“The more you invest in a set of beliefs—the greater the sacrifice you make in the service of that conviction—the more resistant you will be to evidence that suggests that you are mistaken. You don’t give up. You double down.”
When the U.S. military started realizing that airplanes could drop bombs during wartime, different strategies were mulled over. Two main schools of thought emerged – bombing to create broad destruction or bombing to pinpoint specific targets. Most military thinkers leaned toward pinpointed attacks and that led to the creation of the Norden Bombsight. However, the Germans used the broad attacks and that seemed to work somewhat against their enemies. Two generals used these two different tactics in WW2 – Curtis LeMay and Haywood Hansell. Gladwell examines their successes and failures in The Bomber Mafia.
I have read almost all of Malcom Gladwell’s books and have enjoyed each one. He writes in a way that causes his readers to pause and think about topics without being pushy. Some of my favorites are Talking to Strangers, Blink and Outliers.
Growing up as an Air Force brat and being married to a man in the military gave me more insight and interest in The Bomber Mafia. These were not new places or people for me. However, I did not know some of the history he covers and enjoyed learning more about the Norden Bombsight and the strategies used in WW2 with aircraft. While history can sometimes be heartbreaking to read, it’s important to know about.
Anyone who enjoys learning and reading about history will enjoy The Bomber Mafia. It’s a must-read for fans of Gladwell, too.
Do you enjoy reading about history? Share your favorite time period in the comments!