Flyboys, James Bradley
Flyboys, James Bradley
17 Rating(s)
List: $31.99 | Sale: $22.40
Club: $15.99

Flyboys
A True Story of Courage

Author: James Bradley

Narrator: James Bradley

Unabridged: 14 hr 30 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 08/01/2005

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included


Synopsis

Over the remote Pacific island of Chichi Jima, nine American flyers-Navy and Marine pilots sent to bomb Japanese communications towers there-were shot down. Flyboys, a story of war and horror but also of friendship and honor, tells the story of those men.

Over the remote Pacific island of Chichi Jima, nine American flyers-Navy and Marine pilots sent to bomb Japanese communications towers there-were shot down. One of those nine was miraculously rescued by a U.S. Navy submarine. The others were captured by Japanese soldiers on Chichi Jima and held prisoner. Then they disappeared. When the war was over, the American government, along with the Japanese, covered up everything that had happened on Chichi Jima. The records of a top-secret military tribunal were sealed, the lives of the eight Flyboys were erased, and the parents, brothers, sisters, and sweethearts they left behind were left to wonder.

Flyboys reveals for the first time ever the extraordinary story of those men. Bradley's quest for the truth took him from dusty attics in American small towns, to untapped government archives containing classified documents, to the heart of Japan, and finally to Chichi Jima itself. What he discovered was a mystery that dated back far before World War II-back 150 years, to America's westward expansion and Japan's first confrontation with the western world. Bradley brings into vivid focus these brave young men who went to war for their country, and through their lives he also tells the larger story of two nations in a hellish war.

With no easy moralizing, Bradley presents history in all its savage complexity, including the Japanese warrior mentality that fostered inhuman brutality and the U.S. military strategy that justified attacks on millions of civilians. And, after almost sixty years of mystery, Bradley finally reveals the fate of the eight American Flyboys, all of whom would ultimately face a moment and a decision that few of us can even imagine.

Flyboys is a story of war and horror but also of friendship and honor. It is about how we die, and how we live-including the tale of the Flyboy who escaped capture, a young Navy pilot named George H. W. Bush who would one day become president of the United States. A masterpiece of historical narrative, Flyboys will change forever our understanding of the Pacific war and the very things we fight for.

About James Bradley

James Bradley is a writer and critic. His books include the novels Wrack, The Deep Field, The Resurrectionist, Clade, and Ghost Species; a book of poetry, Paper Nautilus; and The Penguin Book of the Ocean. Alongside his books, James has an established career as an essayist and reviewer, whose work has appeared in many publications, including The Guardian, The Monthly, Sydney Review of Books, Times Literary Supplement, Meanjin, and Griffith Review. His fiction has won or been shortlisted for a wide range of Australian and international literary awards, and his essays and articles have been shortlisted twice for the Bragg Prize for Science Writing and nominated for a Walkley Award. In 2012, he won the Pascall Award for Australia’s Critic of the Year. He is currently an Honorary Associate at the Sydney Environment Centre at the University of Sydney. 


Reviews

Goodreads review by Joseph on October 28, 2008

This book literally changed my view of the world. I was amazed, shocked, disgusted, astounded and inspired. This is one of those books that gives you a different perspective on history than the one you receive in school and it turned my perception of the world on its head (in a good way.) If you've......more

Goodreads review by Shaun on April 23, 2014

This is the first time I've read a book that has made me feel like I needed to take a shower afterwards. It's brutal. It's in your face graphic. It's violent. If this had been a movie, I would've gotten up and walked out. I have almost no tolerance for violence. None. Zip. Nadda. But, I realized this b......more

Goodreads review by Paul E on October 26, 2020

Very well written. Historical narrative. It is so unfortunate and horrible how the history of mankind parallels the history of War. Every nation is guilty of this destruction and death. You will have a complete understanding of the devastation caused by "3 dimensional" war (including the nuclear asp......more

Goodreads review by Caroline on May 20, 2015

My ignorance about the Second World War in the Pacific was shameful, but thanks to this brilliant book that has been to a degree rectified. It presents a marvellous overview not only of crucial events, but of the history leading up to both Japan and America's involvement in that war. It's a difficult......more

Goodreads review by Dean on March 06, 2018

...."With men the normal state of nature is not peace but war".... Immanuel Kant James Bradley in his book unveils the secret stories of eight flyboys executed far out in the vast pacific in WWII Let me be honest, friends.... I wasn't the least prepared for what I was up to reading "Flyboys: A True Sto......more