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Title: America's Bank

Subtitle: The Epic Struggle to Create the Federal Reserve

Author: Roger Lowenstein

Narrator: Robertson Dean

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-20-15

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 212 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

The tumultuous era and remarkable personalities that unexpectedly birthed the Federal Reserve, from renowned financial writer Roger Lowenstein

Until the election of Woodrow Wilson the United States - alone among developed nations - lacked a central bank. Ever since the Revolutionary War, Americans had desperately feared the consequences of centralizing the nation's finances under government control. However, in the aftermath of a disastrous financial panic, Congress was persuaded - by a confluence of populist unrest, widespread mistrust of bankers, ideological divisions, and secretive lobbying - to approve the landmark 1913 Federal Reserve Act.

Writing in a rich and untapped historical vein, Roger Lowenstein - acclaimed financial journalist and best-selling author of When Genius Failed and The End of Wall Street - reveals the drama-filled, unlikely story of how America created the Federal Reserve, thereby taking its first steps onto the world stage as a global financial power. America's Bank showcases Lowenstein at his very finest: illuminating complex financial and political issues with striking clarity, infusing the debates of our past with all the gripping immediacy of today, and painting unforgettable portraits of Gilded Age bankers, presidents, and politicians.

With America's Bank, Lowenstein focuses on the four men at the heart of the drama to create the Federal Reserve. These are Paul Warburg, a refined, German-born financier, recently relocated to New York, who was horrified at America's primitive finances; Rhode Island's Nelson W. Aldrich, the reigning power broker in the US Senate and an archetypal Gilded Age legislator; Carter Glass, the ambitious but little-known Virginia congressman who chaired the House Banking and Currency Committee at a crucial moment of political transition; and, of course, President Woodrow Wilson....

Members Reviews:

Important and Intriguing

I heard Lowenstein on the New York Times book review podcast and it sounded interesting. I had just finished Courage to Act by Ben S. Bernanke and this book seem to fit right into the topic.

The book starts in 1787 and follows the topic of the need for a Federal Bank. Alexander Hamilton fought for a central bank but many opposed a strong federal government. Lowenstein goes into detail about President Wilson and his fight for the Federal Reserve and how they passed the Federal Reserve Act of 1913.

This is a story of politics, disagreements, decisions, including crises that culminated in the Federal Reserve Act. Lowensteins account of the financial crises before the establishment of the Fed powerfully demonstrates that it is imperative for the Federal Reserve System to maintain its effectiveness and independence from politics. The author gives us striking portraits of key figures well known and unknown, involved in the creation of the central bank.

The book is well written and well researched. The author writes in an engaging manner that makes dry material interesting.

There are currently a number of reforms being proposed in Congress that would undermine the effectiveness and independence of the Federal Reserve. This is a must read book to fully understand the history and all the issues involved, so one can understand the critical nature of the proposed changes to the Federal Reserve Act. Robertson Dean did a good job narrating the book.

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Title: Black Gun, Silver Star: The Life and Legend of Frontier Marshal Bass Reeves

Subtitle: Race and Ethnicity in the American West Series #1

Author: Art T. Burton

Narrator: Ron Butler

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-23-15

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 45 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

Deputy US Marshal Bass Reeves appears as one of "eight notable Oklahomans", the "most feared US marshal in the Indian country". That Reeves was also an African American who had spent his early life as a slave in Arkansas and Texas makes his accomplishments all the more remarkable. Bucking the odds ("I'm sorry, we didn't keep black people's history," a clerk at one of Oklahoma's local historical societies answered a query), Art T. Burton sifts through fact and legend to discover the truth about one of the most outstanding peace officers in late 19th-century America - and perhaps the greatest lawman of the Wild West era. Fluent in Creek and other Southern native languages, physically powerful, skilled with firearms, and a master of disguise, Reeves was exceptionally adept at apprehending fugitives and outlaws, and his exploits were legendary in Oklahoma and Arkansas.

A finalist for the 2007 Spur Award, sponsored by the Western Writers of America, Black Gun, Silver Star tells Bass Reeves' story for the first time and restores this remarkable figure to his rightful place in the history of the American West.

Members Reviews:

inspiring story and insightful

The performance was great in that it immerses you in the story. Sometimes get lost with the

list of names, but the audible book was a great inspiring listen. It really gets the metal movie going. The book gets one thinking about all the American History that isn't taught.

Loved it

This is American history untold in American schools. Not only was the story of US Marshall Bass Reeves dynamic and inspiring but the period and location of his story is very revealing. From the sad transition through slavery to Plessy and legal segregation via "separate but equal" and the lost of Indian land into the State of Oklahoma the listener is sitting in a classroom of a story untold.

I highly recommend this audio and it's great narration by Ron Butler even if you're not looking to understand the true American story.

Bass Reeves

the audiobook was excellent. The narration was easy to listen to and entertaining. rest in peace bass Reeves.

Indian Territory Hero

Bass Reeves was a true hero in the Indian territory. A faithful, honest, fearless, dedicated deputy US Marshall. Well done, good narrative.

Too Heavy On Details

This book reads like a Bass Reeves case file. It's unfortunate that information on this legendary character is limited. There are many cases where Bass made a simple arrest, without incident, that are highlighted in excruciating detail.

Good information about his story and the highlights of his life are in here, but it is mostly scattered in the rambling, banal minutae of the list of every single case the author could find Bass tied to. A large part of this book reads more like an exhaustive reference than a good story.

This was probably the authors intention, at least in part, since information on Bass is scattered and so hard to come by.

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Title: In the Heart of the Sea: Young Reader's Edition

Subtitle: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

Author: Nathaniel Philbrick

Narrator: Taylor Mali

Format: Unabridged

Length: 5 hrs and 37 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-22-15

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 32 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

In the Heart of the Sea brings to new life the incredible story of the wreck of the whaleship Essex - the inspiration for the climax of Moby-Dick. In a harrowing pause resister, Nathaniel Philbrick restores this epic story to its rightful place in American history.

In 1819, the 240-ton Essex set sail from Nantucket on a routine voyage. Fifteen months later, in the farthest reaches of the South Pacific, it was repeatedly rammed and sunk by an 80-ton bull sperm whale. Its 20-man crew, fearing cannibals on the islands to the west, made for the 3,000-mile-distant coast of South America in three tiny boats. During 90 days at sea under horrendous conditions, the survivors clung to life as, one by one, they succumbed to hunger, thirst, disease, and fear.

In the Heart of the Sea tells perhaps the greatest sea story ever. Philbrick interweaves his account of this extraordinary ordeal of ordinary men with a wealth of whale lore and with a brilliantly detailed portrait of the lost, unique community of Nantucket whalers. Impeccably researched and beautifully told, the audiobook delivers the ultimate portrait of man against nature. At once a literary companion and a pause resister that speaks to the same issues of class, race, and man's relationship to nature that permeate the works of Melville, In the Heart of the Sea will endure as a vital work of American history.

Members Reviews:

IT WAS GREAT IN IT'S SIZE AS IT TOLD OF THE NAVIGATION ...

IT WAS VERY INFORMATIVE ABOUT NAUTICAL TERMS AND WHALER SHIPS AS WELL. IT WAS GREAT IN IT'S SIZE AS IT TOLD OF THE NAVIGATION IN THE TIME.

BUT, FOR ME, IT WAS THE STORY THESE THINGS WRAPPED AROUND. IT WAS CLEAN IN IT'S TELLING. BOUND TO THE TRUTH OF THE AUTHOR'S RESEARCH AND PERSPECTIVE. AND THEN THE STORY EPITOMIZED THE GLEEFUL BLOOD LUST OF THE KILL FROM THE NANTUCKET SLEIGH RIDE TO THE FOUL DISMEMBERMENT OF THE NOBLE WHALE. IT MADE ME THINK THEY DID NOT DESERVE TO FARE WELL.

HOWEVER, NOT TO THE PITIFUL FATE THEY WERE STRICKEN. MORBID, SAD, FOUL, EVERLASTING, AND DEVASTATING. IT HUMANIZES THE WHALE JUST ENOUGH TO MAKE IT A MORE THAN WORTHY FOE.IN MOBY DICK, THE WHALE HAS A DIABOLICAL AIR IN IT'S CALCULATING KILLING. IN THIS STORY IT SIMPLY PUT AN END ANY MORE KILLING BY THE MEN OF THE ESSEX.

Great book.

Very good book, and a great story. It's told very well and the source material is excellent. Definitely a must-read. If you're going on vacation and need a good book, this would be a great choice.

A Nice Historical Accountimg

Interesting. A good read. I like historical accountings. This was well written. Especially appreciated the photos at the end. Those poor souls...I cannot imaging e the torment they lived through, and continued to jaunt them the rest of their lives.

Great storytelling

I thoroughly enjoyed this true story. The book is a quick read, but getting through the references will take some time. I appreciate the author's attention to detail.

Be filled with awe & wonder...read thisâï

I debated book or movie...sorry, Ron, I went for the book. Based on watching the trailer, I'm very happy that I read the book first. I may watch the movie at a later date...not too soon.

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Title: The Making of Asian America

Subtitle: A History

Author: Erika Lee

Narrator: Emily Woo Zeller

Format: Unabridged

Length: 15 hrs and 51 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-01-15

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 34 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

In the past 50 years, Asian Americans have helped change the face of America and are now the fastest growing group in the United States. The Making of Asian America tells the little-known history of Asian Americans and their role in American life, from the arrival of the first Asians in the Americas to the present-day.

An epic history of global journeys and new beginnings, this book shows how generations of Asian immigrants and their American-born descendants have made and remade Asian American life in the United States. From the sailors who came on the first trans-Pacific ships in the 1500s to the Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Korean, and South Asian immigrants who were recruited to work in the United States, only to face massive racial discrimination, and from the Asian exclusion laws of the 19th century to Japanese American incarceration during World War II, this is a comprehensive history.

Over the past 50 years, a new Asian America has emerged out of community activism and the arrival of new immigrants and refugees. No longer a "despised minority", Asian Americans are now held up as America's "model minorities" in ways that reveal the complicated role that race still plays in the United States.

Published to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the passage of the United States' Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which has remade our "nation of immigrants", this is a new and definitive history of Asian Americans. But more than that, it is a new way of understanding America itself, its complicated histories of race and immigration, and its place in the world today.

Critic Reviews:

"An impressive work that details how this diverse population has both swayed and been affected by the United States." (Library Journal)

Members Reviews:

Great content, terrible narration

Would you consider the audio edition of The Making of Asian America to be better than the print version?

No, narration is poor and disengaging. I own the print copy and will likely switch over to reading rather than listening.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Making of Asian America?

This book is important - it's content is often relegated to Asian American Studies and Lee's synthesis is well done. Great primer to Asian American history and a more diverse view of American history.

What didnt you like about Emily Woo Zellers performance?

She sounds like a robot and there are odd, staccato pauses throughout that break the flow.

An historical look at immigration through the lens of Asian American life in America

So very good. Well sourced. I highly recommend reading it, especially through this 2016 election season. Very similar debates have been had throughout US history about who has a right to be American. And it is interesting how the line divided between those who think being American is an exclusive right for just a few and those who see American values as inclusive for all who want to adopt them--nationalists vs. globalists. Also captured are beautiful stories of beautifully diverse peoples. I had no idea how much history I share as an Africa American with Asian Americans. I am saddened by how they have been and still are treated in America, but I am also greatly encouraged by their triumphs. Wonderful, wonderful book.

Great comprehensive overview of Asian American History...

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Title: The Civil War

Author: Geoffrey C. Ward, Ric Burns, Ken Burns

Narrator: Ken Burns

Format: Abridged

Length: 2 hrs and 55 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-01-15

Publisher: Random House Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 25 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

"The Civil War defined us as what we are, and it opened us to being what we became, good and bad things.... It was the crossroads of our being, and it was a hell of a crossroads: the suffering, the enormous tragedy of the whole thing." (Shelby Foote, from The Civil War)

When the illustrated edition of The Civil War was first published, The New York Times hailed it as "a treasure for the eye and mind". Now Geoffrey Ward's magisterial work of history is available in an audio edition that interweaves the author's narrative with the voices of the men and women who lived through the cataclysmic trial of our nationhood: not just Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, and Robert E. Lee but genteel Southern ladies and escaped slaves, cavalry officers and common foot soldiers who fought in Yankee blue and Rebel gray.

The Civil War also includes essays by our most distinguished historians of the era: Don E. Fehrenbacher on the war's origins; Barbara J. Fields on the freeing of the slaves; Shelby Foote on the war's soldiers and commanders; James M. McPherson on the political dimensions of the struggle; and C. Vann Woodward, who assesses the America that emerged from the war's ashes.

Editorial Reviews:

"Succeeds in evoking both the grandeur of the war and its basic humanity." (

Chicago Tribune)

Critic Reviews:

"An absorbing experience.... A fine work of scholarship." (

Boston Globe)

Members Reviews:

An abridged version of The Civil War (PBS)

this was just an abridged version of the PBS documentary The Civil War. nothing new if you have already seen the documentary.

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Title: The War That Forged a Nation

Subtitle: Why the Civil War Still Matters

Author: James McPherson

Narrator: Grover Gardner

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 29 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-30-15

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 363 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

More than 140 years ago, Mark Twain observed that the Civil War had "uprooted institutions that were centuries old, changed the politics of a people, transformed the social life of half the country, and wrought so profoundly upon the entire national character that the influence cannot be measured short of two or three generations". In fact five generations have passed, and Americans are still trying to measure the influence of the immense fratricidal conflict that nearly tore the nation apart.

In The War that Forged a Nation, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian James M. McPherson considers why the Civil War remains so deeply embedded in our national psyche and identity. The drama and tragedy of the war, from its scope and size - an estimated death toll of 750,000, far more than the rest of the country's wars combined - to the nearly mythical individuals involved - Abraham Lincoln, Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson - help explain why the Civil War remains a topic of interest. But the legacy of the war extends far beyond historical interest or scholarly attention.

McPherson ultimately proves the impossibility of understanding the issues of our own time unless we first understand their roots in the era of the Civil War. From racial inequality and conflict between the North and South to questions of state sovereignty or the role of government in social change - these issues, McPherson shows, are as salient and controversial today as they were in the 1860s.

Thoughtful, provocative, and authoritative, The War That Forged a Nation looks anew at the reasons America's Civil War has remained a subject of intense interest for the past century and a half and affirms the enduring relevance of the conflict for America today.

Members Reviews:

Excellence in book form

I loved this book! I feel as though my knowledge of the civil war has grown significantly!

Surprisingly Well Done!

As an amateur historian and Civil War buff, I'v read enough books on the subject that material can become repetitive. That is to say, we're only talking about 4 years here so there is always a fear of regurgitation to some extent. There has to be. Under this title, i didn't have that sense. Though I have heard a few of the anecdotes, I was pleasantly surprised with how it was presented and how each chapter, though not building on previous chapters, melds together nicely, and makes for an excellent read!

James McPherson is no stranger to the subject which makes me wonder how many quotes I've read in other books came from these works? We all know how the war ends, who the villains are, who the poor generalship originates from and how the Great Emancipator succumbs to a radical. But the way the information is provided is refreshing in comparison to several other works I've read.

And Grover Gardner does and excellent job too! His voiced inflection is perfect and his delivery is effortless which has me gravitating towards most of his narrations. This is a pretty darn good book and well worth your time. You will not be bored in the least.

A Different Kind of History from McPherson

I don't think anyone doubts the credentials James McPherson brings to any study of the American Civil War.

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Title: The Transatlantic Slave Trade: The History and Legacy of the System that Brought Slaves to the New World

Author: Charles River Editors

Narrator: David Otey

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 9 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-11-15

Publisher: Charles River Editors

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 7 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

"The deck, that is the floor of their rooms, was so covered with the blood and mucus which had proceeded from them in consequence of the flux, that it resembled a slaughter-house. It is not in the power of the human imagination to picture a situation more dreadful or disgusting. Numbers of the slaves having fainted, they were carried upon deck where several of them died and the rest with great difficulty were restored. It had nearly proved fatal to me also." - Dr. Alexander Falconbridge, an 18th century British surgeon

The sail linked the continents of Africa and America, and thus it was also the sail that facilitated the greatest involuntary human migration of all time.

There can be no doubt that even though large numbers of indigenous Africans were liable, it was European ingenuity and greed that fundamentally drove the industrialization of the Transatlantic slave trade in response to massive new market demands created by their equally ruthless exploitation of the Americas.

In time, the Atlantic slave trade provided for the labor requirements of the emerging plantation economies of the New World. It was a specific, dedicated and industrial enterprise wherein huge profits were at stake. It existed without sentimentality, without history, and without tradition, and it was only outlawed once the advances of the industrial revolution had created alternative sources of energy for agricultural production.

Members Reviews:

Informative, it was shorter than I'd hoped.

Informative, it was shorter than I'd hoped. I felt like I waisted a credit. but over all a good book.

The Atlantic slave trade

A brutal and truthful insight into the horrors of the slave trade. Very Educating and thrilling audio book. 5 stars

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Title: Texas Rising

Subtitle: The Epic History of the Lone Star Republic and the Rise of the Texas Rangers, 1836-1846

Author: Stephen L. Moore

Narrator: P.J. Ochlan

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 20 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-12-15

Publisher: HarperAudio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 58 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

The official nonfiction companion to the History Channel dramatic series Texas Rising (produced by the same team that made the record-breaking Hatfields and McCoys): a thrilling new narrative history of the Texas Revolution and the rise of the legendary Texas Rangers who patrolled the violent Western frontier.

In 1836, if west of the Mississippi was considered the Wild West, then Texas was hell on earth - a hot bed of conflict. Who would win the war over Texas? Crushed from the outside by Mexican armadas and attacked from within by ferocious Comanche tribes, no one was safe. But this was a time of bravery, a time to die for what you believed in and a time to stand tall against the cruel rule of the Mexican General Santa Anna and his forces. The Texas Rangers, a ragtag crew of men fighting on horseback, were often outnumbered by as many as 50 to one. Yet under renowned General Sam Houston, they achieved victory against nearly impossible odds, earning a legendary place in American history.

Acclaimed Texas historian Stephen L. Moore's Texas Rising, the official companion to the epic History series of the same name, brings to life the violent Texas frontier and the Rangers' heroic deeds during the Texas Revolution. Published with the full support and backing of history, Texas Rising is an unforgettable history of this iconic band of fighters.

Members Reviews:

Well Documented Texas History

Texas Rising was extremely well done compared to the TV mini-series of the same name. While not as detailed as the Fehrenbach Texas opus, this book tells the complex story from the standpoint of the Texas Rangers. Well written and fast moving, this presentation is well done. As a native Texan, I wish the narrator had consulted a Texican about pronunciation of many Texas landmarks which do not bear the true Spanish sounds. Refugio and Llano were abused several times. Otherwise I recommend the book and have used it as a text in a Texas history class I have taught.

phynominal

we know so little of history, what an awesome enspiring true story . a must read for lovers of the old West.

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Title: One Nation Under God

Subtitle: How Corporate America Invented Christian America

Author: Kevin M. Kruse

Narrator: Jeff Cummings

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 2 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-14-15

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 391 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

Conventional wisdom holds that America has been a Christian nation since the Founding Fathers. But in One Nation Under God, historian Kevin M. Kruse argues that the idea of "Christian America" is nothing more than a myth - and a relatively recent one at that.

The assumption that America was, is, and always will be a Christian nation dates back no further than the 1930s, when a coalition of businessmen and religious leaders united in opposition to FDR's New Deal. With the full support of Dwight Eisenhower in the 1950s, these activists - the forerunners of the Religious Right - propelled religion into the public sphere. Church membership skyrocketed; Congress added the phrase "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance and made "In God We Trust" the country's official motto. For the first time, America became a thoroughly religious nation.

Provocative and authoritative, One Nation Under God reveals how the comingling of money, religion, and politics created a false origin story that continues to define and divide American politics today.

Members Reviews:

Excellent

Fascinating book well worth reading.

As a practicing Christian and a republican I have a long wondered how the party of limited government became the party of big government when it comes to religion. This book is the story of how this occurred.

The book is well written and far from being the cure for insomnia. The narrator is also excellent with his intonation and impersonations.

For further background I would suggest God of Liberty: by Thomas S Kidd. This book fills in the historical gaps and is also excellent.

Tedious redundant detail

I was interested in the origins and history of how religion has become so intertwined with government and politics. I found the author substantiated the thesis early on. While I appreciate the importance in documenting the facts to substantiate the thesis, I found the level of detail to be painful to the point of redundancy. Tried and tried, but just couldn't keep slogging through the minutiae level of substantiation to enjoy the historical points. If you LOVE detail, i.e. endless quotes and examples (all making the same point), you may enjoy this. Good history lesson, unfortunately weighed down to the point of drowning.

The narration was well-done. Too bad it was this book.

The beat goes on...

Fascinating history of the political polarization fostered by corporate resistance to "the welfare state" through the co-opting of the religious right. Discouraging but revealing. A little too detailed.

RELIGION, PATRIOTISM, & MAMMON: A TOXIC DANCE

Any additional comments?

This book talks about three connections in life and what happens when you try and braid these connection lines into a unified rope. The first connection is faith. Faith is what we feel is that line that goes from our soul to God whether it is by way of the Moses, Jesus, Mohammed or rational ethics. The second line is patriotism - loyalty. It is that line of loyalty that extends from the individual citizen through the family, village, city, township, county, state and ending with the national government. It is what binds us together for mutual protection and benefit with the expectation of fairness and justice under the law. The third line is our possessive view of property - wealth.

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Title: Target Tokyo

Subtitle: Jimmy Doolittle and the Raid That Avenged Pearl Harbor

Author: James M. Scott

Narrator: L. J. Ganser

Format: Unabridged

Length: 20 hrs and 3 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-13-15

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 549 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

The dramatic account of one of America's most celebrated - and controversial - military campaigns: the Doolittle Raid.

In December 1941, as American forces tallied the dead at Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Roosevelt gathered with his senior military counselors to plan an ambitious counterstrike against the heart of the Japanese Empire: Tokyo. Four months later, on April 18, 1942, 16 US Army bombers under the command of daredevil pilot Jimmy Doolittle lifted off from the deck of the USS Hornet on a one-way mission to pummel the enemy's factories, refineries, and dockyards and then escape to Free China. For Roosevelt the raid was a propaganda victory, a potent salve to heal a wounded nation. In Japan, outraged over the deaths of innocent civilians - including children - military leaders launched an ill-fated attempt to seize Midway that would turn the tide of the war. But it was the Chinese who suffered the worst, victims of a retaliatory campaign by the Japanese Army that claimed an estimated 250,000 lives and saw families drowned in wells, entire towns burned, and communities devastated by bacteriological warfare.

At the center of this incredible story is Doolittle, the son of an Alaskan gold prospector, a former boxer, and a brilliant engineer who earned his doctorate from MIT. Other fascinating characters populate this gripping narrative, including Chiang Kai-shek, Lieutenant General Joseph "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell, and the feisty Vice Admiral William "Bull" Halsey, Jr. Here, too, are indelible portraits of the young pilots, navigators, and bombardiers, many of them little more than teenagers, who raised their hands to volunteer for a mission from which few expected to return. Most of the bombers ran out of fuel and crashed. Captured raiders suffered torture and starvation in Japan's notorious POW camps. Others faced a harrowing escape across China - via boat, rickshaw, and foot - with the Japanese Army in pursuit.

Based on scores of never-before-published records drawn from archives across four continents as well as new interviews with survivors, Target Tokyo is World War II history of the highest order: a harrowing adventure story that also serves as a pivotal reexamination of one of America's most daring military operations.

Members Reviews:

Vengence is Mine, Thus Sayeth Doolittle

With all the war movies out there, I'm deeply surprised and disappointed that the only modern day film that addresses the Doolittle Raid is Pearl Harbor and after reading this book, most of that part of the film seems apocryphal.

The Doolittle Raiders are truly American Heroes who really set off on America's only Kamikaze style raid (i.e., they really didn't think they would be coming home) only to actually survive the raid; some who survived probably wished they hadn't. However, the Pearl Harbor sucker punch had to be answered regardless of other circumstances and it seems Jimmy Doolittle was destined to be the man to introduce Japan to American ingenuity, technology, tenacity, and retaliation.

I knocked down the 'story' rating to 4 stars because I felt the technical aspects of training weren't really there. It was more like a quick overview of the birds. Additionally I felt some backstory to the volunteers would have been pertinent toward the beginning.