I thought I knew everything about the Doolittle raid, but Hampton covers all the ideas, the efforts, the changes to the planes and the people involved. The book shows a country that once could do things, get things done without politics, getting in the way. Hampton adds a wrinkle to the discussion of the bombing by revealing what had previously been hidden about the Doolittle Raid - a *second* mission, known only to the pilot of the plane and to Doolittle's own boss, to gauge just how ready the Soviet Union was to actually engage in warfare against Japan. Here, Hampton argues that the plane that for 80 years had been believed to have gotten lost... knew *exactly* where it was going and largely *exactly* what it was doing. Or, at least the one driving it did - and he relayed those instructions to those whose help he absolutely needed, his copilot and his navigator, and *no one* else. As in, the bomber's bomber and gunners didn't know of this secret mission.

It was an interesting read, but really will be something that WWII buffs would be more interested in than the average person. Overall, I enjoyed the book.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

I received a free ARC ebook of <i>Vanishing Act</i> from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

The daring raid over Tokyo in 1942 by Gen. Doolittle and his fellow aviators has been well documented in film and print. This account features the secretive flight of Plane 8. Instead of bombing Tokyo and then attempting a landing in China like their mission comrades, this crew intentionally diverted to the Soviet Union and landed there. Their mission was to secretly assess the availability of potential stations to launch attacks on Japan. In 1942 the Soviet Union, led by the brutal Joseph Stalin, was besieged by the Nazis in the West. Nominally they had a non-aggression pact with Japan but few believed that either side would honor it. It was the hope of American military leaders that the Soviets would allow air bases against Japanese forces. The crew of Plane 8 were tasked with gathering information under the guise of running out of fuel.

For these Americans, their mission resulted in captivity for a year while the war raged on. To this day, there is little official record of their mission.

This was a very interesting read about a little-known mission. Up-to-date maps and real knowledge of the Soviet Union were lacking. Hampton clearly expounds on the American military might rooted in the industrial capacity of a large nation, rich in natural resources, and protected by two oceans.

3.5 stars

This was a well-researched glimpse of the minutiae of war -- a look at an incident involving a single plane and an interaction in WWII with the Soviet Union. The author is a retired fighter pilot and his descriptive writing leaves no doubt that he flew these planes and experienced what he is telling about.

The story of Doolittle's Raiders is fairly well-known, although probably mostly forgotten now. After Pearl Harbor, the Allies desperately wanted a grand gesture to demonstrate their resolve, so 16 medium bombers daringly took off from an aircraft carrier -- something that had never been done -- to bomb targets in Japan. But wrapped up in that story in this smaller tale. There was one more plane that was on a secret mission to Russia. The author searched old WWII archives to find out the real story.

A couple of minor issues: There are several repetitive sections in the book, sometimes almost word for word. This was a pre-pub review e-edition so maybe that will get fixed. I also found it puzzling that one of the most famous associations of the Doolittle Raiders -- the story of the Raiders' reunion goblets, was left out here. In an otherwise pretty complete account, it's a somewhat glaring omission as part of their legend. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

What a wonderfully informative read this was about Doolittle’s 8th bomber. This was an area of history of WWII that I had missed (or maybe forgotten) so I was pleased to get this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher, St. Martin’s Press.

For those of you considering the book, it covered not just the particular incident, but gave a lot of background in flight and then the trials and tribulations of preparing for war on two fronts. It was enjoyable and highly readable even though Hampton covered a lot of technical data.

Not to be missed by the history buff!

Vanishing Act: The Enduring Mystery Behind the Legendary Doolittle Raid over Tokyo by Dan Hampton

I wish it hadn't taken me so many decades to develop a love of history but maybe if I'd had Dan Hampton teaching my history lessons back in my teens, I would not have been a very late blooming history buff. I devoured his book, Valor, and while this story seems a bit dryer due to the expanse of time it covers and the wealth of information it gives us, I also enjoyed Vanishing Act. Hampton's work allows me to dive into history and have a good background of what happened in the past, so I can better understand what is happening even now.

On April 18, 1942, sixteen converted (make that fifteen converted, one not converted) B-52s took off from the USS Hornet with the mission of bombing Japan. Without the conversions the planes would not have been able to make it out of Japan. This was a one way trip, with no promise of a chance to land anywhere after the bombings and with very likely chance of descending (crashing, parachuting, whatever) in enemy territory. After the bombings fifteen planes tried to make it to China while one plane headed for Russia due to low fuel since this one plane was a last minute addition and did not have the necessary fuel saving conversion.

The entire mission was shrouded in secrecy but that one plane landing in Russian was the real mystery. Hampton leads us through the detailed history that led up to the development of this mission and also to the substitution of plane 8, the last minute addition that had not been converted for this mission as had the other planes. There were other converted planes and crews ready to step in but instead, Captain Edward “Ski” York and crew were assigned to this mission at the very last minute. Hampton walks us through the events and what is now known and it's intriguing reading for me. I'm amazed at the bravery of all the crews, knowing when they took off from the USS Hornet, there was a high probability that they would never see home again. I can't remember everything I read, of course, my head doesn't do a good job of storing plane, ship, and military information long term but this book has a wealth of information that will help me understand my historical reading in the future.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC.

How Jimmy Doolittle's Raid Connected Directly To The Atomic Bomb. On the weekend of the anniversary of the Doolittle Raid (as it has come to be known) and with conversations sparking again about whether the dropping of the bomb was necessary or not, I had an opportunity to read this book - which admittedly won't release until the day after Memorial Day here in the US. (For everyone else, this book's release date is the last Tuesday of May 2024.)

Here, Hampton adds a wrinkle to the discussion of the bomb by revealing what had previously been hidden about the Doolittle Raid - a *second* mission, known only to the pilot of the plane and to Doolittle's own boss, to gauge just how ready the Soviet Union was to actually engage in warfare against Japan. Here, Hampton argues that the plane that for 80 years had been believed to have gotten lost... knew *exactly* where it was going and largely *exactly* what it was doing. Or, at least the one driving it did - and he relayed those instructions to those whose help he absolutely needed, his copilot and his navigator, and *no one* else. As in, the bomber's bomber and gunners didn't know of this secret mission. According to Hampton here, at least.

That the crew of "Plane 8" landed in the Soviet Union and was there imprisoned for a time before being repatriated back to the US has been known effectively since the events happened over 80 years ago - at least by then current communication standards, particularly during a time of global war.

But just what they were *actually* doing is new here - and because of what they found on that mission, we now have better information about what the various Generals and civilian leadership knew or thought they knew in the closing months of the war, as J. Robert Oppenheimer and his teams on the Manhattan Project were finalizing their new weapon. We now know what Roosevelt, MacArthur, Stinson, and Arnold knew about Soviet capabilities in the Far East... because this secret secondary mission got them the data they needed, three years prior. We now know that even if they had heard - as at least some claim - as early as February 1945 that Japan may possibly consider surrendering so long as the Emperor was kept in control of at least the Shinto religion (as, ultimately, is exactly what happened on Sept 2, 1945 on the USS Missouri), that even if they had heard this that the Soviet Union was not yet able to put the kind of resources into the region that may have made even Japan's own war hawks reconsider their actual options.

This is a harrowing tale, very well told - in some respects, it reads as easily as fiction, yet gives a complete picture of all that was happening in and around the Doolittle Raid, specifically as it relates to this second, secret, mission.

The one problem I have, at least with this early edition I read, was that the bibliography is lacking, clocking in at just 10% of the available text. Even with original research as the basis of the claims of this book - and that is indeed the case here - one would still expect that number to be perhaps at least 50% higher to meet the bare minimums of being described as adequately documented given the explosive nature of the claims contained herein.

Overall a truly well written and apparently well researched tale that just needed a touch more documentation. Very much recommended.

An excellent read about a subject that hasn’t been covered much. Well written in academic style, the author painstakingly informs the reader about world events during the interwar years and World War Two. Small details and intimate stories keep the reader’s attention throughout the book. If you are a fan of military history, then this is a book for you.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for allowing me to read Vanishing Act. This book is meticulously researched and very well written. This is a must read for any history enthusiast.

Well researched, nicely written. It's difficult to tell when the author is making leaps of faith to get across the gaps of the information available - it's most likely associated with my inability to close the loops myself. To be certain, the amount of actual eye-witness information regarding the flight of York and Emmens to the Soviet Union is comparable only to the paucity of hens' teeth, so there's no doubt that such leaps exist out of necessity.

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy of this new history book that looks at one of the most extraordinary missions undertaken by the United States in Word War II, and how the real story has never been told.

I read alot as a child and was blessed not only with a good library in town, but a library that had an amazing amount of nonfiction books in our school. It was probably the planes that made me pick up a book about the Doolittle read in I think 5th grade. I remember it had cityscape at night, a seachlight or two aimed at a sky and a plane dropping bombs. I must have read that book 30 times. Later I read James Doolittle's biography, and numerous other books about the Second World War. If asked I would have be able to talk about the Doolittle raid, the dropping of bombs on Japan, and the landing in China. And yet it turns out a big mystery was waiting to be solved. And this is why I love history so much, because things are always coming to light. Vanishing Act: The Enduring Mystery Behind the Legendary Doolittle Raid over Tokyo by combat aviator and historian Dan Hampton offers a new view of this event, and how even a secret mission, could have even deeper secrets.

December 7th was not only a day that lived in infamy, it was also the day that America found itself a part of a war that many in the country did not want to be a part of, nor was prepared for. Just like the politics of today many wished America to be more isolationist, more stringent in keeping out immigrants, or if sides had to be picked, many would side with the fascists over the allies. The military was undermanned, understrengthed, and lacked much in the way of the current technology that was being used. Our intelligence on our enemies was lacking, with maps that were wrong, or out of date. However, America has, or had, a spirit, a fighting sprit, and it wasn't long before this country began to retool, and get on war footing. Foremost in minds was an action to show the world and ourselves, that we were in the fight. And from a simple idea, can a medium bomber launch from a carrier, not land, takeoff and land else where, an extraordinary feat of flying was born. However even in this secret plan, there were secrets, one to gain intelligence, maybe force a fight, or maybe just put a flight crew into more danger.

A work of history that in many ways reads like a thriller, with writing that puts a person in the pilot's seat, in the planning sessions, and even on the ground watching these planes overhead. Again I thought I knew about the Doolittle raid, but Hampton covers all the ideas, the efforts, the changes to the planes and the people involved. The book shows a country that once could do things, get things done without politics, getting in the way. The writing might be a little too thriller writing sometimes, but all in all Hampton covers not just the raid, but the politics, the history of Japan, Russia and America, the war, and of course the airmen. The book never lets up, never losing its momentum, and moves quite well.

Recommended for history and World War II readers as well as aviation fans. This would be the perfect book for Father's Day, or for anyone who likes to read history, especially history that is new to many. An interesting and fun read.

I know this may be difficult to believe right now, but Americans and Russians were not always best friends! In fact, during World War II, there was a real question if the then Soviet Union was going to help at all in defeating Japan. This question is at the center of Dan Hampton's Vanishing Act.

Hampton tells the story of a particular plane during the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo a few months after Pearl Harbor. If you don't know this story then I assure you it is one of the most amazing missions in military history. Action movies play on the trope of the "suicide mission" and the Doolittle Raid is a real-life version of it. Hampton is not trying to retell the entire story of the raid but to focus on the only plane that ended up in Russia. (Note: For the complete story of the raid, James M. Scott's Target Tokyo is the definitive account.) If you are a World War II nerd, Hampton's book will mostly be things you already know. He speeds through most of World War II to set up his investigation into the plane piloted by "Ski" York. Hampton is, as usual, a great writer and this is an easy read.

As far as his investigation, I would say Hampton has some good points, but I felt like he didn't do enough to discount the accepted story while building his own narrative. To put it another way, he is persuasive, but I wanted more narrative devoted to exploring how arguments against his theory could be shot down. It didn't keep me from enjoying the book and I'd especially recommend this to anyone who wants an entry point into the raid who knew nothing about it before.

(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and St. Martin's Press.)

I knew one of the Doolittle planes ended up in the Soviet Union and the crew interned, but nothing more than the bare fact. Plane 8 didn’t go to Russia because they were low on fuel or lost. They were on a secret mission that not even the navigator knew about.
Hap Arnold wanted to establish air bases in the Soviets’ Maritime Province, but needed to know what the Russians had there. A bomber could join Doolittle’s raid and fly to Soviet territory instead of China. The experienced pilots could do an aerial survey followed by a ground assessment with the Russians revealing only what they wished.
Stalin want to avoid any action giving the Japanese a pretext to invade. He could have killed the American crew or turned them over to Japan. It was a risk that Arnold and the pilots believed was worth taking.
Interspersed with segments about the crew’s experience is a concise history of World War II and events leading to it. The fate of all the raiders is detailed, as well as how wartime events during the crew’s captivity affected their fate. Highly educational.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own.