Flyboys, by James Bradley. A Review
Flyboys / by James Bradley. (Time Warner Audio, 2003), abridged on 5 compact discs. ISBN: 9781586215682
Flyboys tells the story of American airmen shot down over Chichi Jima and taken prisoner by the Japanese during the Second World War, and a ninth, George H. W. Bush, who was rescued by a submarine. Author James Bradley uses this basic narrative as a vehicle for examining the history of American foreign policy and the rise of Japanese militarism.
On a more individual level, he explores the atrocities and moral ambiguity of war. Ethnic, political, social, and military conditions and priorities at the government level can propel individuals, who may be good people, to committerrible acts. For example, the Japanese military embraced such tactics as beheadings and cannibalism. Bradley invites readers to loathe the Japanese military institutions while at the same time reserving sympathy for individual soldiers who had to follow orders or risk execution.
Flyboys is not a book to demonize the Japanese and let the Americans off the hook. Both at the command level and the acts of individuals, Americans committed horrible acts as well. While many histories seem to glorify war and paint it as a conflict between good guys and bad guys, Bradley has both sympathy and criticism for both sides as he carefully presents the Japanese mindset and graphically portrays the madness of war and all the atrocities that occurred.
Flyboys is not a feel-good book. It is not recommended for young readers because of its detailed descriptions of the most despicable acts. Yet the quality of research makes it an important contribution to understanding the Japanese theater of the Second World War. Visit All-Purpose Guru Alert regularly to see one carefully chosen title featured each day.
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