Bombers over Japan

World War II #34

by Keith Wheeler

Book 34 of the TIme-Life World War II series.

Genres: History, World War II, Nonfiction, Military History, War, Aviation

208 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1982

Reviews

[Checkman · Rating 4 out of 5]

My parents were big fans of the many Time-Life book series. I can remember spending hours perusing the many books. i loved looking at the photos and art work then later I read many of them. My favorite series were the Civil War, Old West and World War II. The decades of the sixties, seventies and eighties were the high-point for the Time-Life books and were popular with the baby-boomers and their parents. Now ,in 2016, many members of those generations are passing away and the books that once sat in their libraries are appearing in used bookstores and thrift stores. As a result I am currently in the process of building up the complete WWII and the Old West series.

The Time Life World War II books (actually all of the historical series) are mainstream (almost journalistic) history. Lavishly illustrated with high quality photos (many taken by Life photographers) they are meant to provide a balanced account of the war. They are not revisionist works nor are they trying to prove a radical or controversial thesis. They go down easily and are intended for the casual reader (or the middle-school and high school student doing research for their four page report - obviously before the Internet) If one is looking for a highly detailed account that shows day to day movements of battalions, regiments and divisions then the Time-Life WWII books are not the books to look to. However ,if one knows little to nothing about The Battle of Britain, the Italian Campaign or the bombing campaign against the Japanese home islands then look no further. It's also interesting to note that many of the photos that appeared in the books had not been seen for several decades (at that time) when this series started in 1977. I can recall in the advertising this fact was trumpeted loudly

My grandfather was a B-29 bomber pilot. He was one of the many men who flew against the Japanese home islands in 1944-1945. I'm not a huge military aviation history buff, but I have read a few books about this campaign. This was my grandfather's war. "Bombers Over Japan" provides the background of the plane itself (technical history) then shows the evolution of the bombing campaign from when it started by flying out of India and China (at this point the targets were in Japanese occupied China, Manchuria and Korea) and then moved to the Mariana Islands in the Central Pacific in the Fall of 1944. Mixed in with the higher level strategic history are accounts of individual soldiers and a very nice pictorial essay showing what life was like for a B-29 crew. This I particularly enjoyed because it gave me a small sense of what my grandfather and his crew experienced. There is some space given over to the large numbers of Japanese civilians that were killed in the bombing campaign and more space given over to the massive destruction of property, but as I said the Time-Life books are not about controversy. This is not an angry book nor is it a blind flag-waving account. It strives for the middle ground - as much middle ground as one can find with such a topic. For me this book provides a connection to my grandfather and that's enough.

As I stated earlier the time-Life books are good general history. A good place to start if one is curious and wants to know more or if one just has a casual interest. The photos alone make it worthwhile. One thing that needs to be pointed out is the books are now over thirty-years old. There has been a substantial amount of research done since the end of the Cold War and the opening of the Russian archives to historians so if one finds gaps don't be indignant. If you should find one of these books in a thrift store give it a read. I haven't seen any of them priced over $3.00 and they are worth it.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't think this book quite deserves 4 stars, but 3.5 isn't an option, and I wanted in some way to show that I found it better than most of the books in the series. Not to say that the rest of the series is bad, but this one is a cut above. Unlike many series entries, which take a broad topic and try to tell too much in too few pages, this book took a narrower topic--the B-29 Superfortress--and discussed it in detail. Wheeler discusses its design, construction, deployment, its failures (and there were many, many of them, apparently), and ultimately its effective use. Also appreciated was a chapter looking at things from the Japanese viewpoint. The final chapter, however, which recounted the staggering destruction and provided some foreshadowing of what's to come at the war's end, I found to be heart-wrenching. It's a reminder of what a terrible thing war is, something that many of us all too easily seem to forget.

[Jared · Rating 5 out of 5]

A splendid (and horrific) account of the punishment that Allied (mostly U.S. forces inflicted upon japan towards the end of World War II. This volume focuses mostly on the development and production of the B-29 bomber, which was instrumental in hastening the surrender of Japan. The first few chapters detail the trials and challenges of getting the B-29 bombers outfitted and effective. The later chapters deal with Japan's defenses (or lack thereof) and the final successes of the B-29 bombing raids. The book ends with a haunting cliffhanger about the impending unit responsible for the dropping of the atomic bomb.

[Valerie Sherman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm usually more interested in the human interest stories of WWII, and the volumes of the Time-Life series that focus on a new weapon - in this case long-range bombing - tend to include technical specs of vehicles and statistics on things like bomb poundage and lives lost. The evolution of this tactic did show how B-29 bombing raids went from relative incompetence to brutal efficiency, and there were a few stories, but this wasn't one of my favorites in the series.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this one. It includes tons of detail for several different planes!

[Kurry Swigert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good photos, lots of information.

[Frederick J · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like these Time-Life series books. They’re quick, informative, and entertaining reads and I freely admit I still like books with pictures. I was a little surprised however, that this volume from the World War II series about the United States’ bombing campaign over Japan in the last year of the war made only a passing allusion to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

[Robert Snow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bought this Life Time series in the early 1980's on WWII, a volume came to the house every 2 or 3 months so I could take my reading. It was very informative and enjoyable read, I still use it for reference.

[Jerome Otte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting. Also tells a history of the B-29.