Dead Reckoning: The Story of How Johnny Mitchell and His Fighter Pilots Took on Admiral Yamamoto and Avenged Pearl Harbor

by Dick Lehr

The definitive and previously untold account of Operation Vengeance, the American military operation to kill Japanese Naval Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the man who devised the attack on Pearl Harbor.

“AIR RAID, PEARL HARBOR. THIS IS NOT DRILL.” At 7:58 a.m. on December 7, 1941, an officer at the Ford Island Command Center frantically typed what would become one of the most famous radio dispatches in history as the Japanese navy launched a surprise aerial assault on the American navy stationed in Hawaii. In a little over two hours, the Japanese killed more than 2,400 Americans and propelled the U.S.’s entry into World War II. Dead Reckoning is the story of the mission to avenge that devastating strike.

New York Times bestselling author Dick Lehr expertly crafts this "hunt for Bin Laden"-style WWII story as he recreates the minute-by-minute events at Pearl Harbor. Lehr explores the tremendous spycraft and rising military tradecraft undertaken in its wake, and goes behind the scenes at Station Typo in Hawaii where U.S. Navy code breakers’ discovered exactly where and when to find Admiral Yamamoto, on April 18, 1943, and chronicles in detail the nearly impossible, nerve-wracking mission to kill him.

Lehr focuses on the key figures, including Yamamoto, the enigmatic, charismatic military genius whose complicated feelings about the U.S.—he studied at Harvard—add rich complexity; the American pilots of the attack squad—Thomas Lanphier Jr., Besby Holmes, Ray Hine, and Rex Barber; and their extraordinary leader, Major John Mitchell, who planned their record-setting mission literally to the second. Lehr adds tension using a Rashomon-like approach that tells the story of the operation through competing versions, and offers well-reasoned conclusions, including the identity of the pilot actually responsible for bringing Yamamoto down.

Dead Reckoning features 8 pages of black-and-white photos.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, World War II, Military Fiction, Aviation, American History, War

416 pages, Hardcover

First published June 9, 2020

About the author

Dick Lehr is a professor of journalism at Boston University. From 1985 to 2003, he was a reporter at the Boston Globe, where he was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in investigative reporting and won numerous regional and national journalism awards. He served as the Globe's legal affairs reporter, magazine and feature writer, and as a longtime member of the newspaper's investigative reporting unit, the Spotlight Team. Before that, Lehr, who is also an attorney, was a reporter at The Hartford Courant.

Lehr is the author of The Fence: A Police Cover-up Along Boston's Racial Divide, a non-fiction narrative about the worst known case of police brutality in Boston, which was an Edgar Award finalist for best non-fiction. He is coauthor of the New York Times bestseller and Edgar Award winner Black Mass: Whitey Bulger, the FBI and a Devil's Deal, and its sequel, Whitey: The Life of America's Most Notorious Mob Boss.

Lehr was a John S. Knight Journalism Fellow at Stanford University in 1991-1992. He lives outside Boston with his wife and four children.

Reviews

[JD · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good and in depth look at the people and events surrounding the targeted-kill/assassination of Admiral Yamamoto. It takes a deep dive into the lives of the lead pilot Johnny Mitchell and Admiral Yamamoto, which was very interesting reading, and then also in all the World War 2 events up until the operation. The operation was a success, yet history will never know if his killing had a real impact on the war, other than the changing of moral on both sides. The book got overly detailed at times, but it is still a decent read.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Since Mitchell enlisted in 1934, he saw action in WWII quickly in the Pacific when the war began. Although he was not the pilot that shot down Yamamoto, he designed and led his fellow P-38 pilots on the intercept path on that fateful April 18, 1943 morning. Yamamoto had masterminded the Japanese strategy to attack Pearl Harbor, so he was vilified at the level of Hitler in the eyes of all Americans.

This books gets off to a slow start as the biographies of these two men (Mitchell and Yamamoto) alternate chapters with details. Mitchell's small-town unexciting early life let him focus on school and become valedictorian of his small high school class. He proved to be a true leader among his fellow pilots.

Yamamoto had risen through the ranks, and even spent time in the USA as part of his military studies prior to the war. He had great respect for the USA and knew that an initial decisive attack was needed since the immense capacity of the USA would overwhelm them in the long haul.

Yamamoto was 57 and Mitchell was 27 when Pearl Harbor launched the US into WWII. Although Yamamoto had given interviews in the USA in his prior trips to the USA, none of them had been published. When war broke out, a reporter dug out his interview and slightly twisted Yamamoto's words to make it sound like Yamamoto would march down Pennsylvania Avenue and dictate terms at the White House. This make him public-enemy number one in the USA (up with Hitler).

Mitchell saw action in all the major early battles in the Pacific, so by following Mitchell in this story, you get a concise look at these engagements. I liked this quickened pace of each of these conflict stories. Entire books are written about The Coral Sea, or Guadalcanal, but by focusing on the specific action of Mitchell, the reader just gets a summary and major events of these battles. This can ignite the reader to want to go get books on each of these, while keeping the pace of this story moving.

Indeed, once WWII broke out, the pace of this book really picked up steam. It was good to read about the human sides of Yamamoto (serious mistress) and Mitchell (married just days after Pearl Harbor). These were in the early part of this book, but sprinkled in occasionally during WWII too.

I was very happy with the treatment of who EXACTLY shot down Yamamoto. Rex Barber gets the credit here, but initial history gave it to Tom Lanphier. It took until the 1970's for it to be declared dual-credit between Barber and Lanphier. While Lanphier was indeed a strong pilot (Ace), his father always saw that stories got written about his son in the press. Lanphier bragged constantly, and wanted the glory of shooting down Yamamoto. I was happy to see this book's research yield the telling of the story to be Barber all the way for the credit of shooting down Yamamoto.

My favorite WWII plane is the P-38, so I am biased toward stories with this aircraft. The precisely timed long-range flight was perfectly planned by Mitchell the night before the raid. Mitchell designed 5 legs out over the Pacific at 50 feet off the water (to avoid radar) and well out to sea (so they would be spotted by boats or coast observers). With no landmarks to double-check turning points or course, Mitchell led by using his watch, compass, and speed indicators for 450 miles over water to surprise attack the two bombers and six zeros that carried Yamamoto and others.

Just have patience reading the first 100 pages of bio-type stuff. But once Pearl Harbor is attacked, be prepared to not want to put this book down again for the next 200 pages. There is a substantial (~100 pgs) appendix of notes and index (as all good nonfiction history books should have).

[Mal Warwick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of two men, one Japanese, the other American. They’re 30 years apart in age and might have come from different galaxies for all the different ways their experience has shaped them. One is Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, commander in chief of the Japanese Empire’s Combined Fleet. He’s the man who planned the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor carried out on December 7, 1941. The other is Major John Mitchell of Enid, Mississippi. Known as Mitch, he commanded the US Army Air Forces fighter squadron that ended the admiral’s life on Palm Sunday, April 18, 1943, exerting revenge for Pearl Harbor. (The mission was called Operation Vengeance.) In Dead Reckoning, journalist Dick Lehr brings both men back to life in a compelling account of their lives up to the fatal moment when their timelines intersected.

THE MAN WHO MADE PEARL HARBOR HAPPEN
In every respect, Yamamoto was the architect of the sneak attack on what President Franklin Roosevelt called “a date which will live in infamy.” For decades, the brilliant Japanese naval officer had been the leading proponent of the development of attack aircraft and aircraft carriers against the powerful opposition of the “battleship admirals” who long controlled the Japanese Navy. In fact, Yamamoto had openly advocated the use of airplanes based on ships even before a single aircraft carrier was to be found anywhere on Earth. It was his lobbying of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries that led to the creation of Japan’s celebrated Zero fighter aircraft. And as the prospect of war with the United States steadily gained support in Japanese military circles in 1940 and ’41, Yamamoto advanced his audacious plan—again in the face of fierce opposition. Pearl Harbor was Yamamoto’s project, pure and simple.

THE TWO CENTRAL FIGURES
Lear’s story is tightly focused on the two men whose lives are central to Operation Vengeance. Others enter into the tale, including senior figures in both the US and Japanese navies, but they are incidental to the plot.

ISOROKU YAMAMOTO
Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto (1884-1943) graduated from the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy in 1904 in time to join in the Empire’s underdog victory over the Russian Empire in the Russo-Japanese War. He was wounded at the decisive Battle of Tsushima. His experience in that war, serving under the legendary admiral who had launched the war with a surprise attack on the Russian fleet, left a permanent imprint on him. That lesson inspired his plan four decades later to attack Pearl Harbor by surprise. However—and Dick Lehr goes out of his way to make this clear—Yamamoto demanded that his superiors inform the United States government an hour in advance of the operation, so that they could not claim it as a “sneak attack.” As we know, and as the admiral discovered some time later, they did nothing of the sort.

JOHN MITCHELL
Image of John Mitchell, the pilot who led the mission to exact revenge for Pearl Harbor
John Mitchell (1914-95) was a flying ace who flew in both World War II and the Korean War. He volunteered for the United States Army in 1934 and four years later entered training as a pilot, receiving his wings and a commission as a second lieutenant in 1940. He early demonstrated both superlative skill as a pilot and leadership potential. After months of training and inactivity following Pearl Harbor, Mitchell went into combat on Guadalcanal, where he became the Army Air Forces’ first ace on the island, with a record of eight confirmed kills. He rose quickly through the ranks, gaining promotion as a lieutenant colonel when the war ended and serving as a colonel in Korea.

Mitchell had been a high school valedictorian. He graduated with a degree in economics from Columbia University, and received a second diploma from the University of Chicago. It’s hard to imagine finding a more able man to carry out the mission that achieved revenge for Pearl Harbor for the United States.

YAMAMOTO PLANNED THE ATTACK IN HOPES OF WINNING PEACE
The Pearl Harbor attack was a limited tactical success but a strategic blunder of historic proportions. Japan could not win a protracted war with the United States, and Yamamoto knew that as well as anyone on the planet. Unlike all but a handful of other Japanese military officers, he was intimately familiar with America. He had studied at Harvard, served two tours as Naval Attaché in the Japanese Embassy in Washington, and traveled coast to coast by train. But the admiral argued in vain to persuade the members of the War Cabinet that victory was exceedingly unlikely.

What Yamamoto hoped to accomplish with the operation was to knock out the US Navy in the Pacific and thereby force the Americans to negotiate for peace. Japan had seized the Philippines, much of Southeast Asia, and virtually all of coastal China, and he envisioned the Empire being able to hold onto most of these gains under a peace agreement.

PEARL HARBOR: TACTICAL SUCCESS, STRATEGIC FAILURE
In fact, however, the Pearl Harbor operation had been only partially successful. The strike force failed to destroy the repair yards, the submarine base, or the vital oil storage tanks inland on the island of Oahu. And the US Pacific Fleet’s three aircraft carriers were hundreds of miles away on maneuvers, undetected by the Japanese. All of which meant that the US Navy would need not a full year to recover but merely a few months. Still, the admiral remained hopeful for peace for several months as the Japanese Navy continued to rage through the Pacific. But, seeing no move by top officials in Tokyo to extend peace feelers to the US, he became increasingly frustrated and eventually despondent.

AMERICANS WERE MISINFORMED ABOUT YAMAMOTO’S INTENTIONS
Some months before Pearl Harbor, Admiral Yamamoto had written to one of the men who was among the most strident of the militarists in the upper reaches of Japan’s military establishment. In his letter, he skillfully made the case that the Empire could not hope to win a war with the United States. It would be necessary, he wrote, for Japan to utterly destroy the American military, invade the country, and march into the White House to dictate peace terms. The letter backfired.

When the propaganda specialists working for the military got hold of Yamamoto’s letter, they drastically edited it to read as a bold promise on Yamamoto’s part to dictate peace to the Americans from the White House. And US newspapers and radio stations—themselves working as propagandists in the war effort—quoted liberally from the doctored letter. Yamamoto became Americans’ second most hated man in the world (after Adolf Hitler). And there he stayed for the duration of the war.

A BRILLIANT ACCOUNT BUT OVERSIMPLIFIED
Dick Lehr’s rendering of this story of revenge for Pearl Harbor is an example of first-class journalism. He tells the tale in chapters that alternate between Yamamoto and Mitchell until the pace quickens, at which point he begins alternating sections within chapters. His portrayals of the two men are exceptionally well-rounded, with extensive detail about their relationships with the women they loved—Mitchell’s fiancée and later wife, and the admiral’s mistress. But the structure he chooses necessitates compromises, requiring him to simplify in filling in background information lest he unduly slow down the story.

For example, Lehr argues that Yamamoto consistently faced opposition from the conservative (and mostly older) officers in the Japanese Navy. This is true so far as it goes. But he ignores a complication in the case of the admiral’s advocacy of the Pearl Harbor attack. When his plan surfaced in the summer of 1941, a strategic debate was raging in Tokyo. Many Army officers and political leaders strongly advocated attacking not the USA but the Soviet Union, which Germany had just invaded. Their opposition proved fiercer than that of the naval officers, who were already coming around to the belief that Yamamoto was a genius. In the end, of course, the navy, and Yamamoto, prevailed, but it was a close call.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dick Lehr (1954-) is also the author of two bestselling nonfiction books about the notorious Boston mob boss, Whitey Bulger. Lehr is a professor of journalism at Boston University. He is a graduate of Harvard University and the University of Connecticut School of Law but has worked as a journalist throughout his career.

[Scott Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Audiobook) (3.5 stars) This work is set up as a sort of comparative biography, looking at the lives of two men, Admiral Yamamoto and Johnny Mitchell. The first is a name more would have heard about, given his prominent role in World War II, as the mastermind behind Pearl Harbor, the overall commander of the fleet at Midway and the target of the first successful HVI hunt by aircraft in military history. The other is not so well known, but his military career is no less worthy of mention or accolades. Mitchell was the commander of the mission that flew to intercept and kill Yamamoto in 1943.

That the author received access to the myriad of love letters between Mitchell and his wife provided a lot of insight into the life of the man. The tale of Yamamoto is more well known, and the author could pull from various sources. Admittedly, while I did some research for an article about the man, I came to learn more about the man in this work. Yet, the strength of this one is the tale of Mitchell. Perhaps, if some of his men had not spilled so much about the mission to the press, Halsey might have not squashed their citations for the Congressional Medal of Honor, and Mitchell would get far more press. He was an ace over multiple wars and had a stellar career.

If there is an issue with the book it is that 85 percent is spend on the long lead-up to the mission. Yet, when it comes to the execution and aftermath, the author tends to just rush through it. Granted, the work is not solely about Operation Vengeance. However, it just doesn't seem to fit with the work to have such an imbalance in the telling. To his credit, Fehr doesn't go down too many rabbit holes, especially the long-standing debate about who should have gotten the credit for the actual shoot-down of Yamamoto's bomber. He only looks at it from Mitchell's perspective (Mitchell was in the camp to give credit to Barber, and not Lanpheir).

A decent read, and a great insight into an unknown war hero (Mitchell). Outside of that, if you want more detailed information about Yamamoto, Operation Vengeance and/or the impact of the mission, I might suggest other works. The audiobook would rate the same as the e-copy/hard copy.

[Lou · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting read. Don’t expect any huge reading about the Pearl Harbor but Yamamoto workings to get the plan done. John Mitchell was a terrific pilot and his team was responsible for killing Yamamoto. The events leading up to this mission and the situation afterwards. I found it quite remarkable the relationship between John Mitchell and his fiancé during his service time before and after their marriage. The book is a fast read and page turner. Anyone interested in WWII and the Pacific War will find this a must read.

[Dad · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an excellent account of the targeted killing of the Japanese lead planner of the Pearl Harbor attack of WWII. Told as an almost biographical account of John Mitchell, this book was filled with bits of historical fact some clearly well known and others not. It also served to show how the principal players in this story were manipulated to fulfill the agendas of others. Anyone interested in WWII in the Pacific will thoroughly enjoy this one. Well worth the commitment of time to slug through another long one...

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fine WWII history of the South Pacific, focusing on an army airman and Japanese naval commander.

[Matthew Knox · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a great book! Lots of details that I had not known about!

[Timothy Lugg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great story written as a narrative. Because the author tells the story through the lives of the two primary people involved in the story, I forgot that I was reading history. These two, Johnny Mitchell and Admiral Yamamoto, were unknown to each other, and they only briefly crossed paths, yet the buildup to their intersection makes a gripping story.

[Joe Bellew · Rating 2 out of 5]

Possibly a one. Horribly written. Boring.

[Carter Rise Sr · Rating 1 out of 5]

Shocked this is so highly rated. I thought this was 50 pages on the subject and 275 pages of fill.

[Nikolaj Hennessee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Novels are written for different reasons which can be favorable and unfavorable. “Three-blast alarm signaling an air raid(Lehr pg.2).” The book Dead Reckoning sheds light on the attitude of how people reacted to the attack of Pearl Harbor. Dead Reckoning tells the tail of one of the first airborne special operations. The story of Johnny Mitchell and his pilots avenged Pearl Harbor by taking on Admiral Yamamoto.
Dead Reckoning has lots of greats but also some problems. This explains how people felt after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The book shows both sides of the war very well for both Johnny Mitchell and Admiral Yamamoto. “We’ve hit the jackpot! (Lehr. Pg.258).” The US broke the Japanese code early in the war which made it easy for Johnny Mitchell's command to hunt down Admiral Yamamoto which they did know the US broke their code so early. Dead Reckoning has a lot of greats and explains how people both felt and how they couldn't wait to get their revenge on Admiral Yamamoto.
There are a few problems with Dead Reckoning. The first one I have is the very long build up which can push people's attention away. The book seems to have filler information after the first 3 chapters. The book has a slower progression than other books of its type. I wouldn't call this a lousy but I'm going to note all the letters from Annie and Johnny, for example. “He missed Annie Lee, for sure, telling her so in his frequent letters.(Lehr pg.33).”
Dead Reckoning is a great book but with some problems. It gives an amazing view of both the reaction and the revenge of Pearl Harbor. A few problems with the book I noticed was it started off slow like most books but it can push away readers. Overall I would rate it 7/10. I would recommend this book to an audience that wants a book to build up slowly and patience. Dead Reckoning is a great book for the reaction and revenge that was wanted for Pearl Harbor.





References

Dick Lehr.(2020). Dead Reckoning: The story of how Johnny Mitchell and his fighter pilots took on Admiral Yamamoto and avenged Pearl Harbor.

[Chad Manske · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published just two years ago, journalist Duck Lehr tells in dramatic fashion a story never before told in this way: how the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 was avenged by Army Air Force Maj Johnny Mitchell. Conveyed in dramatic prose much like the raid that took out bin Laden decades later, Lehr takes us into the personal lives Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto—the Japanese naval admiral and mastermind behind the Pearl Harbor attack. We learn of his numerous time spent in the US prior to the war and of his caution to his government not to go up against the US, yet he was rebuffed. We also learn much about his long extramarital love affair, and through this, some of the war’s details in letters to his mistress. On the other side we get to follow the life of Johnny Mitchell from Enid, MS who marries and then ships off a few weeks later and doesn’t see his wife for years. His letters and personal recollections are made newly available to Lehr for this book. Mitchell is the first ace of his unit with 8 kills and a Distinguished Service Cross when he is asked to plan the mission to kill Yamamoto from Guadalcanal where he is based. Having broken the Japanese code several months earlier, planners know of the Admiral’s movements and begin planning the mission from the only long-range fighter capable of the range to do so—Mitchell’s P-38 Lightnings. With mission detail to the second and radio salience, Mitchell and his pilots take out and kill Yamamoto while he is airborne. Years of controversy would surround who exactly got credit for the kill, and to this day it is split between pilots Rex Barber and John Lanphier, Jr. A fantastic gripping story!

[Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Journalist Dick Lehr's book "Dead Reckoning" is an captivating book about the Pacific Theater in World War II. It focuses specifically on a small group of Army Air Force fliers who ultimately shot down Admiral Yamamoto's plane sixteen months after the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. Admiral Yamamoto, of course, was the planner of the attack on Pearl Harbor, and who was revered by the Japanese military and the public. His death dealt a blow to Japanese morale, and to the U.S., partially avenged the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor.

The key figure in the book is Major John Mitchell, who led the mission to intercept Yamamoto and down his plane. The book introduces Mitchell as a young man interested in learning to fly, his joining the Army Air Corps, his marriage, and deployments in the Pacific theater. Mitchell's duties and responsibilities increased over time, and he soon was promoted to Major and led the strike force against Yamamoto. In that mission, the pilots had to fly hundred of miles over open ocean with no landmarks, and time their arrival precisely when Yamamoto's plane was expected to arrive at the expected coordinates. Any errors in navigation, changes in weather, wind changes, or other delays would have meant the mission would fail, and the planes would be lucky to have enough fuel to safely return to base. It's an incredible story.

[Gary Webster · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, I love history. It's fascinating to me to read about people's lives, how they unfold and the impact they have in history. World War 2 holds a particular fascination for me, since my Father was in the Army Air Corps, later the Air Force, and he flew 25 bombing missions over Germany. A navigator, putting to good use his skills in mathematics and logic, he served his country for 19 years. The Bay of Pigs fiasco robbed him of his 20 years, and full retirement, but that is for another day. Lehr's book does an excellent job of building in the details around two main characters, Isakoura Yamamoto and John W. Mitchell. Their stories lead to an historic meeting, and one that changes the face of WWII. Lehr's writing style laying out the history, and the lives of these characters (and many others) is a great read. It's a page turning and compelling interest in what happens next. I feel like I am inside the minds of his characters, these amazing people of history. But when it comes to his overall writing style, how he builds the storylines together, I found it pedestrian at best. For history, and overall tension of the action sequences, 5 stars, but for the rest of the story and the connection of these lives, 3 stars. I compromised with a 4 star review. If you like history, this one will fill the bill.

[Myrick Crampton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up Dead Reckoning on a Kindle sale, drawn in by the promise of a gripping true story from World War II's Pacific theater.

Lehr does a commendable job weaving together the backgrounds of key figures: the brilliant but reluctant Japanese admiral Yamamoto and the determined American pilot Major John Mitchell, who planned and led the daring intercept. The book builds tension effectively, detailing the intelligence breakthrough, the logistical challenges of the long-range flight, and the aerial showdown itself. It's packed with vivid details from pilot accounts, letters, and historical records, giving a human side to both the American flyboys and Yamamoto (including his personal life, which adds nuance beyond the typical villain portrayal). The pacing keeps you turning pages, especially in the mission chapters, which read like a thriller despite knowing the outcome.

Overall, a worthwhile read for WWII enthusiasts or anyone interested in "hunt for Bin Laden"-style missions from history. Solid storytelling, engaging facts, and a satisfying dose of justice served. Glad I grabbed it on sale—recommended if you're in the mood for nonfiction aviation drama.

[John Rowe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dead Reckoning: The Story of How Johnny Mitchell and His Fighter Pilots Took on Admiral Yamamoto and Avenged Pearl Harbor by Dick Lehr is an easy, engaging read because it is written by a journalist, which makes it a good introduction to WWII in the Pacific for those that aren’t history nuts.

Because the author starts at the beginning when covering the topic of Operation Vengeance, the mission to kill Japanese top admiral Yamamoto, he ends up giving the reader a great overview of many aspects of the lead-up to the war and the early Pacific war. The story of the mission itself is riveting and the aftermath heartbreaking. Overall, just a great, engaging story that even includes some romance.

Highly recommended – 5 stars!

[Eugene Quinn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good revealing story!! One thing overlooked was the part Charles Lindbergh played !!

Lindy was a aircraft rep. that flew out to the war zone to show p-38 drivers how to get the most range out of their fighters!! He taught them to fly with overboost power setting. Most pilots flew with power settings squared (23 in. Manifold pressure and 2300 RPMs) these are settings on my Aero Commander 680P I flew. Fighter combat missions flew with higher settings! His flight lead noticed Lindy always had more than 75 gal. exxtra fuel in his tanks!!! He asked Lindy about this: Lindy replied I am good with fuel flow management !! How do you think I flew the Atlantic ocean! He then explained how to fly overboost setting with high manifold pressure and low rpms! I flew with 25 in. mp. and 1800 rpm. You fly slower but save fuel!!

[Dennis Hogan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finished Dead Reckoning: The Story of How Johnny Mitchell and His Fighter Pilots Took on Admiral Yamamoto and Avenged Pearl Harbor by Dick Lehr published in 2020. Lehr is an American author, journalist and professor of journalism at Boston University. He is the author of Black Mass: Whitey Bulger, the FBI and a Devil's Deal published in 2000 and was winner of the Edgar Award. This book begins with the Dec 7 bombing of Pearl Harbor. Lehr does an exhaustive job putting you in that era. He describes the build up to WW2 in Japan and the US, in particular the detailed lives of the major players in the book. There is a strong parallel between the downing of Admiral Yamamoto, the planner of Pearl Harbor and the targeted killing of Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of 9/11. It’s not hard to figure out that Lehr was/is a great reported. Reads like a spy novel.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good retelling of an incident from WWII that few now remember. The incident itself does not fill much of the volume since most of it is the backstory of John Mitchell of the US Army Air Forces (as they were called at the time) and Isoroku Yamamoto, the Japanese Admiral who was the primary architect of the attack on Pearl Harbor (and on Midway Island) who was more than a hero in his native Japan.

One thing that bothers me about this book is how the author states definitively who actually shot down the plane carrying Yamamoto when at the end of the story he explains the continuing uncertainty. The author has clearly chosen a side and presents that in the flow of the story as though it is "gospel".

[Susie James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just finished reading Dick Lehr's book about World War II and the U. S. pilots who blew Japanese Admiral Yamamoto's plane out of the sky and partly avenged what Yamamoto did at Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941. Surprise attack? Well, I was interested in buying "Dead Reckoning" when the blurb mentioned the lead pilot in that mission was John Mitchell, hailing from Enid, Miss. A pretty interesting work, which raked though some mundane goings on not only in Mitchell's life, but also in Yamamoto's. One of the post-Pacific Theater events included the factoid that Mitchell toured bases stateside, including two in his home state of Mississippi: Grenada and "Greenfield"!!!! Surely, Dick Lehr, you meant to write, "Greenville".

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of this book was very interesting. The last two hours were the most exciting battle I’ve heard in a long time. The beginning parts were mostly boring and I took off a star for the “woke” crap the author put in about the outrage of jap internment camps (spare me) and the long winded part of an early chapter about the racism in the county where Mitchell grew up; which was a pisspoor attempt to bring his modern day outrage to a book about World War II. Give me a break. Anyway. Entertaining enough and Johnny Mitchell is a cool guy. I’d like to find a better book about him without all the information about Yamamoto thrown in, and of course without the authors liberal slant.

[John Monaghan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yamamoto explained, A brilliant tactician who engineered the devastating attack on pearl harbor and the people who took him out.

Mr. lair does an excellent job of assembling material on admiral Yamamoto, providing important details that explain his tactical planning during world war 2. Mr. lair also does an excellent job describing the American forces at the time And providing insight into The pilots thinking. The book also reminds us of the need for secrecy and wartime. The apple log doesn't excellent job of explaining why egos need to be in check.

[DOUG BELVILLE · Rating 4 out of 5]

The details within are both amazing to the reader recognizing the research that was necessary to bring this story to light and sometimes spellbinding to read. Like a well planned novel the facts are presented in such a way as to keep you turning the pages to get to the heart of the matter. And when there the drama is nerve racking.. The skills involved to pull this off are so profound it boggles the mind that it really did happen and that one man was the master mind . A hero no doubt who should be on every list where the likes of Audie Murphy reside.

[jazz weisman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed how much this book tells the story of this historic event by starting with the early lives and childhoods of the main people involved. I was very interested to read about the people on both sides, and to get so much detail about Yamamoto, and how wrongly he was portrayed by propaganda from both sides of the war. Overall a fascinating and detailed account of an important part of WWII.

[George · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the story of two men, one American, one Japanese, during WWII. Major John Mitchell assembled a team that killed Admiral Yamamoto, the architect of Pearl Harbor. It told the story of both me as their paths came together. I was impressed that the author even included some discussion of fighter pilot competition for the kill. Those guys did not come off as bright stars in the sky. Excellent read.

[Bobbi LaRue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, Excellent, Excellent!

There is so much more to learn about the shoot down of Admiral Yamamoto and the Army Aviators who completed the 800 mile, 50 feet off the water strike with only a wrist watch, a compass and "Dead Reckoning " The author goes back to the child hood and earlier generations of the strike leader and the Admiral. Deeply researched a page turner!

[Eileen McCauley · Rating 3 out of 5]

The material about Admiral Yamamoto was new and interesting to me. The early part of Mitchell's life was predictable but became more interesting as the book progressed. I was disappointed on how little material there was on the actual process of dead reckoning and what a feat Mitchell accomplished.

[Dan Chiappetta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Last book of 2020 was an excellent read. This book depicts the story of John Mitchell and his fighter pilots who successfully shot down Yamamoto in the Pacific theater. It's unfortunate that John Mitchell never received the Medal of Honor. I recommend this one for all the history people.

[Ric Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

great insight to a pivotal day in WWII.

This was a great read, hard to put down as Dick Leir made it easy to understand and follow the story he throughly researched. Well worth a read!