The central theme of the book is the interplay between technology and morality. In Gladwell’s own words, the book is about “what happens when morality and technology collide” (“Malcolm Gladwell on The Bomber Mafia.” YouTube, uploaded by Little, Brown and Company, 14 April 2021). He calls the story very “contemporary,” something “we now go through all the time” (“Malcolm Gladwell and ‘The Bomber Mafia’ | Amanpour and Company.” YouTube, uploaded by Amanpour and Company, 3 May 2021).

Using the topic of bombing during World War II, Gladwell examines how technology is used when it could be employed for both good and for ill purposes. The Norden bombsight was thought by some to have the potential to change how war was waged. The pilots who were dubbed the Bomber Mafia thought that it could spare the lives of tens of thousands, if not millions, of soldiers and civilians. The First World War was a shock to the world, with huge armies dug into trenches across Europe fighting with modern, mechanized weapons that turned out to be mass killing machines. The Battle of the Somme in 1916, for instance, killed or wounded over 1 million people, yet “had no discernible point or impact on the course of the war” (17).