Book Review: Raid of No Return by Nathan Hale

Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales: Raid of No Return by Nathan Hale

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, American morale was extremely low. On the other hand, Japan's morale was high, though not a high as it should have been, given that their declaration of war was supposed to happen just before the raid. Some of the Japanese military found the attack to be dishonorable without a clear declaration. The Japanese government did deliver an ultimatum, but it was late and not exactly a declaration of war. America did declare war quite quickly afterwards.

In order to shift the levels of morale, a secret bombing mission was planned. A small group of bombers would attack the Japanese homeland. The daring plan would have planes launch from aircraft carriers 500 miles from Japan. They'd do their bombing run and continue on to China since the ships planned to flee after the launch. The operation was headed by James Doolittle, a stunt flyer and test pilot who signed up when war was declared. The mission was mostly successful but the planes didn't make it to the China airbase. The raiders were scattered over the mainland, a few making it as far as Soviet territory.

The story is very exciting and became a movie in 1944, before all the airmen had even returned! This book is another in the series of Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales, told by American spy Nathan Hale to his executioners before he is killed. The Revolutionary War characters provide some commentary and jokes along the way. The book is surprisingly accurate and detailed. I enjoyed it thoroughly. It's dedicated to Colonel Richard E. Cole, last survivor of the raid (he turned 103 years old in 2018).

Highly recommended.