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Revision as of 19:59, 10 September 2010
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The Reader's Digest's immense size was primarily due to its popularity among average middle class America. It merits special scrutiny as the one journal uniquely able to steer popular opinion. Concerning strategic bombing in Europe, the Reader's Digest presented its view to the American public in a series of seven articles, two of which postdated the capitulation of Germany.
The Reader's Digest's immense size was primarily due to its popularity among average middle class America. It merits special scrutiny as the one journal uniquely able to steer popular opinion. Concerning strategic bombing in Europe, the Reader's Digest presented its view to the American public in a series of seven articles, two of which postdated the capitulation of Germany.
The first article was published in the September 1942 issue and is entitled "Can the RAF Keep It Up?"<ref>Allan A. Michie, "Can the RAF Keep It Up?", '''Reader's Digest''', September 1942, p. 26.</ref> It was written by Allan A. Michie, who is labeled as the author of '''Retreat to Victory''' and billed as a war correspondent for American magazines who specializes in covering RAF activities. Michie gave the RAF Bomber Command high marks; in fact, the next year Michie wrote '''The Air Offensive Against Germany''',<ref>Allan A. Michie, '''The Air Offensive Against Germany''' (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1943).</ref> in which he defends his belief that American bomber forces should abandon daylight bombing and join the British at night. His '''Digest''' article briefs the reader on the latest exploits of Bomber Command. Michie assures the public that even though the Luftwaffe failed to knock out Britain during the Blitz, the RAF would be capable of cracking the Nazis because of significant "differences in tactics, in quality and reserves of planes and personnel, and circumstances of the war itself."<ref>Michie, "Can the RAF...", p. 26.</ref> Thus Michie disregards empirical evidence against bombing by claiming that the concentration and ability of the force has changed. He states, "The RAF has now perfected concentrated mass bombing to a fine art."<ref>Michie, "Can the RAF...", p. 28.</ref> The Butt Report, which emphasized terrible inaccuracy, would certainly disagree. The author relates how Churchill once referred to the indiscriminate bombing of Berlin's citizens as "pleasure."
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