From John Dower's "War Without Mercy"

[the_raving_scot]

"Precision bombing was abandoned dramatically on the night of March 9-10, 1945, when 334 aircraft attacked Tokyo at low altitude with incendiary bombs, destroying sixteen square miles of the capital city and making more than a million people homeless. Between eighty thousand and one hundred thousand civilians died in the Tokyo raid-- "scorched and

Comments

[m0535]

Probably for the best that they opted for the 3 meter tall statue of liberty replica decades later.

[anonymous]

Wow. I'd never heard numbers like that on the incendiary bombs. I'd heard plenty of descriptive stories, but the numbers make it seem bigger.

Sounds like a really interesting book. I make it a rule to read as little on the war as possible. I've taken enough flak from old people in both countries that I like to distance myself from the topic. But I might just break down and read this one.

oops

[boardercocoa]

That comment was me, by the way.

Re: oops

[the_raving_scot]

Haha, thanks for the clarification. Granted, I haven't read too much about World War II, but I feel like if you're going to read anything about the War in the Pacific, John Dower would be your man. He's really interested in being even-handed and understanding what was going on more than judging one side or the other.