Target Tokyo

Jimmy Doolittle and the Raid That Avenged Pearl Harbor

By: James M. Scott

Narrated by: L. J. Ganser

Length: 20 hrs and 3 mins

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.

©2015 James M. Scott (P)2015 Audible, Inc.

Amazing History

I love listening to accounts of amazing historical feats, and the WWII raid of Tokyo led by Jimmy Doolittle is right up there with some of the best of these stories. There is no way that any of the 80 airmen should have survived the raid (for one thing they didn't have nearly enough fuel for the mission) and yet 78 did. A story of courage, faith, and miracles that was critical to the victory over Japan. The accounts of what the Japanese did to the Chinese is also gripping though very troubling.

Great portrait of little known heroics of the Pacific theater

Interesting and descriptive history of the raid on Tokyo , provided unique emotional perspective of pacific battle.

Outstanding book

Read about history fine what happen. Makes you think what it may had happen it we had lost the war.

An incredible story

An incredible story, about an incredible mission featuring real life hero’s. At times the book was painful to read, but only because the author so powerfully relayed the incredible suffering these brave heroes endured. It was a memorable read and I was left with enduring appreciation for the servicemen and women of the time who served this country with honor. A fantastic book!

Amazing!

I have been searching for a book about the Doolittle raid This book did not disappoint! Now they need to make a movie out of it for these great American heroes!

I couldn't put this book down

Ganser is the best narrator I I have heard! he was amazing in fact. he managed to pull my into the story. I can't wait to listen to this again

One of the best books..

I've listened to hundreds of books here, this may be the most detailed, yet adventurous one yet! It tells the full story, Pearl Harbor to the fate of each man back home. Excellent

Remarkable, powerful, and wonderful

This is a marvelous history of the bravery and tragedy of war. It should be required reading for high school students who are oblivious to what it meant to be an American during WWII

Amazing

What a story. I have listened to this book two times and am still in awe of the bravery and fortitude of these men. Definitely one of my favorite top 5 books I have listened to.

Gripping

This is a gripping account of the famed Doolittle raid on Tokyo early in World War II. It is also an extremely detailed account that chronicles the circumstances after Pearl Harbor that led to the raid, the raid itself, the aftermath of the raid, and its many ramifications.

The raid was bold and audacious. The ramifications, particularly in China, were horrific. The truly awful actions of the Japanese, both with respect to the raiders who were captured, and especially to Chinese civilians, explain why many Americans of the World War II generation (such as my father in law) were never able to reconcile with Japan or its people. Those actions (as well as others) also explain why relations between China and Japan are strained to this day.

This is a meticulously researched and well-written book. It is a long book, but well worth your time.