The Doolittle Raid: America's Daring First Strike Against Japan

The Doolittle Raid: America's Daring First Strike Against Japan
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Confusing titles

History the way it should be written

Inspiring Book

America's First Strike Against Japan

Very Good Account of the Doolittle Raid

The Doolittle Raid: America's Daring First Strike Against Japan
Carroll V. Glines
Manufacturer: Schiffer Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books
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I Could Never Be So Lucky Again

Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo

Calculated Risk: The Extraordinary Life of Jimmy Doolittle-Aviation Pioneer and World War II Hero

The Doolittle Raid 1942: America's first strike back at Japan (Campaign)

I Could Never Be So Lucky Again: An Autobiography

ASIN: 0887403476

Book Description

It was the biggest gamble of World War II, but Lt. Co. "Jimmy" Doolittle's legendary bombing raid on Tokyo gave America the morale boost it needed in the wake of Pearl Harbor. This is the full story as told by the Doolittle Raiders' official historian. Carroll Glines is also the author of Attack on Yamamoto. , 35 photos, 6" x 9"

Customer Reviews:

Confusing titles.......2007-03-28

This is the second of two books that Glines wrote specifically on the Doolittle Japan mission. The first, "Doolittle's Tokyo Raiders," was published in 1964 and was the first comprehensive history of the mission. (Okay, James Merrill published his "Target Tokyo: The Doolittle-Halsey Raid" the same year, but Glines' account is the better of those two.) Of particular interest in the 1964 book are the 16 accounts that Glines elicited from a crew member of each of the 16 B-25s that took part in the raid, as well as the individual photographs of each five-man crew.

Several years later, Glines decided to write an updated (1988) account of the raid, emphasizing information that had come to light since the 1964 book -- e.g., the story of the Japanese fishing vessels that "intercepted" Halsey's task force on April 18, 1942, and forced an early takeoff by the B-25s. That second book is "The Doolittle Raid," featured on this webpage.

If I had to choose one over the other, I'd definitely seek out a copy of the earlier (1964) book. Although the later (1988) book probably is cheaper and easier to find, the updated information doesn't add a great deal to the basic story of this extraordinary feat. Ideally, you should read/own both. I won't claim to have read every book on the Doolittle raid. Of those I have seen (including Craig Nelson's "The First Heroes" and Duane Schultz's "The Doolittle Raid"), some are better written, but none are more informative than Glines.

Note that Glines also authored "Four Came Home," an account of the Doolittle raiders who were captured by the Japanese, and co-authored Doolittle's autobiography, "I Could Never Be So Lucky Again." He's pretty much the man from Doolittle Raid headquarters.

History the way it should be written.......2007-01-06

An intensely interesting account of the Doolittle Raid - America's first strike at the Japanese mainland five months after Pearl Harbor. The Doolittle Raid is one of those historical events that people are aware of without knowing many of the details - more so now as the veterans of WWII age and pass on than 20 odd years ago when this book was first published. The books well-written, factual, covers everything from the conceptualisation of the raid through the planning, preparation, the raid itself and it's aftermath as well as side-events such as the crew that ended up in the USSR and eventually escaped through Iran to India.

There's photo's of all the crews that took part in the raid as well as some of the aircraft themselves. Keep in mind that these men volunteered for this mission without knowing what it was, flew off a carrier with bombers that were in no way designed for it and took off on a one-way mission with nothing much prepared at the other end. Eight were captured by the Japanese and three were executed. Quite frankly, these guys were real heroes.

"They shall not grow old,
As we that are left grow old.
Age shall not weary them,
Nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun,
And in the morning,
We will remember them.
We will remember them."

Inspiring Book.......2005-10-10

A truely inspiring read about men willing to fight any odds to strike a blow for the USA.

America's First Strike Against Japan.......2002-05-22

In April, 1942, the U.S. Navy set out to strike back at the Japanese. The plan was to launch B-25 Mitchell bombers from the deck of an aircraft carrier, bomb Tokyo, then fly to safety in China. In this excellent book by Carroll Glines, the story of the famed Doolittle Raiders unfolds. President Roosevelt conceived the idea. American morale was very low after the Pearl Harbor attack, and the President felt that an attack on the Japanese homeland would do wonders for the American civilians as well as the armed forces. Colonel Jimmy Doolittle was selected to lead the mission. Famous for his air racing and numerous speed records, Doolittle assembled sixteen crews and began training in Florida. Finally, the planes were loaded aboard the U.S.S. Hornet and the task force set sail for Japan. The original plan was to approach to within about 350 miles of the Japanese coast before launching, but a Japanese sampan discovered the task force while they were still some distance from the take off point. I enjoyed the way that Mr. Glines told the individual story of each crew involved in the attack. This aspect of the book made it much more enjoyable to read. The dialogue is so vivid that one can imagine themself sitting in the cockpit. In the end, most of the planes successfully crash-landed in China, but eight men were taken prisoner by the Japanese. They suffered horribly at the hands of their captors. One man died in prison, three were executed by the Japanese, and four survived the war to return to the United States. Another book, entitled Four Came Home, also written by Mr. Glines, tells the story of the four survivors in much greater detail than this book. I would highly recommend both of these books as they both do an excellent job describing this first strike against the enemy.

Very Good Account of the Doolittle Raid.......2001-01-30

This book, I believe, is a very good account of a relatively forgotten event during the Second World War in the Pacific theater. Sandwiched between two intensely covered events such as the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the American victory at Midway, the Doolittle raid often gets overlooked. The author did a good job to provide a detailed account of the events leading up to the raid as well as an excellent account of the experiences of each of the sixteen bomber crews as they made their raid over Japan. Other lesser-known areas concerning the raid were covered such as the voyage of the carrier task force and just how close they came to being attacked by Japanese aircraft and surface forces. Also the technical challenges that occurred to the aircraft were elaborated on as well as an account from the Japanese standpoint pertaining to their preparedness for such an air raid. To complete this telling of the Doolittle Raid the author explains the fate of the aircrews that either survived the raid to continue the fight or those that were captured by the Japanese. Finally the plight of the Chinese people as a result of their part of the raid was not forgotten or overlooked, as is often done by history. Overall, for a person generally interested in World War II history this book would rate a 4 out of 5. If you are particularly interested in the Pacific war against Japan this book is definitely a 5 of 5.

The Doolittle Raid 1942: America's first strike back at Japan (Campaign)

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A Decent Summary

The Doolittle Raid 1942: America's first strike back at Japan (Campaign)
Clayton Chun
Manufacturer: Osprey Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Japan | Asia | History | Subjects | Books

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Leyte Gulf 1944 (Campaign)
Iraq 1941: The battles for Basra, Habbaniya, Fallujah and Baghdad (Campaign)
Moscow 1941: Hitler's First Defeat (Campaign)
US Submarines 1941-45 (New Vanguard)
US Navy Aircraft Carriers 1922-45: Prewar classes (New Vanguard)

ASIN: 1841769185
Release Date: 2006-01-31

Book Description

In early 1942, the strategic situation was bleak for the United States. She had been in continual retreat since Pearl Harbor, surrendering major areas such as the Philippines, and was preparing for the worst in Hawaii and on the West Coast. The Japanese, on the other hand, had secured a well-defended perimeter, and was set for further expansion. Something needed to happen quickly and be of considerable impact-and the combined-arms, April 1942 Doolittle Raid on Japan was a way to achieve this. This book examines the planning, execution, and aftermath of this innovative, daring and risky attack, which would show that the Japanese navy and air forces were anything but invincible.

Customer Reviews:

A Decent Summary.......2006-03-29

Dr. Clayton K. S. Chun, a professor at the US Army War College, offers an interesting summary of the Doolittle Raid on Japan in April 1942 in Osprey's Campaign #156. The volume is enhanced by Dr. Chun's detailed writing style and his access to declassified US Air Force records, as well as the usual high graphic quality from Osprey. Primarily, this volume is intended to provide a model of a how a joint-service operation can be successfully conducted with limited time and resources available - in this regard, the volume is a success. However, there are aspects of purely historical interest that appear to be slighted herein, and readers with interest in this topic should consult other sources as well.

In the opening sections, Dr. Chun lays out the reasons for the raid after the string of Japanese victories in the Pacific, as well as opposing commanders and forces. Although Dr. Chun provides a decent overview here, he really should have provided a bit more about the capabilities of the Japanese radar net that he mentions (e.g. what was its range?) and the star of the show - the B-25B bomber - gets little discussion of its capabilities (particularly when it comes to the modifications to extend its range). The section on the planning of the raid is good, particularly on intelligence support for target selection, but omits some key details - like how the bombers were placed by cranes on the USS Hornet (no small matter). Dr. Chun succeeds in laying out the groundwork of this joint service operation came together, but has skimmed over some important technical issues. I found Dr. Chun far too succinct about Doolittle's later career or what happened to the other survivors of the raid. I also wonder why no Japanese sources or historians' views were included - did they see the raid in the same terms of historical importance?

The actual narrative of the raid is complemented by the usual 3-D and 2-D color maps that Osprey uses in the Campaign series. The two color scenes depict the attack on the Japanese picket ships and two scenes of B-25s over Japan. The flight profile and target of each aircraft are discussed succinctly, but carefully. It is also a first for Osprey to use 3-D BEVs to depict air-only operations. In the concluding sections, Dr. Chun discusses the fate of the air crews and the safe return of Halsey's task force. I believe that Dr. Chun's conclusions are a bit contentious, in that he states, "the United States was able to change its strategic stance from a defensive to an offensive one, and showcased its military capability to all of the Axis Powers." First, both the Coral Sea and Midway operations that followed involved US defenses of forward bases -not attacks on Japanese bases - and thus the shift to an offensive posture took months to occur after the Doolittle Raid. Furthermore, the initial offensive effort in the Solomons was so strapped for resources that we quickly lost momentum and became involved in a see-saw attritional struggle. The US was not indisputably on the offensive in the Pacific for almost a year after Doolittle's bombs fell on Tokyo. Second, the other major Axis power - Germany - could hardly be impressed by a small-scale raid while US ships and planes could not even defend their eastern seaboard against the on-going U-Boat offensive Operation "Drumbeat." Germany would not begin to respect US military capabilities until well into 1943.

Finally, the idea that the Doolittle Raid precipitated the Japanese attack on Midway and thus brought about their reversal of fortunes puts far too much historical weight on just the raid. The tide turned in the Pacific primarily because of US code-breaking and our superior industrial resources which allowed us to replace losses faster. Even without the Doolittle Raid, it is probable that the US and Japanese fleets would fight a major fleet action or two in the central Pacific in 1942-43, since the Japanese were not simply going to wait for the inevitable US tide of material to sweep westward. The US Navy had some lucky breaks and Midway was a big win, but it could have been more of a draw like Coral Sea or Eastern Solomons, in which case nobody would be writing that Doolittle's Raid began the march to victory. While the raid probably did speed up Japanese intentions to move on Midway, it was probably better for the Japanese to strike while they still had a numerical edge in carriers, rather than wait until they were outnumbered. Thus, the historical value of Doolittle's Raid must be placed in proper context with other influences and not examined in a vacuum.

The First Heroes: The Extraordinary Story of the Doolittle Raid--America's First World War II Victory

Average customer rating:

Poor knowledge of detail
just a great historical book about an impossible mission
Great History of the Doolittle Raid
The First Heroes is a must read
Not researched but well embellished

The First Heroes: The Extraordinary Story of the Doolittle Raid--America's First World War II Victory
Craig Nelson
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Japan | Asia | History | Subjects | Books

Aviation | Military | History | Subjects | Books

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books

I Could Never Be So Lucky Again
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
Eddie Rickenbacker: An American Hero in the 20th Century
Billy Mitchell: Crusader for Air Power (Midland Books: No. 180)
The Doolittle Raid 1942: America's first strike back at Japan (Campaign)

ASIN: 0142003417
Release Date: 2003-09-30

Book Description

Immediately after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt sought to restore the honor of the United States with a dramatic act of vengeance: a retaliatory bombing raid on Tokyo. On April 18, 1942, eighty brave young men, led by the famous daredevil Jimmy Doolittle, took off from a navy carrier in the mid-Pacific on what everyone regarded as a suicide mission but instead became a resounding American victory and helped turn the tide of the war. The First Heroes is the story of that mission. Meticulously researched and based on interviews with twenty of the surviving Tokyo Raiders, this is a true account that almost defies belief, a tremendous human drama of great personal courage, and a powerful reminder that ordinary people, when faced with extraordinary circumstances, can rise to the challenge of history.

Customer Reviews:

Poor knowledge of detail.......2007-08-30

I really, really wanted to like this book. I'd just finished Hornfischer's outstanding "Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors" and wanted some more inspirational reading. I'm about half finished listening to this book in its MP3 version, and have noted the following:
1) the author has no - and I repeat no - required knowledge of the US Navy. There are many, many small, factual errors that are really annoying - referring to the HMS Repulse as a "cruiser", describing the Japanese torpedoes as "two feet long", etc, etc. Anyone with even a basic knowledge of the US Navy in WW2 should have been given an opportunity to preview this book before publication.
2) Overuse of military jargon - bombs referred to as "cabbages", torpedoes as "eels" by such a rank amateur was just too much.
3) this really doesn't apply to the book itself, but the reader on the MP3 version had no idea regarding correct pronunciation of naval terms - (en-sine, indeed.)
I find that when there are so many factual errors in an area that I'm familiar with, I have a tough time accepting the new - often interesting on its face - data that an author brings up. It's too bad that such a terrific topic couldn't have been treated more professionally. I read "Thirty Seconds over Tokyo" as a kid and really was looking for some new information. I blame the editors completely for this second rate attempt.

just a great historical book about an impossible mission.......2007-01-22

This book is wonderful! Gives a sense of the courage needed after pearl harbor and how it was met by young americans. Harrowing!
I can't recommend it any more than A MUST READ. I have sent many to soldiers and friends!

Great History of the Doolittle Raid.......2006-07-23

Here's a compelling and well told history of the daring Doolittle Raid of 1942. Nelson does a good job recounting America's first offensive action against Japan in WWII.

More of a morale booster for America and a psychological defeat for the Japenese, the raid did little actual damage. It did however prove to the world that the Japanese were vulnerable.

This story of the daring men who went on what amounted to a suicide mission is riveting. Nelson takes us through the training for the ultra secret mission, to the actual raid itself, and the following crash landings in China.

Nelson does a very good job of placing these events in the overall context of WWII and follows the fates of all involved up to the present. A little slow at first, The First Heroes rewards persistence. Recommended for anyone interested in WWII.

The First Heroes is a must read.......2006-03-23

The First Heroes by Craig Nelson is a must read for anyone who is interested in history, especially World War Two. It is the story of America's finest pilots getting their first vengeance after the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. The task seemed impossible: fly bombers off of an aircraft carrier in the Pacific, drop bombs over Tokyo and somehow land in China. The mission didn't go as planned. Only one plane made it to Allied soil and the other 15 crashed in Japanese occupied China, but not before dropping their payload over Japan. It was a daring move but it paid off in the end. The book is full of first hand accounts which bring a sixty year old story back to the present times. It was so good that I read it in about two weeks. It had me from the first page. Instead of focusing on just one main character, Craig Nelson tells the stories of all 100 men involved, giving this unique event many different angles. I only read non fiction books and this one read like a work of fiction, with lots of suspense and surprises at every turn. It shows human suffering and how humans can overcome physical and mental suffering if they have the will to do so. I was also amazed at how the Japanese treated their prisoners of war. They had little respect for anyone who was not their own, something that the western world has a hard time fully understanding. This is a must read for anyone interested in the aviation of the Second World War. Craig nelson weaves an intriguing story.

Not researched but well embellished.......2006-03-04

I was only able to read as far as page 146 before I was turned off by the author's lack of knowlege of the subject. For instance, on the page mentioned above he quotes Lt Joyce as saying "my rear gunner was firing." He did record the fact that the tail guns had been removed and replaced by broom sticks. Where was his editor? Other reviewers have also pointed out other glaring errors committed all before page 146 such as diesel engins, "Billys", and B's taxiing, and so on. The first half of the book left much to be desired, I will not read the rest of the book.

Freedom Is For Those Willing to Defend It: Stories of Men in War

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Oh, beautiful for heros proved...
Busy Guardian Angels

Freedom Is For Those Willing to Defend It: Stories of Men in War
Helene Ensign Maw
Manufacturer: Trafford Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Military & Spies | Professionals & Academics | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books

Book Description

Twelve true stories of men in war during the Vietnam, Korean and World War II wars. Each story of twenty to thirty pages comprises detailed experiences with maps and photographs.

"They removed the handcuffs, stretched my arms out spread eagle against the wall and pinned a target on my chest. Leg irons clamped on both legs and a blindfold over my eyes. . .At the same time I could hear the rifle butts hit the flagstone path and I knew what that meant. It was ready, aim, fire and that's it, and in those seconds my life flashed before me." After three and a half years in Japanese prisons in China, this veteran of World War II, Korea and Vietnam was on the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo 18 April 1942, and tells of his capture and imprisonment in the story Freedom is for Those Willing to Defend It.

I Dreamed of Steel Chargers with Skies to Roam, but Mostly I Dreamed of Just Going Home is a story of five and a half years in the Hanoi Hilton. An F-105 American pilot depicts more than torture in the infamous Knobby Room at Hoa Lo Prison and isolation without mail from his wife and five children, he discloses how he survived with three others in a 12 x 12 concrete cell for five years and their longing to see America once more. "We faced east which was toward home and where an American flag was flying and with a hand placed over our heart pledged allegiance to the flag." Bursting the noise ban, they loudly sang The Star Spangled Banner while another cell in greater volume burst into God Bless America and another, even louder, America the Beautiful, and another and another throughout the cells of the prison camp until silenced by Vietnamese guards with tear gas and bayonets.

A twist of unexpected humor surfaces in No Place to Hide, when a bombardier lieutenant is forced to jump out of bed while still in his shorts and salute General Twining; when his Purple Heart goes unclaimed because he was wounded on his anatomy in a place he never wanted to explain. "I decided to hand crank the stuck bomb bay doors shut. I took off my flak jacket, parachute, and Mae West life jacket, and headed for the open bomb bay. The quarters were too tight to work with those strapped to my body. I instructed the flight sergeant to hand me a new oxygen bottle every thirty seconds, since I didn't want to run out of oxygen, pass out, and fall out the bomb bay without a parachute. I got out on the six-inch catwalk, leaned over the open bomb bay and looked down at the ground 28,000 feet below. . ."

In the invasion of Guam, a Marine from the 3rd Marine Division tells of the fight on the beach and scaling the Chonito Cliffs in The Sounds and Smells of War I Know So Very Well. "The next morning descending from Fonte Canyon by an easier route than the cliffs we had scaled, we witnessed an astounding spectacle. Looking down from a ridge trail into the desolate ruins of AgaÃ±a, once a metropolis of 12,000, the Japanese soldiers were holding a full-dress ceremony on a bomb-pocked avenue of the capital city, or what was left of it. Flashing Samurai swords gleamed in the sun as they paraded wearing full combat regalia. We ordered an artillery concentration, but it was too late to catch the prideful retreating Imperial enemy."

Trusting to My Instinct is about a young recruit from ranch country thrown into battle and learned from experience why the training manual was incomplete. "Reaching battalion headquarters with the POW, I placed him in the major's charge, and rushed back up the mountain to rejoin my platoon. In my absence Lieutenant Davis had gone ahead alone to sneak behind the machine gun position. We estimated there was a machine gunner in a command post and about forty German riflemen in foxholes, dug in and camouflaged. We listened to the steady rhythm of the ra-ta-ta-tat of the machine gun bursts. Then it quit. On a hunch that the enemy gun had jammed, Bill and I rushed forward firing our Tommy guns from the hip, spraying every bush and tree while dodging bullets from the German riflemen. The command post comprised a four-foot high log hut in the brush, and behind the log hut was Lieutenant Davis. After circling around to get behind the machine gun to take it out, he met enemy fire and lay dead."

A successful assault coincides with an attack of diarrhea in an empathetic vignette midst the valiant story If You Cut My Arm Of, Let Me Die, I'm a Baseball Player. A citizen of Czechoslovakia abandons the opportunity to join the New York Giants' ball club to become a paratrooper in the U.S. Army and becomes a survivor of the invasions of Holland, Belgium and Germany. "Medic!" I yelled, but he died in my arms before a medic got there. I laid him down and started mowing with that .30 caliber machine gun, shooting so fast that the barrel got hot and glowed red in the night. Then the German tanks turned around and headed back toward my foxhole again. Just then out of the corner of my eye fifteen feet away from me a German jumped up and pointed a one-man bazooka at me. I moved the .30 caliber around and got him before he could fire the bazooka, then ducked down just as another tank crossed by my foxhole."

The Epic Rescue of My Gal Sal; and The Great Escape is the survival of an airman in three aircraft tragedies. The crew of My Gal Sal, land their out-of-fuel 10-ton B-17 on the Greenland Ice Cap and are rescued by a pilot landing a 12-ton PBY on a small ice water melt lake and a veteran of the Arctic on skis. The ice melt lake disappears shortly after the rescue. The airmen is in a second emergency landing, and again a third time, when he is the lone survivor of his aircraft and bails out over enemy territory and is imprisoned for three years. He is part of the planning of a great escape of 250 prisoners, but eventually saved from annihilation by the Russians by Hitler.

The Chinese Trap at Chosin Reservoir, takes place at the Chosin Reservoir in Korea and as General Matthew Ridgeway explained the tragedy, "We were, in short, in a state of shameful unreadiness."
"The ten Chinese divisions that had orders to annihilate the Marines at Yudam-ni attacked them all the way to the sea as the Marines withdrew. Following within the shadow of the Marines for protection were nearly a hundred thousand North Korean women, children, and old men carrying their wounded. During the two-week battle on the west side of the reservoir the 15,000 men of the U.S. Marines, British and South Koreans suffered 12,000 casualties. The 3,000 men of Task Force Faith of the 31st and 32nd battalions/Seventh Army Division on the east side of the Chosin Reservoir fared worse with more than 2,600 dead and only 385 survivors."

In contrast to the men at the Chosin Reservoir, the men in the story of 9 Band-Aids and 9 Purple Hearts, had water to drink without carrying canteens, fresh eggs any time and freshly made donuts.

"When the dust had cleared we returned to count the cost of the all-night attack - of the 4,000 Chinese that had attacked us, 350 of the enemy had lost their lives and 2,500 had surrendered. When counting our casualties, we discovered that not one of our men had been killed. Our 240 men who had fought off 3,500 to 4,000 Chinese dusted off their fatigues and used Band-Aides to cover their scrapes, and with grateful hearts for their lives, they buried the enemy dead before moving out.".

Letters from Vietnam is a daily record during the Tet Offensive in Vietnam abstracted from letters from a sergeant to his wife."7 Feb 68. Well, this morning was one of those mornings when you wake up and ten minutes later the VCs are shooting at you. We got carbine fire and RPGs. We moved out with the tanks about ten o'clock and started sweeping through the area where the VC were. About two o'clock we ran into them.
"I got the news about the baby when I got back. I am so happy I could cry! I love you so much... I don't know what day he was born. They didn't say, they just said it was a boy and weighted 7 pounds and something...all I can say is, I love you..."

Vietnam war negotiations ensued to end the war and exchange prisoners. The Last Plane Out is a story of negotiating with generals of South Vietnam, North Vietnam and the Viet Cong and how you actually shut down a war. Included are experiences that occurred at Phu Quoc Island, the POW camp where the majority of the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong were incarcerated.

Customer Reviews:

Oh, beautiful for heros proved..........2002-11-24

"Oh, beautiful for heros proved, in liberating stife, who more than self their country loved, and mercy more than life." America The Beautiful, verse 3.

I rate this book a 5+, and NOT just because one of the stories (and the first review) was written by my father. Neither he nor the author of the book has asked me to write this review. In fact I stumbled across this review site by accident while looking to see whether the book was selling on Amazon.com, yet.

The title states that "freedom is for those willing to defend it". Especially in these uncertain and troubling times, we must all be willing to stand up for, support, and defend freedom, AND to understand(as best we can) AND appreciate the sacrifices that have been made by those who have actually defended the principle of freedom by risking their lives and often endured great suffering and deprevation. If this book doesn't put a tear in your eye and a lump in your throat on Veterans Day, nothing will.

Busy Guardian Angels.......2002-10-18

I recommend this book. The author loves America. My own story is in it or I would have rated it 5 stars. All of us were either very lucky or our guardian angels worked overtime. The title conveys a disturbing message. If you need to spark your patriotism and appreciation for those who have secured our freedom, this should help you. If you need 'the impossible dream' to solve your problems, it may help you too. If you want to read unusual personal experiences from WWII, Korea & Vietnam you can easily find them in this book. There are 12 short stories of common men in war. ...

The Doolittle Raid America's daring first strike against Japan

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The Doolittle Raid America's daring first strike against Japan

Manufacturer: Orion Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000G1L93A

Product Description

A thrilling account of the famous Doolittle raid.

Not As Briefed: From the Doolittle Raid to a German Stalag

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The WWII version of the Civil War's Private Sneden
A Fascinating World War II biography
Not As Briefed
American Spirit of WWII captured in Greening's story

Not As Briefed: From the Doolittle Raid to a German Stalag

Manufacturer: Washington State University
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Book Description

Washington State University art graduate Ross Greening was serving as a B-25 pilot in the Northwest at the outbreak of WWII. In 1942, he participated in the famous Doolittle bombing raid over Tokyo, which started a chain of events altering the course of the Pacific war. Greening designed the special bomb-sight used during the mission and later painted a one-of-a-kind record of the attack.

Greening next was assigned to the North African theater. His luck ran out in July 1943 when Axis gunners shot his plane down over Italy's erupting Mt. Vesuvius. After capture and then escaping during an Allied-bombing raid, Greening evaded recapture for more than six months in northern Italy. German soldiers who had been tipped off about Greening's hideaway in a high mountain cave eventually seized him and two companions.

In a German stalag, Greening was one of the ranking Allied camp commanders. He continued to make an amazing pictorial record of the war--of his own experiences and those of dozens of other prisoners who related their accounts to him. Near the war's end, the Allied prisoners seized control of the camp before the Russian army overran it. Greening's invaluable watercolors, sketches, diary, and other items, a good portion of which had been hidden from the Germans, were safely brought out.

In recent years, Greening's niece and widow compiled his memoirs. His sensitive observations on the cruelty and injustices of war are moving and deep-felt. His innate courage and resourcefulness were admirable, as were his astute assessment of the evils of fascism and the measures necessary to prevent threats to world peace.

More than one Doolittle veteran has said, "Ross Greening was the best one of us!"

Customer Reviews:

The WWII version of the Civil War's Private Sneden.......2002-06-18

The Doolittle Raid has always been a favorite chapter in history and Ross Greenings account of flying the Hari Kari-er (#11 off the deck of the Hornet) is an incredible new addition. More remarkable is his experience in the N. African and Italian air campaigns resulting in being shot down, capture, escape, capture again and eventual liberation. Because Greening was an illustrator, the book is full of his original work done during the war. In this regard, the experiences and parallels between Greening and Private Robert Knox Sneden of the Civil War are remarkable. Both recorded their respective combat and prison
experiences in journals and illustrations. The printing of "Not as Briefed" is excellent and Washington State University Press has done an incredible job. One can read 50 to 100 books a year, but it is only every 2 or 3 years that one finds a real gem. "Not as Briefed" is one of those gems. It is a simple and humble recounting of a remarkable life. Kudos to WSU Press and the family of Ross Greening for publishing such an historical treasure.

A Fascinating World War II biography.......2002-03-06

The unpublished manuscript of this book was discovered by the author's neice many years after the author's death. The neice, obviously captivated by her uncle's writing and World War II experiences was motivated in spending 5 years putting together this incredible biography.

Her uncle, Ross Greening, was #11 on the Doolittle Raid. After surviving that assignment, we was transferred to the North African/Italian theater of operations where his B-26 was shot down and his story of evasion and escape from the enemy is what makes Hollywood Movies but don't wait for this to be made into a movie. It is too long and detailed for Hollywood but is a heck of a page turner. It is well written and reads like a novel. But as you read, remember this isn't fiction. This stuff really happened.

Greening was an art major from Washington State U and uses these skills throughout the book with hundreds of illustrations of the events of this story.

If you are at all interested in the human side of war, you will love this one.

Not As Briefed.......2001-10-09

I enjoyed this book very much and would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys WWII stories. This book was an easy read and was filled with exciting and touching events. The personal perspective that Ross gave to the war and his situation made the book very informative. This is a book that you will read more than once.

American Spirit of WWII captured in Greening's story.......2001-07-07

In my opinion, Not As Briefed is one of the greatest World War Two memoirs ever published. While every valiant hero of that war has a story to tell, few have stories as dramatic as C. Ross Greening. Greening writes his story in a fascinating style, captivating the reader and making real his experiences. His blunt, humorous recollection of events can make the reader laugh or cry.

Not as Briefed is the story of bombs over Yokohama, bail-outs over China, and a purple heart on the slope of Mt. Vesuvius. It is the story of a pilot who could use his mind to get out of trouble when he spent months running from the Nazis in the Italian alps. Greening made so many brushes with death that readers will wonder if they are actually reading fiction. But Greening was right in the middle of a brilliant history.

Once captured, Ross Greening put his talents to use in Stalag Luft One, and demonstated one of the finest measures of character ever to touch the thousands of POWs in Barth, Germany. Greening's memoirs are an important reminder of the price of freedom, and illustrate his own love for America that grew as WWII wore on. Not As Briefed is patriotic and moving, and ought to be rated by American readers as one of the finest World War Two documents ever published.

38 greatest air heroes: including 15 full pages of Doolittle's fantastic Tokyo Raid
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38 greatest air heroes: including 15 full pages of Doolittle's fantastic Tokyo Raid
Arthur S Curtis
Manufacturer: The author?]
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0007FR038

Destination Tokyo: A Pictorial History of Doolittle's Tokyo Raid, April 18, 1942
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Incredible account of the Doolittle Raid

Destination Tokyo: A Pictorial History of Doolittle's Tokyo Raid, April 18, 1942
Stan Cohen , Stan B. Cohen , Jim Farmer , and Joe Boddy
Manufacturer: Pictorial Histories Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo

The Doolittle Raid 1942: America's first strike back at Japan (Campaign)

I Could Never Be So Lucky Again

ASIN: 0929521528

Customer Reviews:

Incredible account of the Doolittle Raid.......2000-09-22

Without being too technical or dry, Stan Cohen takes you back to America's first major strike against Japan since Pearl Harbor, 4 months earlier. What an incredible event! On April 18, 1942, after being spotted by a Japanese boat, Jimmy Doolittle and his 16 air crews took off from the USS Hornet to bomb Tokyo and other cities. It was a full 24 hours earlier than they had planned to launch, as well as hundreds of miles away from the intended launch point. Before they left, they all knew that with this sudden change in plans, they did not have enough fuel to fly all the way to friendly areas in China to land safely. They chose to go anyway. After hitting their intended targets, every single plane went down either in the water or in occupied China (except one which managed to land in Russia where the crew was promptly interned). Eight men were captured by the Japanese and only 4 of them survived the 3 1/2 year imprisonment. Japan was shocked and mortified that someone was actually able to hit them on their homeland so unexpectedly. It was a major morale booster for the USA at a time when the Japanese were winning in the Pacific. Mr. Cohen includes some fantastic photos and at the end of the book he includes a follow-up about the surviving crewmembers today. There are also accounts of expeditions that went back to the crash sites and talked to the Chinese people who helped the Raiders make it back home safely. I loved this book and cannot say enough good about it!

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THE DOOLITTLE RAID
Carroll Glines
Manufacturer: Publisher Unknown
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000WQR33O

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Best Single History of the Doolittle Raid

The Doolittle Raid
Duane P. Schultz
Manufacturer: St Martins Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 031202195X

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Best Single History of the Doolittle Raid.......2005-10-08

Despite being a "popular" history written at a level designed for junior high students, Mr. Schultz has produced what is widely considered the best single volume history of the planning and implementation of the raid. While the book traces the return of the individual crews to the United States in an interesting and insightful way, there is a glaring lack of analysis on how the Roosevelt administration failed to adequately implement a communications plan to achieve its war aims or to maximize the war morale back home - the stated goal of the Doolittle Raid.

Written at a level for junior high students, this book both glamorizes Doolittle and really fails to demonstrate that he was, despite some real failures in implementation, the indispensable man making the raid happen. No other officer had the flying experience combined with the engineering skills to drive the raid from 25 page document to bombs on target in less than 3 ½ months. There are many small inaccuracies in the book which, no doubt, the editors left in for the sake of readability.

This book is the best analysis of the planning and implementation of the raid. This is not my opinion. I read this book to help a scholar I work with on a project. Every military historian and every librarian that I talked to mentioned that this book was the only one that really walked through the plan from the original idea to execution with any level of detail.

My main complaint about the book is that it fails to discuss how the Roosevelt administration, after initially fumbling, used the raid and the execution of some of the raiders by the Japanese to inspire enthusiasm for the war. That additional element would move the book from the realm of rousing war story to serious analysis of history.

Overall importance of the raid to the outcome of World War II is still debated today. Recently declassified information about high altitude balloon firebombing indicates that the Japanese were motivated to pursue this costly and ineffective technique by the Doolittle Raid. Likewise, many argue that the raid forced Japan to pursue further expansion eastward toward Midway and Hawaii - a strategy that resulted in the destruction of Japan's carrier forces during the Battle of Midway. However, many historians argue that damage from the raid was inconsequential; the loss of 16 B-25 was a poor exchange for the small amount of damage done. Likewise, the battle at Midway or similar turning point would have happened because Japan had exceeded their ability to support their far flung forces and any attempt to advance any further in any direction would have resulted in a crushing defeat.

To this reader, none of that makes any difference. The Doolittle Raid ultimately transcends World War II and even the participants. Ultimately, the raid was about creativity and ingenuity in a time of great stress. This book captures that creativity and describes how it came to be reality. As we engage in the war of our generation, the Global War on Terrorism, we could do worse than to learn from the genius of the Doolittle Raid.

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