Black Snow: Curtis LeMay, the Firebombing of Tokyo, and the Road to the Atomic Bomb

This book described the efforts of Gen Curtis LeMay while he was commander of the 21st bombardment Air Force during WWII. It is factual, brutal in its description of the bombings and their effects on Japan and her population. It describes the rationale for the US policy of precision daylight bombing and the necessary shift in the execution of that policy to area bombing to prosecute the war with Japan. It reminds the reader of the brutality of the Japanese army and navy when allied soldiers, sailors and Marines were taken prisoner. It offers an explanation of the extraordinary efforts the US made to bring the Japanese to end the war by surrender and their continued refusals. It also describes the sentiment of the average American towards Japan and the willingness of many American to exterminate the entire Japanese population. The book describes the resistance of the military establishment to the decisions made by the emperor when he decided that Japan had had enough and would accept the terms of an unconditional surrender. At that time practically all of the major cities in Japan lay destroyed from incendiary bombs and the two atomic bombs. The book describes LeMay and his staff and gives the rationale for the many nicknames given to him. Overall the book tells an interesting story based on factual accounts of both American and Japanese witnesses.