Near the end of World War II, in an attempt to attack the United States mainland, Japan launched its fu-go campaign, deploying thousands of high-altitude hydrogen balloons armed with incendiary and high-explosive bombs designed to follow the westerly winds of the upper atmosphere and drift to the west coast of North America. After reaching the mainland, these fu-go, the Japanese hoped, would terrorize American citizens and ignite devastating forest fires across the western states, ultimately causing the United States to divert wartime resources to deal with the domestic crisis. While the fu-go offensive proved to be a complete tactical failure, six Americans lost their lives when a discovered balloon exploded.
Ross Coen provides a fascinating look into the obscure history of the fu-go campaign, from the Japanese schoolgirls who manufactured the balloons by hand to the generals in the U.S. War Department who developed defense procedures. The book delves into panic, propaganda, and media censorship in wartime. Fu-go is a compelling story of a little-known episode in our national history that unfolded virtually unseen.
Purchase the audio edition.

Fu-go: The Curious History of Japan's Balloon Bomb Attack on America (Studies in War, Society, and the Military)

History

Coen, Ross

Asia

University Of Nebraska Press

Too often the history of a place is reduced to a list of dates and a handful of major events, ignoring the daily stories that help shape its legacy. In The Long View, Ross Coen stops to explore the smaller yet extremely meaningful moments in Alaska’s past, and in doing so he builds a history unlike any before. This collection of Coen’s columns from the celebrated Ester Republic allows readers to see how short snapshots of everyday life can come together to create a true picture of the unique experience of living in Alaska. Covering everything from mail order brides to failed rocket launches and true political intrigue, Coen’s engaging writing makes the history of Alaska accessible and entertaining.

The Long View: Dispatches on Alaska History (Ester Republic Press)

Americas

Ester Republic Press

In 1969, an icebreaking tanker, the SS Manhattan, was commissioned by Humble Oil to transit the Northwest Passage in order to test the logistical and economic feasibility of an all-marine transportation system for Alaska North Slope crude oil. Proposed as an alternative to the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, the Manhattan made two voyages to the North American Arctic and collected volumes of scientific data on ice conditions and the behavior of ships in ice. Although the Manhattan successfully navigated the Northwest Passage—closing a five-hundred-year chapter of Arctic exploration by becoming the first commercial vessel to do so—the expedition ultimately demonstrated the impracticality of moving crude oil using icebreaking ships.Breaking Ice for Arctic Oil details this historic voyage, establishing its significant impact on the future of marine traffic and resource development in the Arctic and setting the stage for the current oil crisis.

Breaking Ice for Arctic Oil: The Epic Voyage of the SS Manhattan through the Northwest Passage

University of Alaska Press

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