Customer Reviews

Flyboys: A True Story of Courage

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(23)
2 star:		(24)
1 star:		(25)

 

 

I am very offended in the tone that book takes in regard to comparing Japan's Chinese campaign with our final offensives in Germany and Japan. With all of the well written reviews I do not have much to add except to say that Japan was dead in the water and would have fought to the last man, woman and child. I also think that the nuclear bombs definately did create a new level of war and by doing so expedited the surrender. I am tired of people trying to apologize for America, the fact remains if they did not engage us then they would not have faced our wrath. The Chinese on the other hand recieved the barbaric wrath of Japan without so much as provoking them. I suppose we are supposed to draw a parallel in our manifest destiny or turn of the century Phillipine campaigns that were both in a very different era. By taking away all of Japans budget to make war America gave them a head start on creating a modern economy unparalleled in the world.

This book gets three stars for having some nice solid sections when it stays on task and does not get to preachy. If it wasn't for that I would have flunked it. The author has talent though and the read is pretty good being that is so severly flawed.

First off, I find it surprising that this story was not told sooner, as it involved a future U.S. president (I suppose much of the information was not available until recently). I give Bradley credit for telling the story of the airmen who gave their lives in service to our country, but I'm not sure what to make of Bradley's commentary on U.S. policy before and during World War II. It's true that atrocities happen in war, and the actions of our military should not be whitewashed. It seems wrong to me, however, to try to draw moral equivalency between the aggressors, and those who fight that aggression at great cost to themselves so that others may enjoy freedom. I also reject Bradley's suggestions that all atrocities committed by the Japanese were a direct result of earlier U.S. actions, however wrong those actions may have been (Bradley's description of the Japanese corruption of the Samauri code seems to contradict his own assertions regarding this point). I rate "Flyboys" 3 stars for telling a story that should have been told earlier, but I have reservations about the revisionist history in the book.

A few months ago, I overheard an argument by two people over this book, so I figured I would read it myself to see what it was really like. I must say I was very disappointed. The first few chapters are not even about World War II. The title is misleading, for it is not really about "Flyboys", and the author uses it as a platform to condemn the use of airpower. Unfortunately, civilians were killed in bombing raids, but it should be remembered that it was the Germans and the Japanese who started this war. The author also sees very little, if any, difference, between the Americans and Japanese, yet he overlooks who rebuilt Japan. If Japan had defeated the US, would they have rebuilt our cities? I highly doubt. There are better books about World War II in the Pacific, and certainly better books that portray the courage of the American Fighting Man.

I heard James Bradley on Imus and liked his manner and the way he spoke of his subject. I bought both his books as a result. This was the better of the two.

It could be better in addressing the specific stories of these Flyboys and their stories of courage. Instead, it tends to roll their individual contributions into the big picture of the Carrier War in the South Pacific. So, perhaps his title and portrayal of the subject matter could have been better.

But, as a story of what took place in the South Pacific, and the emotions and decisions that surrounded this theater, this book is a stellar work. He reveals the harsh truth in the manner in which the Japanese soldiers behaved (and why they behaved the way they did) as well as our decisions in fire-bombing Tokyo and the Nuclear decision. All in all, an excellent well-balanced documentary.

I expected much more after FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS. Next time stick to the facts and skip the socio-political analyzation of war. Leave it to the true academics that spend their lives studying war and warfare.
Unless Mr. Bradley has fought in a war, which I am pretty sure he hasn't; being the son of a WW II vet does not qualify, he cannot begin to understand what it takes to be a Soldier, Sailor, Airmen or Marine. Further more there is ABSOLUTELY NO 20th CENTURY DEFENSE OF CANNIBALISM. Granted there have been known cases of such in the 20th Century, but that was in dire cases of self preservation, not for self-aggrandizement. The acts they committed were unconscionable and unforgivable for a "civilized" society.
I also find Mr. Bradley's comments regarding Japan and the Japanese at the end of the book disingenuous. How does he feel about being an America because to tell you the truth I am not sure!
Also when using the military services as proper nouns, they should be capitalized ex. the Navy, the Marine Corps, the Army, etc. Unless the author is making a generalization, in which case "a navy or an army" should be used. Where is a good copy editor/proofreader when you need one?

What a catastrophic disappointment from Bradley. Why is it that so many 21st century authors feel it necessary to bash America? I just happened by this book at my local library and after reading the cover, decided it would be a good read. WRONG. After just four chapters, I'm done and will not waste another minute reading how America is/has been so evil. I came out to Amazon to read the reviews - which I wish I'd done in the first place - and agree 100% with all the one star reviews.

Author James Bradley again writes an interesting war novel about eight captured WWII American pilots who were shot down at Chichi Jima and ultimately executed by the Japanese. The fact that this has been a heretofore an unrecounted event will capture the attention of most readers. However, readers anticipating another Flags of Our Fathers will be disappointed. While being a fascinating read, Flyboys fails to take you to the emotional high that Flags does. Also, Bradley replicated the structure of Flags by first attempting to chronicle what made these eight young men become pilots and the events that brought them to that point in time when they were shot down. That part was interesting. But where Bradley overreached was in his attempt to put the entire Pacific war into a historical context by going way back and editorializing about American history since its founding as a nation. It was too broad of a reach which ultimately diluted the storyline and his credibility.

If you take the events from the pilots' capture to conclusion, Flyboys is an interesting read. That part of the story should be told. All else is a little suspect. Flyboys is probably not as bad as the one-star ratings but certainly not as good as Flags.

Overall, I thought this was a good book. I found the history of Japanese imperialism and the justification for American imperialism interesting, although both stories were full of generalizations. I suppose Mr. Bradley would need an entire textbook to thoroughly cover these subjects. One of the major flaws of the book was the lack of citations to go with some of the quotes - The reader is never told who said some of these things. This could lead someone to think that they were made up by the author. The book is gruesome in its details of Japanese treatment of POW's, but probably historically accurate. This is not a book for the squeamish.

There are already a billion one-sided war stories and movies about 'heroic American soldiers.' I'm glad this book isn't just another one of them. As stated by another reviewer, this book gives an important history of Japanese-American relations beginning before WWII. The most important thing I am getting form this book however, is not a history lesson. The question this book poses, is "what does it mean to be civilized?" Both Japan and the US claim to be civilized countries, yet they are both guilty of the most unthinkable brutal acts known to humanity. This book illustrates how evil mankind can be, no matter what their country of origin. I am reading another book right now called the Devil in White city about a psychopath serial killer. HH Holms murdered countless people with no remorse at all, and actually seemed to enjoy it. There are trueborn psychopaths, who can hurt others without feeling or remorse. They are thankfully un-common and generally not respected in our 'civilized' society. The fact that governments, (even our government) actually intentionally created people like Holms sickens me.
The Chinese government forbids its schools from teaching about the 1989 massacre in Tiananmen Square and even forbids discussion of the event, period. In our country, we do not teach what is covered in this book in the public schools, as far as I know. Thankfully, we are allowed freedom of speech in the US and therefore freedom to read what is this book. Yet so many Americans choose to blindly slap a "these colors don't run" bumper sticker on their car, and avoid American history that may make them feel uncomfortable. What kind of American are you?

This is undoubtedly a good story, and if presented in the style of Hampton Sides "Ghost Soldiers", would have been a great read. I'll not dwell on the PC side of the story because its been dissected by others. Based on the writing style alone, this book is awful (quotations with no citation or reference, lack of a cohesive thought pursued to its conclusion, poor paraphrasing of interviews). In the end, I think the thing that made me the maddest about this book is the authors use of cute nicknames for various people (Flyboys, the Dutchman, Spirit Warriors). He should have shown more respect with words like naval Aviators, the President, and Japanese soldiers. In the end, this is a very aggravating read. If you want a good WW2 read, use your money wisely and read Ghost Soldiers instead.