The Doolittle Raid [Hardcover]

Duane P. Schultz (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

On the heels of Carroll Glines's The Doolittle Raid: America's Daring First Strike Against Japan (Forecasts, Sept. 23), this version covers much the same ground with heavier emphasis on the conception of the raid and the training of the crews, the failed attempts to arrange reception of the bombers in China after they had unloaded their munitions on Japanese cities and the reactions of individuals in the target zone. There is also more about Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle, the mission leader: his prewar career, for instance, and his gnawing sense afterward that the raid was a failure since all 18 bombers were lost. (Doolittle practically had to be dragged to the White House for the Medal of Honor ceremony.) Schultz ( The Maverick War ) discusses the controversy over Admiral Halsey's decision to launch the B-25s from the carrier Hornet earlier than planned after the Japanese discovered the approach of the task force. The strategic upshot of the raid on April 18, 1942, was that Admiral Yamamoto decided to extend Japan's outer defensive perimeter, which led to Japan's first major defeat, the air-naval battle of Midway in June 1942. Photos, maps.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Two books about Jimmy Doolittle's 1942 attack on Japan by experienced writers of popular military history who use the same sources. Inevitably they echo each other. In the case of Glines, he also echoes himself. This is his fourth book on the Doolittle saga, and he is running out of steam. Much of The Doolittle Raid is taken from his earlier titles, especially Doolittle's Tokyo Raiders ( Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1981); whole passages are virtually identical. The newer work includes a few more interviews with survivors of the famous raid but adds nothing to our understanding. Libraries owning copies of the earlier book will not need this. Schultz's book is yet another readable and fast-moving account of the planning, execution, and aftermath of the famous raid. He makes use of most of the Glines interviews, so much of his text is eerily familiar. The book is somewhat better researched and makes fewer grandiose claims about the raid's importance.Raymond L. Puffer, U.S. Air Force History Prog . , Los Angeles
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 325 pages
• Publisher: St Martins Pr; 1st edition (November 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031202195X
• ISBN-13: 978-0312021955
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,336,905 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Best Single History of the Doolittle Raid, October 8, 2005

By 

C. Davis (Hanover, MD) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Doolittle Raid (Hardcover)

Despite being a "popular" history written at a level designed for junior high students, Mr. Schultz has produced what is widely considered the best single volume history of the planning and implementation of the raid. While the book traces the return of the individual crews to the United States in an interesting and insightful way, there is a glaring lack of analysis on how the Roosevelt administration failed to adequately implement a communications plan to achieve its war aims or to maximize the war morale back home - the stated goal of the Doolittle Raid.

Written at a level for junior high students, this book both glamorizes Doolittle and really fails to demonstrate that he was, despite some real failures in implementation, the indispensable man making the raid happen. No other officer had the flying experience combined with the engineering skills to drive the raid from 25 page document to bombs on target in less than 3 ½ months. There are many small inaccuracies in the book which, no doubt, the editors left in for the sake of readability.

This book is the best analysis of the planning and implementation of the raid. This is not my opinion. I read this book to help a scholar I work with on a project. Every military historian and every librarian that I talked to mentioned that this book was the only one that really walked through the plan from the original idea to execution with any level of detail.

My main complaint about the book is that it fails to discuss how the Roosevelt administration, after initially fumbling, used the raid and the execution of some of the raiders by the Japanese to inspire enthusiasm for the war. That additional element would move the book from the realm of rousing war story to serious analysis of history.

Overall importance of the raid to the outcome of World War II is still debated today. Recently declassified information about high altitude balloon firebombing indicates that the Japanese were motivated to pursue this costly and ineffective technique by the Doolittle Raid. Likewise, many argue that the raid forced Japan to pursue further expansion eastward toward Midway and Hawaii - a strategy that resulted in the destruction of Japan's carrier forces during the Battle of Midway. However, many historians argue that damage from the raid was inconsequential; the loss of 16 B-25 was a poor exchange for the small amount of damage done. Likewise, the battle at Midway or similar turning point would have happened because Japan had exceeded their ability to support their far flung forces and any attempt to advance any further in any direction would have resulted in a crushing defeat.

To this reader, none of that makes any difference. The Doolittle Raid ultimately transcends World War II and even the participants. Ultimately, the raid was about creativity and ingenuity in a time of great stress. This book captures that creativity and describes how it came to be reality. As we engage in the war of our generation, the Global War on Terrorism, we could do worse than to learn from the genius of the Doolittle Raid.