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Description
Whirlwind: The Air War Against Japan, 1942-1945WHIRLWIND is the first book to tell the complete, awe inspiring story of the Allied air war against Japan the most important strategic bombing campaign inhistory. From the audacious Doolittle raid in 1942 to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, award winning historian Barrett Tillman recounts the saga from the perspectives of American and British aircrews who flew unprecedented missions overthousands of miles of ocean, as well as of
WHIRLWIND is the first book to tell the complete, awe-inspiring story of the Allied air war against Japan--the most important strategic bombing campaign inhistory. From the audacious Doolittle raid in 1942 to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, award-winning historian Barrett Tillman recounts the saga from the perspectives of American and British aircrews who flew unprecedented missions overthousands of miles of ocean, as well as of the generalsand admirals who commanded them. Whether describing the experiences of bomber crews based in China or the Marianas, fighter pilotson Iwo Jima, or carrier aviators at sea, Tillman provides vivid details of the lives of the fliers and their support personnel. Whirlwind takes readers into the cockpits and gun turrets of the mighty B-29 Superfortress, the largest bomber built up to that time. Tillman dramatically re-creates the sweep of wartime emotions that crews endured on fifteen-hour missions, grappling with the extreme tedium of cramped spaces and with adrenaline spikes in flak-studded skies, knowing that a bailout would put them at the mercy of a merciless enemy or an unforgiving sea. A major character is the controversial and brilliant General Curtis LeMay, who rewrote strategic bombing tactics. His command's fire-bombing missions incinerated fully half of Tokyo and many other cities, crippling Japan's industry while still failing to force surrender. Whirlwind examines the immense logistics and construction efforts necessary to support Superfortresses in Asia and the Mariana Islands, as well as the tireless efforts of engineers to build huge air bases from scratch.It also describes the unheralded missions that American bomber crews flew from the Aleutian Islands to Japan's northernmost Kuril Islands. Never has the Japanese side of the story been so thoroughly examined. If Washington, D.C., represented a "second front" in Army-Navy rivalry, the situation in Tokyo approached a full-contact sport. Tillman's description of Japan's willfully inadequate approach to civil defense is eye-opening. Similarly, he examines the mind-set in Tokyo's war cabinet, which ignored the atomic destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, requiring the emperor's personal intervention to avert a ghastly Allied invasion. Tillman shows how, despite the Allies' ultimate success, mistakes and shortsighted policies made victory more costly in lives and effort. He faults the lack of a unified command for allowing the Army Air Forces and the Navy to pursue parochial goals at the expense of the larger mission, and he questions the premature commitment of the enormously sophisticated B-29 to the most primitive theater in India and China. Whirlwind is one of the last histories of World War II written with the contribution of men who fought in it.With unexcelled macro- and microperspectives, Whirlwind is destined to become a standard reference on the war, on multiservice operations, and on the human capacity for individual heroism and national folly.Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published: 04/26/2011
ISBN: 9781416584414
Pages: 316
Weight: 0.67lbs
Size: 8.39h x 5.53w x 0.83d
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4.3 ★★★★★
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Product Reviews
★★★★★ 5
Exciting and fast paced
Format: Kindle
Loved the stories within stories flashbacks. It all ties in nicely in the end and leaves a cool cliffhanger. The art is fantastic and so is the sifting in of beloved Star Wars characters from the past. Good storyline to follow!
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Reviewed in the United States on March 21, 2023
★★★★★ 5
Great way to add even more depth to Black Spire Outpost
Format: Paperback
Having just visited Black Spire Outpost on Batuu, I really enjoyed learning more layers of depth and stories from there with this collection of comics. Having read "A Crash of Fate" and "Black Spire" was a great way to do that as well, but this was obviously a quicker read, and also spanned many different times and with some different characters, too. Great for readers with shorter attention spans, too! Recommended!
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Reviewed in the United States on May 23, 2022
★★★★★ 4
A great tie-in to the Disney parks
Format: Paperback
Welcome to the Black Spire Outpost on Batuu! I haven't been yet, but you may have if you've recently visited Disney World or Disney Land. There's obviously a lot of references to how the actual park looks. The cover featured the Millenium Falcon just like the actual attraction.
This graphic novel tells one story focusing on one of the original characters made for the parks: Dok-Ondar. Within the big story there are four smaller tales being retold. Han Solo deals with a baby sarlacc. Greedo's ego is showcased. Hando comes in contact with the Guardians of the Whills. And, Doctor Aphra travels to the Sith Homeworld of Moraband. Each of these stories show off different aspects of the park that you can see for yourself if you go in person. This is what Star Wars does so well, making connections and building a big lived-in world.
There are plenty of wonderful references. Ki-Adi-Mundi and Chirrut are just two of my favorites. Dok-Ondar is the true star of this book. He's an underworld mastermind.
I give this book a 3.5/5. It's full of fun stories with connections to the park and featured characters from different eras. This definitely is a tie-in story, though.
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Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2019
★★★★★ 5
Good point of entry into Star Wars comics
Format: Paperback
I love Star Wars and have been enjoying seeing the expanded universe. Honestly, sometimes the focus on Jedis and Siths is a bit of a distraction from understanding what life would be like in that galaxy.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2024
★★★★★ 3
Slightly damaged
Format: Paperback
Arrived quickly but was slightly damaged, not too big of a deal since I got it on sale
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Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2025
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