Vanishing ACT: The Enduring Mystery Behind the Legendary Doolittle Raid Over Tokyo -- Dan Hampton, Hardcover

From New York Times bestselling author Dan Hampton comes the gripping, untold story of a vital secret mission set during the darkest days of the Second World War.

In the dark days after the devastating Pearl Harbor attacks during the spring of 1942, the United States was determined to show the world that the Axis was not invincible. Their bold plan? Bomb Tokyo. On April 18, 1942, sixteen B-25s, known as the Doolittle Raiders, hit targets across Japan before escaping to China.

The eighth plane, however, did not follow the other raiders. Instead, Plane 8's pilots, Captain Edward "Ski" York and Lieutenant Bob Emmens, never attacked Tokyo, but headed across Japan to the Soviet Union, supposedly due to low fuel. Yet, this bomber was the only plane on the mission with maps of the Soviet Union aboard. And why did Plane 8's route, recently discovered in the Japanese Imperial Archives, show them nowhere near their target? Uncovered facts reveal that bombing Tokyo was merely a cover for Plane 8's real mission, but what was their secret objective? No one, aside from the two pilots and whomever sent them on this mission, truly knew why they were there, nor has the reason ever been revealed.

Until now.

In Vanishing Act, for the first time, New York Times bestselling author and former fighter pilot Dan Hampton definitively solves the final mystery of the Doolittle Raid with never-before-published documents and photographs in exclusive collaboration with Japanese researchers and the Raiders' descendants.

Author: Dan Hampton
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: 05/28/2024
Pages: 320
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.14lbs
Size: 9.49h x 6.51w x 1.09d
ISBN: 9781250283245

Review Citation(s):
Library Journal Prepub Alert 12/01/2023 pg. 16
Publishers Weekly 03/04/2024
Kirkus Reviews 04/01/2024
Booklist 05/01/2024 pg. 16

About the Author
Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) Dan Hampton flew 151 combat missions during his twenty years (1986-2006) in the United States Air Force. For his actions during the Iraq War, Kosovo conflict, and the first Gulf War, Col. Hampton received four Distinguished Flying Crosses with Valor, a Purple Heart, eight Air Medals with Valor, and numerous other decorations. An alumnus of Exeter College, Oxford, he also holds degrees from Dartmouth and Texas A&M, and is a graduate of the elite USAF Fighter Weapons School. As a frequent guest on CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC, he discusses foreign affairs and geopolitics, and has also appeared as an analyst on Bill O'Reilly, Hannity, Tucker Carlson and Anderson Cooper360. He is the nationally bestselling author of Viper Pilot, Lords of the Sky, The Hunter Killers, The Flight, Chasing the Demon, Vengeance, Valor, and a novel, The Mercenary.