Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo

On April 18, 1942, sixteen B-25 bombers took off from an aircraft carrier and bombed Tokyo in what would be known as the Doolittle Raid. Thirty Seconds over Tokyo (1943) is a nonfiction, firsthand account of that secret mission as told by pilot Ted W. Lawson. The mission showed that the Japanese mainland was vulnerable to attack, served as revenge for Pearl Harbor, and boosted morale. Lawson's detailed retelling of the attack brings to life this harrowing event.