Why read Bat Bomb?

Book cover of Bat Bomb: World War II's Other Secret Weapon

Book description

It was a crazy way to win World War II in the Pacific-

All the United States had to do was to attach small incendiary bombs to millions of bats and release them over Japan's major cities. As the bats went to roost, a million fires would flare up in…

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Topics

Bats
Japan

Genres

War
History

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Why read it?

1 author picked Bat Bomb as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

David Andrew Westwood

Author

Strange, sick, and if this doesn't constitute animal cruelty I don't know what does, Project X-Ray planned to strap incendiaries to bats and drop them to roost on Tokyo's roofs, burning down the city and shortening the war. A dentist who had explored New Mexico's Carlsbad Caverns conceived this idea, then approached the White House, where President Roosevelt surprisingly said, “This man is not a nut."

The military duly tested the plan, and the bats burned down a brand-new airbase, effectively sending the project up in flames. And a good thing, too. I shudder to imagine the anxiety of a…

From David's list on The best books about the weirder side of World War II.