Synopses & Reviews
In December 1941, as American forces tallied the dead at Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Roosevelt gathered with his senior military counselors to plan an ambitious counterstrike against Tokyo. The top-secret bombing mission, led by daredevil Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Doolittle, was fraught with problems, but Doolittle and his men succeeded in striking the heart of the empire in April 1942. 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 at the hands of the Japanese in retaliation. Based on extensive research, is the most comprehensive account to date of this extraordinary mission. With harrowing stories about the fate of Doolittle's men after crash-landing in China and Russia, Target Tokyo is gripping popular history.
Review
"A superb writer and historian with a keen eye for detail, James Scott has created a meticulously researched account that undoubtedly will be considered the last--and best--word on the subject." Flint Whitlock, Editor, WWII Quarterly magazine
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" is an unforgettable account of American ingenuity and courage in the dark days after Pearl Harbor. With his flair for characterization and vivid storytelling, James Scott reveals the many layers behind the historic Doolittle Raid in 1942--and its consequences. Using an array of fresh sources he allows us, at last, to see the mission both in its contemporary context and from today's perspective. Both sides of the saga are represented, American and Japanese; brave and tragic; noble and despicable. His account of Japanese barbarity--long whitewashed--is particularly affecting. This is a work destined to become a classic." Nigel Hamilton, Author of The Mantle of Command: FDR at War, 1941-1942
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"A lucid, highly readable story fleshed out with an exceptional variety of people at every level, from mechanics with grease under their fingernails to aircrew inbound to the enemy capital, to national leaders in halls of power in Washington, Tokyo, and China. is bound to remain the standard reference on the subject." Barrett Tillman, Author of Whirlwind: The Air War Against Japan 1942-1945 and Forgotten Fifteenth: The Daring Airmen Who Crippled Hitler's War Machine
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"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, is at once thorough, realistic, and thrilling." Bob Carden Philadelphia Inquirer
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"The Doolittle raid on Japan was the American 'tit' for the Japanese 'tat' at Pearl Harbor. The raid changed the complexion of the war--suddenly the Land of the Gods was vulnerable to American airpower. James Scott has uncovered American and Japanese records and photographs never published before. Go on a mission that many thought impossible and enjoy his gripping " James Bradley, Author of Flags of Our Fathers, Flyboys, The Imperial Cruise, and The China Mirage
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"In , James Scott has given us a superb new account of the Doolittle raid, a daring and unprecedented gambit that altered the history of the Pacific War. Scott's narrative, which draws deeply on new archival sources, will certainly take its place as the definitive history of the Doolittle raid. That alone would be reason enough to recommend it--but is also a terrific story and a cracking good read." Ian Toll, author of Pacific Crucible, War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941-1942
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"A beautifully told account of the legendary Doolittle raid, one of the most daring strikes in US military history. Thrilling and brilliantly researched." Alex Kershaw, author of The Liberator: One World War II Soldier's 500-Day Odyssey from the Beaches of Sicily to the Gates of Dachau
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"The Doolittle raid on Tokyo is a fabulous story of bold decision-making and combat heroism. With a perfect blend of extensive research and exemplary prose, James Scott's narrative shines." Bruce Gamble, author of The Rabaul Trilogy
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"When I grew up in the house of a fighter pilot, it was a religious tenet with my father that the Doolittle Raiders were the bravest pilots in the history of flight. James Scott's epic historical work, , makes that opinion seem almost unassailable. is one of the most incredible accounts of American military valor I've ever read." Pat Conroy
Review
"James Scott's is much more than another narrative account of Jimmy Doolittle's famous air attack on Tokyo in April of 1942. It is a gripping tale of determination, tragedy, endurance, and redemption. Even those who think they know this story, will be absorbed by this vivid account of adventure and peril." Craig L. Symonds, author of The Battle of Midway
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"In , James M. Scott, an accomplished naval historian, vividly narrates the saga of Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle's audacious raid, undoubtedly one of the greatest exploits of World War II...the story has been covered many times before, but never so fully as here." Alexander Rose
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"Historian James M. Scott uncovers fresh material to provide an extraordinarily complete account of the 1941 Doolittle US air raid on Tokyo and its aftermath. The basic story is familiar but Scott tells it in so gripping a fashion that it will have great appeal for both World War II buffs and general readers." Ray Locker USA Today
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"[A] breakthrough work of popular history." Terry Hartle Christian Science Monitor
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"A fantastic story, fantastically told." Michael Giltz Huffington Post
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"Filled with thrilling heroism and sacrifice, is the definitive account of the amazing Doolittle raid." The Charleston Mercury
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"[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." Chris Patsilelis Tampa Bay Times
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" is one of the most incredible accounts of American military valor I've ever read." Edward Cuddihy Buffalo News
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"Scott's narrative, which draws deeply on new archival sources, will certainly take its place as the definitive history of the Doolittle raid. That alone would be reason enough to recommend it - but is also a terrific story and a cracking good read." Pat Conroy
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"Marvelous...undoubtedly the most comprehensive account yet.... [A] page-turner." Tony Perry
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"The Doolittle raid and its effects need to be remembered; will make them hard to forget." Los Angeles Times
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"Scott's tight prose and meticulous research provide a gripping and at times heartbreaking account of the raid." The Charleston Mercury
Synopsis
In December 1941, as American forces tallied the dead at Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Roosevelt gathered with his senior military counselors to plan an ambitious counterstrike against the heart of the Japanese Empire: Tokyo. Four months later, on 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 the enemy s factories, refineries, and dockyards and then escape to Free China. For Roosevelt, the raid was a propaganda victory, a potent salve to heal a wounded nation. In Japan, outraged over the deaths of innocent civilians including children military leaders launched an ill-fated attempt to seize Midway that would turn the tide of the war. But it was the Chinese who suffered the worst, victims of a retaliatory campaign by the Japanese Army that claimed an estimated 250,000 lives and saw families drowned in wells, entire towns burned, and communities devastated by bacteriological warfare.
At the center of this incredible story is Doolittle, the son of an Alaskan gold prospector, a former boxer, and brilliant engineer who earned his doctorate from MIT. Other fascinating characters populate this gripping narrative, including Chiang Kai-shek, Lieutenant General Joseph Vinegar Joe Stilwell, and the feisty Vice Admiral William Bull Halsey Jr. Here, too, are indelible portraits of the young pilots, navigators, and bombardiers, many of them little more than teenagers, who raised their hands to volunteer for a mission from which few expected to return. Most of the bombers ran out of fuel and crashed. Captured raiders suffered torture and starvation in Japan s notorious POW camps. Others faced a harrowing escape across China via boat, rickshaw, and foot with the Japanese Army in pursuit.
Based on scores of never-before-published records drawn from archives across four continents as well as new interviews with survivors, Target Tokyo is World War II history of the highest order: a harrowing adventure story that also serves as a pivotal reexamination of one of America s most daring military operations.
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Synopsis
The dramatic account of one of America's most celebrated--and controversial--military campaigns: the Doolittle Raid.
About the Author
A former Nieman Fellow at Harvard,