# The Bomber Mafia: A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War - Hardcover

by **Malcolm Gladwell** (Author)

**Dive into this "truly compelling" (_Good Morning America_) _New York Times_ bestseller that explores how technology and best intentions collide in the heat of war--from the creator and host of the podcast _Revisionist History._**

In _The Bomber Mafia__,_ Malcolm Gladwell weaves together the stories of a Dutch genius and his homemade computer, a band of brothers in central Alabama, a British psychopath, and pyromaniacal chemists at Harvard to examine one of the greatest moral challenges in modern American history.

Most military thinkers in the years leading up to World War II saw the airplane as an afterthought. But a small band of idealistic strategists, the "Bomber Mafia," asked: What if precision bombing could cripple the enemy _and_ make war far less lethal?

In contrast, the bombing of Tokyo on the deadliest night of the war was the brainchild of General Curtis LeMay, whose brutal pragmatism and scorched-earth tactics in Japan cost thousands of civilian lives, but may have spared even more by averting a planned US invasion. In _The Bomber Mafia,_ Gladwell asks, "Was it worth it?"

Things might have gone differently had LeMay's predecessor, General Haywood Hansell, remained in charge. Hansell believed in precision bombing, but when he and Curtis LeMay squared off for a leadership handover in the jungles of Guam, LeMay emerged victorious, leading to the darkest night of World War II. _The Bomber Mafia_ is a riveting tale of persistence, innovation, and the incalculable wages of war.

### Author Biography

**Malcom Gladwell** is the author of seven _New York Times_ bestsellers: _The Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers, What the Dog Saw, David and Goliath, Talking to Strangers,_ and _The Bomber Mafia._ He is also the cofounder of Pushkin Industries, an audiobook and podcast production company. He was born in England, grew up in rural Ontario, and now lives in New York.

**Number of Pages:** 256

**Dimensions:** 1 x 8.3 x 5.75 IN

**Illustrated:** Yes

**Publication Date:** April 27, 2021

## Details

- **Price:** 27.0 USD
- **Vendor:** Books by splitShops
- **Type:** Books
- **Tags:** Books by splitShops, Shopify Collective

## Variants

| Variant | Price | Available |
|---------|-------|-----------|
| Default Title | 27.00 USD | In stock |

## Images

- The Bomber Mafia: A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War - Hardcover

---

> Source: [Smart supply deals](https://smartsupplydeals.com/products/the-bomber-mafia-a-dream-a-temptation-and-the-longest-night-of-the-second-world-war-hardcover-1)
> Updated: 2026-07-23