The First Heroes: Library Edition

Rating:
Summary: Details, details, details...
Review: Ever since I saw "Thirty Seconds over Tokyo" on TV as a kid, the Doolittle Raid has been one of my favorite American military missions. The bravery exhibited by Col. Doolittle's Raiders and Bull Halsey's Task Force 16 is an example of American audacity, ingenuity and courage at its finest.
I've read several other accounts of the Doolittle raid, and Nelson does a fairly good job of presenting the preparation, attack and evasion phases of the operation. But he distracts the reader away from the focus of the book by going off on tangents, breezing through Pearl Harbor, Midway and the German U-boat offensive.
My main compliant with this work is that Nelson clearly doesn't know much about World War II, and even less about aviation. Ordinarily that wouldn't be a problem, but apparently he didn't bother to let anyone with some expertise read his manuscript. That's too bad. If he had, he would have learned that no one EVER refered to North American's B-25 as a "Billy" or a "B" (since the Raider's used B-25B models). He also would have learned that B-25's were constructed from aluminum, not steel and that taxing an aircraft is not how one transitions it to flight. He also would have learned that Guadalcanal is not a coral atoll and that the cave fighting he describes there did not occur until later in the Pacific War.
All in all, I give Mr. Nelson points for telling the Raiders' story. In many sections, the book is hard to put down. But I wish he'd done more thorough research, as his errors detract from the overall effort.

Rating:
Summary: This controversy of this books accuracy -
Review: I feel this is the most accurate book on the Doolittle Raid. You are not wasting your time with this book. What has happened is that most military historians read one account of an event and make that the truth. Some people get one idea in their head and that is just the way it is regardless if ten others that were present dispute that thought. This author did much research. Over 80,000 documents. Interviewed ALL the living members of the raid. He was also was able to obtain original manuscripts of the interviews of 30 additional members ( Including Doolittle) while they were living from the Military Library in Alabama ( I think that is where it is located ). The names of Japanese Military that is listed backwards is such a small arguing point but this author did it correctly. This is a prime example of others not really knowing what they are talking about. In this custom, It is proper for the sir name - the last name- to be listed first. That he lists the names in such a way is a sign of respect. I assure you anyone that can get rid of all preconceived events and do countless hours of research with over 80,000 documents and interviews and present a more accurate presentation of this event would not let in error list the names of the important players names wrong. If that is all you can pick out??? Well that should tell prospective readers something. - This is an unbiased, most realistic account of the events of the Doolittle Raid.

Rating:
Summary: Doolittle Light
Review: If you are seeking The Authoritative Volume on The Doolittle Raid this book is not it. (I'm not convinced that book has yet been written.)

As a war story I found this book enjoyable. It is well paced, not dry, and will hold the attention of a casual reader.

As a history of the Raid, I found it uneven. HEROES does have value as a fair entry point for those - like the author himself -who like a good action story but start with little knowledge of the topic. Nelson has captured in book form a lot of oral history and other material that I have not seen in print before. Start here - but move on and read some of the many other books on this topic too.

I was surprised at the author's assertion (in the Introduction, and again to an audience at the Smithsonian in October 2002) that he had never heard of the Doolittle Raid as a child. I remember from about age 10 on devouring Edwin Stafford's 'The Big E', Ted Lawson's '30 Seconds over Tokyo', and Robert Welch's 'Life of John Birch', as just 3 examples of books about or including the Raid. (Parts of the 1944 movie version of '30 Seconds' also made it into 1975's 'Midway,' billed as 'actual wartime footage'!)

Much of Nelson's book - and much of his research work too, one suspects - is background information only tangentially relevant to the actual Raid. I would have liked to see more about the Raid, the Raiders, and their mission, and less about FDR, Ernie King, and other power players far from the front line.

The book does contain errors of fact, and I also found some other needless distractions. The endnotes in particular are in my opinion unusable. His convention of placing Japanese surnames before given names is a politically (and technically) correct affectation, but is confusing to English-speaking readers, unusual in American writing, and almost unique in books on this topic. Discussions of FDR's 'back door to war' and the placing of blame for Pearl Harbor are unbalanced, of minimal relevance, and appear (rightly or wrongly) to be here only to allow the author to advance his favorite position and casually dismiss the work of those who take opposing views.

Rating:
Summary: enjoyable and informative
Review: In this book Craig Nelson tells the full tale of the men involved in the famous Doolittle Raid during WWII. With exhausting notes and quotations, and daunting research, every possible detail that is important to the story of the raid and the men is given. And despite the attention to detail, and despite the length, this book reads like a novel. Even people who are not history buffs will like this book. There's a fascinating short biography in the book of Jimmy Doolittle, one of our nation's greatest aviators. There is the story of the POW camps after the fact and the conversion of Jacob DeShazer, who would later be a leading evangelist in Japan. Much information is given to the planes themselves, the B-24s that carried the weapons of the raid. This book combines all those great elements into one very readable volume.

Rating:
Summary: Very readable account
Review: The First Heroes is not only an excellent rendition of the Doolittle Raid but it does a nice job of setting the general historical stage of the period as well. WW2 aficionados may find this stage setting a bit general but Mr Nelson does a fine job with it and its inclusion will certainly help those not familiar with the period put the Raid in its proper context.

The book is very well written, entertaining, and is easily on par with Ambrose's best works.

One reviewer complained "He was known as "Bull" Halsey to anyone else with just a modicum of knowledge of the major WWII players." This was odd I thought because not only does Mr Nelson cover this fact but also explains HOW Adm Halsey got the nickname.

If you have never read anything on the Raid before this is a great place to start. If you have read other works Mr Nelson's is so well done you will certainly find it an enjoyable read.