29 Bomber. It was a well researched account and the technical details in relation to the design & construction of the perfect bomber, training and weapons & tactics used were so well written that the narrative never got boring. Although the subject matter was horrific, the raids against Japanese cities and civilians, the book was a non-bias account of this necessary campaign. I found this book hard to put down and would recommend it to anyone who wants to learn about this period of WW2 history. Well done to the author!

The author was a B-50 Superfort pilot stationed in Japan before he became a history professor, so he's uniquely qualified to write this study of American airpower and how it led to the fire-bombing of Japanese cities. What's more, he's not in the least apologetic. Those who sow the storm reap the whirlwind. Tho it's written in the classic university-press prose, I just couldn't put it down. Werrell livens almost every page with a quote or an observation that's just right. -- Dan Ford

In the Potsdam Declaration in July of 1944 President Truman's ultimatum to Japan was to surrender or face "prompt and utter destruction". Apparently Truman did not realize that all of Japan's major cities had already been utterly destroyed. Only a few medium sized cities were left intact because they were marked for nuclear bombardment.

I have read 6 books about the B-29 raids against Japan and this one is by far the best one. This books effectively describes the tactics employed by General Curtis LeMay that wrought destruction upon the Japanese homeland. Most B-29 authors were participants in the war and therefore their books were all about themselves and their missions. Werrell was not a participant, therefore his coverage was complete and unbiased.

What I particularly liked about this books was the coverage of the early failures of the B-29 missions and the frustration that the crews felt. By March of 1945 it became clear that the B-29 campaign had become a costly failure. The book describes why it was failing and the ramifications to come (no independent Air Force). After LeMay took command, the B-29 and the strategic bombing campaign soon became a profound success. After reading this book, you will realize that the Hiroshima and Nagasaki mission were just another bombing raid like hundreds before them (in terms of land destroyed). In July of 1945, LeMay informed his superiors that by the end of October 1945, there would be no more targets left to bomb in Japan.

If you want to learn about some strategic bombing history, this is your book.