Last Mission to Tokyo

The Extraordinary Story of the Doolittle Raiders and Their Final Fight for Justice

By: Michel Paradis

Narrated by: Jacques Roy

Michel Paradis’s Last Mission to Tokyo, a “superb” (The Wall Street Journal) and “engrossing...richly researched” (The New York Times Book Review) account of a key but underreported moment in World War II: The Doolittle Raids and the international war crimes trial in 1945 that defined the Japanese-American relations and changed legal history.

In 1942, freshly humiliated from the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States was in search of a plan. President Roosevelt, determined to show the world that our nation would not be intimidated or defeated by enemy powers, demanded recommendations for a show of strength. Jimmy Doolittle, a stunt pilot with a doctorate from MIT, came forward and led eighty young men, gathered together from the far-flung corners of Depression-era America, on a seemingly impossible mission across the Pacific. Sixteen planes in all, they only had enough fuel for a one-way trip. Together, the Raiders, as they were called, did what no one had successfully done for more than a thousand years. They struck the mainland of Japan and permanently turned the tide of the war in the Pacific.

Almost immediately, The Doolittle Raid captured the public imagination, and has remained a seminal moment in World War II history, but the heroism and bravery of the mission is only half the story. In Last Mission to Tokyo, Michel Paradis reveals the dramatic aftermath of the mission, which involved two lost crews captured, tried, and tortured at the hands of the Japanese, a dramatic rescue of the survivors in the last weeks of World War II, and an international manhunt and trial led by two dynamic and opposing young lawyers—in which both the United States and Japan accused the other of war crimes—that would change the face of our legal and military history. Perfect for fans of Lucky 666 and Nuremberg: Infamy on Trial, Last Mission to Tokyo is an unforgettable war story-meets-courtroom-drama that “captures the reader with the first sentence and never lets go” (John Grisham).

Love this narrator

The book wasn’t exactly what I was expecting (it was mostly about the trials), but it was a surprising read that I was very interested in. Expertly narrated!

Very interesting insight and ending!

Thought it would be open & shut. Now want to learn more about https://en.m.wikipedia.org › wiki
Kenpeitai!

Great Untold Story

I knew about Doolittle Raid but now know the fate of the missing crews. This book was at times boring but does keep you interested. The book was not much about the mission (which is what I was expecting and hoping for) but more of the trials which made it interesting. Well researched and well written, easy to understand for being a trial. Overall a great book to read.

Exasperating WW2 crimes investigation

Narration is clear

Story of one army criminal investigator being frustrated at every turn when searching for JIA OFFICERS RESPONSIBLE FOR EXECUTION OF THE DEWEY flyers.

The Japanese way of stone walling and double speak is maddening.

As additional evidence, just try to track down japan’s phony obfuscations concerning their enslaving thousands of young women. 80 years later they still refuse admission, much less apology; still even less willing to pay reparations. No wonder Asian neighbors still harbor distrust and hostility toward them. At some point they will get their comeuppance, that is addition to their disgusting reputation.

OK, But Know What It Is ...

This is an effort at non-fiction history by a legal scholar regarding the lead up to and trial of four Japanese war criminals in Shanghai after World War II regarding their involvement in the treatment and earlier trial of Doolittle Raiders who were captured in China. Three of the Raiders were executed after incredibly perfunctory proceedings.

If you are looking for a detailed treatment of the Doolittle Raid itself, this is not your book. That said, it is a pretty interesting treatment of the subject matter, although it drags in parts. As is so often the case, a good editing would have helped the book move along, and would probably have lessened its length by about 20 percent.

As a lawyer myself, I found the description of the trial and its preparation interesting. It is extremely difficult working with clients and witnesses who speak only (or mainly) a foreign language. Working through interpreters is sometimes necessary, but a difficult experience. It really surprised me that the Army allowed Edmund Bodine, a pilot who had attended law school but did not have a law degree and who was not a lawyer at the time, to serve as lead defense counsel. That said, he did a credible job in performing a largely thankless task.

The great frustration in the whole story--and one that is driven home by the author--is that those who were more culpable were not part of the trial. The author attributes much of this to interference from MacArthur (or his minions) who were focused on rebuilding Japan. I don't know if that is fair or accurate, but it sounds about right.

As noted, the book tends to drag in places. Another shortcoming of the book is that it contains an extremely truncated and unfulfilling afterward about what happened to the protagonists involved in the trial. That was disappointing.

The result of the trial will be frustrating, one way or the other, to almost everyone. The one thing the book establishes beyond much doubt, however, is that the Japanese defendants got a fair trial. The captured Doolittle Raiders surely did not.

The narration is quite good. My only qualm is that some of the Japanese pronunciations seem a bit off, although the author does well with German later in the book--so maybe my qualm is not fair. Overall, very listenable.