Last Mission to Tokyo: The Extraordinary Story of the Doolittle Raiders and Their Final Fight for Justice

A family friend whose father (Jacob DeShazer) was one of those captured in the raid recommended this book to me- even before she had read it herself. I ordered it, but I felt that a book focused on the war crimes trial of those responsible for the treatment of the captured flyers might be dry and boring. How wrong I was! The story engaged me immediately! Paradis does an excellent job as a writer to build interest and anticipation as he follows the account of the Japanese trial of the eight Doolittle Raiders, followed after the war by the American trial of four suspected Japanese officers. The book offers a glimpse into the chaotic culture of post-war China and Japan, as the Allies try to come to grips with balancing justice with vengeance. Through Paradis\’ writing, you see both sides and I came away with a much more balanced viewpoint of what took place during the Doolittle Raid and it\’s aftermath than I had before. I highly recommend this book.

This was an eye-opening book about the end of Doolittle Raid; the trial of those that abused the eight captured fliers. and murdered three of the eight. The level of detail about the events leading up to the trial, and the trial itself, is just amazing. The amount of information that the author reviewed to write this book is incredible, and his use of a narrative style to distill all that information into a readable and gripping story is to be commended. His depiction of the struggle of the defense to balance the needs of a fair trail with the wartime sentiment to punish the captors is riveting. If you have any interest in the Doolittle Tokyo Raid, you must read this book to see and understand its final outcome. If you\’ve never heard of the Doolittle Tokyo Raid, you should pick up this book to get a sense of how ugly war can be, and how unclear its outcome can be, even for those viewed by history as the winners. This truly is an \”extraordinary story\” about a fight for justice in a wartime environment. Great read!

There has been much written about the Doolittle Raid in March 1942. It came at a time when the United States was struggling to ramp up the war effort, and we needed a victory – any victory – against the Japanese juggernaut. They seemed unstoppable. The rest, as they say, is history. Michel Paradis writes a fascinating look at the Doolittle Raid, during the Japanese war crimes trials underway in Tokyo and China. The book starts with a mentally, and emotionally, jarring picture – the execution of three of the Raiders. In the trial that ensued, he weaves a tapestry of how the lawyers brought together all the pieces of the puzzle in order to bring the captors of the Raiders to justice. It wasn\’t easy. The United States was out for blood. We wanted justice for them. We wanted the Japanese to pay for their barbarism. But what happened was unexpected. I don\’t want to put any spoilers in here, except to say that all was not as it seemed. The author had to dig deep into the archives in order to write a compelling story, and he succeeded brilliantly. What follows is an intricate court room drama set against the confusion of the drawdown of forces after the Pacific war had ended. In the end, you feel that justice had been served, but that justice was not a total victory for the United States. I highly recommend this book. I couldn\’t put it down.

I found this a very interesting book about the trial of the Japanese who had captured 8 fliers of the Doolittle Raid. The Japanese murdered 3, one died of disease, and the other 4 just barely made it to survive the end of the war. I was able to meet some of the Raiders\’ at their reunions because my wife knew the daughter of Chase Nielsen (and whom I met later). Since there wasn\’t much talking about their time in captivity and subsequent trial, this book, along with conversations with the attendees at the reunions, fills in many gaps. It must have been difficult for the lawyers defending the Japanese, especially with the desire for revenge. SPOILER ALERT: I was also very surprised at the light sentences given those on trial in light of the much more severe sentences handed down at Nuremberg. If you have any interest in the Doolittle Raid, you must read this along with the books written by Caroll Glines about the raid to get a complete picture. Some notes about the book: (1) I was disappointed at how few pictures were in the book. This book needed many more. One of the ones I had hoped to see was a picture Mr. Nielsen (in uniform) standing before the prison camp commandant(?) who is bowing, but looking up at Mr. Nielsen. When one bows, you are supposed to be looking down, not making eye contact. I was told at one of the reunions I attended when the commandant bowed, Mr. Nielsen apparently kicked him in the sensitive region. The Army stopped the proceedings, confiscated all the film, and restarted the proceedings. When the pictures were taken again, the commandant was looking up wondering what might happen (again); (2) my 2nd complaint is there are no maps. Although this is mainly about the legal proceedings after the war, at least one or two maps would have been very helpful to show where the events which led up to the trial took place. As a personal note: I am a veteran and my father fought in WW2 in both the European and Pacific theaters. I am disappointed by the statements in other reviews which to me seem to invoke moral relativism between what the Japanese did and what we did during the war. Regardless of the \”fog of war,\” the Japanese officers who gave the orders and soldiers who carried out the executions were war criminals the same as those German officers and soldiers convicted at Nuremberg.

Outstanding book about the events both during the war and after involving 8 Doolittle Raid crewmen that were captured. To most it is a heart breaking story of their ordeal with Japanese military. The author does an excellent job describing what these brave Americans suffered especially when crimes against the Japanese behavior against prisoners were brought to trial similar to trials in Nuremberg against German atrocities.

Galaxyaudiobook Member Benefit

- Able to comment

- List watched audiobooks

- List favorite audiobooks

- Bookmark will only available for Galaxyaudiobook member