Flyboys: A True Story of Courage

Absolutely Brutal. An incredibly powerful reminder of why almost all countries have a version of Memorial Day and why successful diplomacy beats "winning" a war. It is rare for such a balanced account of gruesome battles, but Bradley does a very admirable job of presenting honest accounts from both the Japanese and American perspectives. The representative photos of the Flyboys before they entered the Pacific greatly personalized the narrative as well. A horrifyingly necessary read in a time when the world is once again headed to massive international conflict. .

This is a most amazing, heart-breaking and heartfelt telling of what happened to some of our heroic airmen in the Pacific theater during World War II. I was interested in learning about this part of our U.S. military history because, as a child of Holocaust survivors, I mostly learned about WWII from the point of view of Nazi Europe. This book took me in depth to another, even more horrendous, part of this lengthy world conflict.

The more I read about man's inhumanity to man in this narrative, the more in disbelief I remained, yet the more I realized that the evil inclination is just as present in man as the good inclination. This is also part of the Jewish teaching I was given when growing up.

I was horrified by this book. Yet, I really show more appreciate the author's even-handedness in presenting both sides of the conflict by the end of the book. It is now with relief that I can wish my son a pleasant trip to Japan this year and look forward to his stories about that country on his return home.

A line from the end of this book read, "Nations tend to see the other side's war atrocities as systemic and indicative of their culture and their own atrocities as justified or the acts of stressed combatants." This statement is pretty telling about war. I hope that the future brings us all towards better understanding of each other's cultures. show less

This is a hard book to read, but worth the pain. So much of history (all?) is slanted to present the best look at the author's chauvinism. This book seems to be pretty even-handed is showing the gruesome barbarity of war as waged by any nation. Not all nations practice all the possible atrocities, all the time, and the notion that one death is better, or more fair, than another becomes questionable by the end of the book.

I have heard from the children of Pacific War vets that they can never forgive the Japanese, but this book gives several first-hand accounts of just that forgiveness. It is that grace that in the end makes this book readable.

Although the core story is interesting, I was completely lost in the haze of details that added nothing for me. Setting the scene is one thing but there was just too much that took away from the main focus on the pilots at Chichi Jima. Whenit was all done, I wasn't really sure what story he meant to tell.

Word of caution; don't read this if you are on your way to Japan for business!! I did, big mistake. This is a fantastic book and a impressive layout of how devasting the bombing of Japan was. By the time the narrative gets to that point, your sympathy for the Japanese military is pretty much done. I like the way the author wrapped the story of the action at Chichi Jima with a presentation of the Pacific theater air war.

I bought this book but wasn't very eager to begin reading it. I had read several reviews from people who thought James Bradley was a bit unfair in his characterization of US servicemen. Some people called the book treason in light of the things mentioned in regards to atrocities committed by the United States. I began reading this book and did not want to stop. It was that good. It was not a feel good read. This book does not glorify war as other historians tend to do. You don't get any picture of war other than pure madness. Bradley gives you the reality of war from the individual's point of view. He makes it personal.

I have found that many American history authors write their books from the standpoint of the US having the moral show more superiority. The US always takes the high road and the enemy, whoever it is, is of a lower moral standard. I don't necessarily disagree with that point of view many times. After all, I am an American and I firmly believe that the US has fought in most wars for just reasons. However, history is about more than just one side. It's about more than just one point of view. It is an aggregate of facts and perceptions taken from both sides. The truth is usually somewhere in between.

In light of that, James Bradley lays it all out there when it comes to the actions of the Japanese and the US military. Bad things happened on both sides. I would say that the Japanese committed far more atrocities on an individual level. Cannibalism and beheadings were not common on the US side. The Japanese military seemed to embrace these acts wholeheartedly. Bradley spends a great deal of time talking about the cannibalism and the beheadings. You come to loathe the Japanese military as an institution and yet you find yourself feeling sorry for some of their soldiers who followed orders or risked losing their own lives.

The US does not escape criticism either. Firebombing major cities across Japan was not exactly civil. Thousands of innocent women and children were killed. I consider that a tragedy, and yet I also factor in the mindset of Japan at the time. The author does a good job of explaining that. There was nothing that could have been done diplomatically to bring the war to an end. When looking at the number of US servicemen that would have died conquering the Japanese islands, what choice was there?

War is not pretty. Once you get beyond Hollywood and the romantic image that people have in regards to combat, you will see something that should give everyone pause before they start beating the drums of war. Innocent people will die. Tragedies will occur. Families will be shattered by the deaths of fathers, brothers, and sons. That suffering will occur on both sides. That is the point I believe James Bradley is trying to make in this book. show less

I really enjoyed this book, but be warned that it is not a feel-good story, as you might think from the title. The basic story of the 5 downed US pilots is just a vehicle for a very well written look at the atrocities of war and how they came to be. It illustrates very well the moral ambiguity of war, and how ethnic, political, social, and military development of a society can propel individuals who may be either good or evil at baseline to perform horrible acts. I agree with another reviewer that it should be read by mature readers only - I wouldn't want my son to read it until he was in (or already out of) college. I think a person needs to be well secure in the belief that humans are basically good before they read something like show more this that will severely challenge that belief. show less