This was a great read. I really learnt so much from reading this book. It was a well wrote history book following the lead up to and during the 10th of March 1945 attack on Japan. It was a fascinating account of this event in history that used lost of different accounts to tell. It was a very shocking read. It definitely opened my eyes to the horror of war. Also how bad these events effected the people living there. I listened to the audiobook and liked the narrator his voice was perfect to the book genre. This book is rated at 3.5 rounded up as it is better than a average rating. This book seemed a little long winded although it did use plenty of sources to tell the story. I think it would of been better if it was more concise and to the point. The books main focus is surrounded fire bombing residential areas of Tokyo which to me was more horrific than the dropping of the atomic bomb. It might seem hard but at least it would of been fast death with that atomic bomb rather than fire. I'm just thankful all this is in the past and not today. I do recommend reading this as it's very eye opening. 

Many thanks to the author and publishers for bringing us this history book so people know just how bad war was.

The above review has already been placed on goodreads, waterstones, Google books, Barnes&noble, kobo, amazon UK where found and my blog https://ladyreading365.wixsite.com/website/post/black-snow-by-james-m-scott-highbridge-audio-3-5-stars either under my name or ladyreading365

Black Snow is a meticulously constructed history of the people, machinery, and events that led up to the horrific firebombing of Tokyo in 1945. The content was thoroughly researched and I enjoyed most of the audio reading, however it could be dry and tedious at times. I think this is a great book for people particularly interested in history and don’t need that extra level of entertainment/engagement that some non-fiction books incorporate. Overall, this is a straightforward recounting of a devastating part of World War II history.

This book was truly horrifying. It reinforces the idea that humans are awful to each other. I really appreciated the detailed storytelling of this time period, but it isn't something to be entered into lightly.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and HighBridge Audio for accepting my request to audibly read and review Black Snow.

Author: James M. Scott
Published: 09/06/22
Genre: History -- Nonfiction (Adult)
Narrator: L.J. Ganser

At 13 hours, I found this as an incredibly long audiobook. The narrator did his job. He read the text. I was struggling to focus and stay there. The text with full respect to the author and all those this book represents is dry.

I've come to realize that I like a story. Black Snow is a book, that resembles a textbook. I refer you back to the synopsis. While this includes documented world history, the line is thin between spoiler and known facts. This is written following a dark day in history, March 10, 1945 (Tokyo). The question posed in the synopsis will stay with me forever. "Should civilians be considered legitimate targets?"

I would recommend this for history buffs, someone who enjoys reading and does not need entertained.

I'm rounding up to 4 stars from my 3.5. This is written for smart people.

This was a well-constructed telling of this period of history. The book didn't stay focused on the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In fact, this was a very small portion of the book. It focused more on Curtis LeMay and the firebombing of Tokyo (as mentioned in the title). The author not only told this history, but also weaved in what was going on in Europe and America at this time. The author showed the horrific devastation of the firebombing and the thought processes of the various leaders that led up to their decisions. Sometimes historical books can just tell a straight chronological tale of events, but this one added details from other areas that enriched the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and HighBridge Audio for giving me an ARC audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I received this audiobook from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. The description above pretty accurately describes the subject matter of the book, so I won't go into plot details here.

Although the beginning of the book dragged a little bit, the pace picked up speed when America starting bombing the Japanese. The description of the animals and people, especially children, being burned to death was so heart wrenching that I nearly broke down in tears several times. I would even go so far as to provide a trigger warning here, as at times it was really hard to listen to. People being burned alive, boiling to death in super heated rivers, or drowning to death while trying to escape the flames. Yikes. It is the stuff of nightmares -- and this really happened.

If this were fiction, it would be classified as a horror novel. 

It is unfathomable to me that after seeing all this death and destruction, humans CONTINUE to do engage in war, death, destruction -- right now we are amidst a war that is decimating an entire people and culture. WHY DO WE NEVER LEARN???

The book is immensely well researched and well written and is regarding a subject that I had not known about previously. Yes, everyone has (surely) learned about the atomic bomb in school, but I do not remember ever learning about prior incendiary attacks on Tokyo.

My emotions on the subject are so torn. On the one hand it is shameful that America was responsible for such atrocities. On the other hand, the Japanese were not saints, and they were also guilty of their own atrocities for which they should feel equally ashamed. That is not to say that anyone "deserved" it -- especially not the innocent children and babies who were killed in the air raids. I hugged my daughter a little tighter after hearing some scenes.

I think war is ugly and stupid and that there must be better ways to resolve conflict. It is for this reason that books like this are important to make people SEE / HEAR / LEARN about what the impact of war is, in the hopes to avoid the same in the future. 

I highly recommend this book.