Reviews

This is undoubtedly a major contribution to the literature of World War II, especially on the evolution and application of strategic bombing. Moreover, this riveting study has a distinct significance in today's world. Sherry contends that the specter of nuclear annihilation has less to do with atomic weapons than with attitudes and rationale that evolved during the massive bombing raids of World War II. It was then that the precedent was set for engineering mass destruction. Sherry discusses strategic bombing in Europe as well as the Pacific, but it is his analysis of the fire-bomb raids on Japan that is most fascinating, weaving operational, psychological, and political factors together. A careful, well-documented study. History Book Club alternate. R. E. Bilstein, History Dept., Univ. of Houston - Clear Lake