The Doolittle Raid

Despite being a "popular" history written at a level designed for junior high students, Mr. Schultz has produced what is widely considered the best single volume history of the planning and implementation of the raid. While the book traces the return of the individual crews to the United States in an interesting and insightful way, there is a glaring lack of analysis on how the Roosevelt administration failed to adequately implement a communications plan to achieve its war aims or to maximize the war morale back home - the stated goal of the Doolittle Raid. Written at a level for junior high students, this book both glamorizes Doolittle and really fails to demonstrate that he was, despite some real failures in implementation, the indispensable man making the raid happen. No other officer had the flying experience combined with the engineering skills to drive the raid from 25 page document to bombs on target in less than 3 ½ months. There are many small inaccuracies in the book which, no doubt, the editors left in for the sake of readability. This book is the best analysis of the planning and implementation of the raid. This is not my opinion. I read this book to help a scholar I work with on a project. Every military historian and every librarian that I talked to mentioned that this book was the only one that really walked through the plan from the original idea to execution with any level of detail. My main complaint about the book is that it fails to discuss how the Roosevelt administration, after initially fumbling, used the raid and the execution of some of the raiders by the Japanese to inspire enthusiasm for the war. That additional element would move the book from the realm of rousing war story to serious analysis of history. Overall importance of the raid to the outcome of World War II is still debated today. Recently declassified information about high altitude balloon firebombing indicates that the Japanese were motivated to pursue this costly and ineffective technique by the Doolittle Raid. Likewise, many argue that the raid forced Japan to pursue further expansion eastward toward Midway and Hawaii - a strategy that resulted in the destruction of Japan's carrier forces during the Battle of Midway. However, many historians argue that damage from the raid was inconsequential; the loss of 16 B-25 was a poor exchange for the small amount of damage done. Likewise, the battle at Midway or similar turning point would have happened because Japan had exceeded their ability to support their far flung forces and any attempt to advance any further in any direction would have resulted in a crushing defeat. To this reader, none of that makes any difference. The Doolittle Raid ultimately transcends World War II and even the participants. Ultimately, the raid was about creativity and ingenuity in a time of great stress. This book captures that creativity and describes how it came to be reality. As we engage in the war of our gen