Rating: 
Summary: "By Any Means Necessary" - A Great Read
Review: "By Any Means Necessary," William E. Burrows'new book about the men who flew secret reconnaissance missions for the United States along the rim of the Communist Bloc a half century ago, is an all-too-rare and refreshing event. It is fashioned with the care and even-handedness of the historian, to be sure, but it is also rendered with the graceful sentences and humanist instincts of the accomplished journalist. It avoids the impersonal tone and great distance that so many academic historians put between their subjects and the rest of us. It does not paint the Big Picture at the expense of the individuals who were caught up in the Cold War's nastiness. For Burrows, individuals are the story. He goes to great lengths to reveal the names and chronicle the activities of the people we never knew and, using his reportorial resourcefulness, even identifies their Soviet pursuers. Then he swiftly relates what they all went through. It is a great read; a welcome addition tot he literature of military history.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Read for Old Crows and Others
Review: An excellent synopsis of our atmospheric and exoatmspheric aerial reconnaisance and SIGINT/PHOTINT operations circa 1946-2001. Easy to read and very interesting, even if you don't have a SIGINT background.
Rating:
Summary: A long overdue tribute to America's Cold War Warriors
Review: At the end of World War II we found ourselves faced with a new enemy, the Soviet Union. Unfortunately, we knew little about them and they made every effort to close their borders. When Russia obtained nuclear weapons, America and Russia scrambled to create strategic forces to assure annihilation of their enemy if they should be so stupid as to attack The Strategic Air Command (SAC) was formed for America's deterrent force (the first leg of the triad which later included land based ICBMs and Navy ballistic missile submarines). But SAC was faced with a real problem: what and where are the targets? We knew where the major cities were, but we did not want to attack the civilian population. Thus America began a series of bold incursions into Russia to find strategic targets. The British also contributed with some daring flights over Russia and Eastern Europe. The early spy planes were converted World War II prop driven relics that were easy prey for Mig-15 and Mig-17 fighters and several were lost with their crews. America replaced the aging prop planes with Boeing's RB-47, Martin's RB-57 and the famous U-2. Several of these planes were shot down, some over international waters. The spy missions later expanded to include radar mapping and gathering of electronic intelligence. We needed to know where radar sites were and what frequencies they were operating at in order for out bombers to penetrate. Many missions were also carried out against North Korea and China. Intelligence gathering flights continue today, but satellites now do much of the job. The most recent incident is the collision of a Navy intelligence plane and a Chinese fighter in early 2001. The author also covers the distress of the families of the missing men and the Governments continued veil of secrecy surrounding the loss of aircraft and crew. I had no idea that we had lost dozens of aircraft and hundreds of crewmen. This is a story that deserves to be told and read by all Americans.
Rating:
Summary: Buy it, read it, give a copy to a friend
Review: Bottom Line - This is an excellent book. Buy it, read it, give it to a friend.
If you are in the business of Intelligence, you owe it to those who preceded you to hear their story. This book should be required reading for every prospective intelligence officer. It lets you know what the standard is.
If you are an American who values your freedom, you should read this to understand what the price of that freedom is. In these days when people openly talk about and debate the value of the billions spend on intelligence it is even more important to know what the non dollar cost is and what all of those billions buys us.
Most of the players in the decades long game with the Soviets and Chinese were never talked about in the glowing terms of the "Greatest Generation" yet they sacrificed as much if not more than those before them. Their battle was unknown to the outside world and often even to them. Their families were denied any comfort that is gained from explanation and recognition. Because the war was "Cold" few knew or admitted that lives were being lost. Burrows provides long overdue recognition for their sacrifice.
A cannot recomend enought buying this book.
Rating: 
Summary: A valuable illumination of US surveillance
Review: Despite periods of wavering between factual succinctness and
uncertain verbosity, this work provides a much needed insight
into the little known activities that have been quietly employed
by our government for over a half century.
Rating:
Summary: By Any Means Necessary
Review: I am the author, and what I tried to do was write a "people" book, not one strictly about machines and missions. The response by the men who flew all the secret missions with no public recognition, and the widows of some of the more than 130 who never made it back, has been incredible. The vets are deeply gratified that their story has finally been told -- they're buying the book for their grandchildren as a written record of their heroism -- and the widows tell me they finally understand the big picture of what was happening. Very gratifying for me, too. I have made many real friends while researching this incredible story
Rating:
Summary: Should Be Taught In All History Courses
Review: I find that memories of the Cold War are fast fading, and not even direct experiences of a growing part of our population. This is why it seems now so easy for politicians to "rewrite" history to their own agendas, including phases such as Vietnam specifically and the Cold War generally. Fewer and fewer know how it even came about--how one of our staunchest Allies agains the Third Reich could so quickly become our primary nemesis in the seeming battle for world domination and influence--or as I was taught--hegemony.Burrows focuses on the brave soldiers who were on the front lines of intelligence gathering. These were the men who "accidentally" flew over Soviet air space, to get a glimpse of weapons systems, troop movements, and the military-industrial complex of the U.S.S.R. This work is well-documented and fascinating. The great human toll of this work is clear with a section before the endnotes, with names of those deceased in this important work. These silent and shadow missions went on continually, punctuated only by foreign touting of a plane shot down, a flier captured. Such was our fear of "re-education" that the film the Manchurian Candidate could not be shown for decades, fear that our government might be infiltrated by "turned" Americans. That was not fantasy, however, for there were plenty of "turncoats" to go around, as we now know so well---turncoats purchase with easy money and the desire for conspicuous wealth. HOwever, the silent observers of the aerial intelligence war could not dream of such rewards, only of carrying out their duties in the name of freedom. As such, this book belongs on the bookshelf of anyone who takes the great conflicts of the 20th century seriously, for they are prologue to the murkier conflicts of the 21st. Will these tactics only be frozen in time, abandoned as surely as the Napoleonic tactics of the early 19th century? The short history of the 21st century, thus far, does not provide the answer. However, as is so often said, those who do not learn from history may be condemned to repeat it. To the extent the post-WWII period truly differed from present day, we can and should learn from it. In that effort, this book provides a truly valuable reference of tactics and tenacity.
Rating:
Summary: Should Be Taught In All History Courses
Review: I find that memories of the Cold War are fast fading, and not even direct experiences of a growing part of our population. This is why it seems now so easy for politicians to "rewrite" history to their own agendas, including phases such as Vietnam specifically and the Cold War generally. Fewer and fewer know how it even came about--how one of our staunchest Allies agains the Third Reich could so quickly become our primary nemesis in the seeming battle for world domination and influence--or as I was taught--hegemony. Burrows focuses on the brave soldiers who were on the front lines of intelligence gathering. These were the men who "accidentally" flew over Soviet air space, to get a glimpse of weapons systems, troop movements, and the military-industrial complex of the U.S.S.R. This work is well-documented and fascinating. The great human toll of this work is clear with a section before the endnotes, with names of those deceased in this important work. These silent and shadow missions went on continually, punctuated only by foreign touting of a plane shot down, a flier captured. Such was our fear of "re-education" that the film the Manchurian Candidate could not be shown for decades, fear that our government might be infiltrated by "turned" Americans. That was not fantasy, however, for there were plenty of "turncoats" to go around, as we now know so well---turncoats purchase with easy money and the desire for conspicuous wealth. HOwever, the silent observers of the aerial intelligence war could not dream of such rewards, only of carrying out their duties in the name of freedom. As such, this book belongs on the bookshelf of anyone who takes the great conflicts of the 20th century seriously, for they are prologue to the murkier conflicts of the 21st. Will these tactics only be frozen in time, abandoned as surely as the Napoleonic tactics of the early 19th century? The short history of the 21st century, thus far, does not provide the answer. However, as is so often said, those who do not learn from history may be condemned to repeat it. To the extent the post-WWII period truly differed from present day, we can and should learn from it. In that effort, this book provides a truly valuable reference of tactics and tenacity.
Rating:
Summary: Kick the tires and light the fires! Next stop Vladivostok?
Review: I recommend this book as a "must read" for anyone interested in Cold War military history and intelligence gathering as well as all former "spooks". Mr. Burrows has written a detailed account of United States Air Force, Navy and CIA airborne electronic and photographic reconnaissance efforts from the end of WWII through the US Navy's P3 incident on Hainan in 2001. The development of specialized aircraft (U-2, SR-71), electronics and camera equipment as well as modification of ordinary aircraft (B-29, B-47, C-130, etc) for reconnaissance missions is covered in sufficient detail to satisfy everyone expect hardcore technical buffs. Besides detailed descriptions of 16 Cold War shootdowns that involved US deaths - many of which did not become widely known until recently - Mr. Burrows presents evidence to support the premise that many crewmen initially survived shootdowns only to be murdered or die in Soviet prisons. There are also many tales of crews that returned with damaged aircraft, and sometimes wounded men, to their home base or after a period of Soviet incarceration. The efforts of families of lost crewmen to find out what happened to their relatives, despite stonewalling by both the US and foreign governments, add a deeply human touch to what would otherwise be a recitation of interesting facts and scary war stories. There are lots of footnotes supporting the events described and a number of photographs of lost aircrews and some of the aircraft they flew. The lack of chronological order throughout the chapters, and frequent flashforwards and flashbacks, make some of the incidents hard to follow or recall. I would also like to see pictures of each major aircraft mentioned and a summary of all the non-fatal shootdown and attack incidents. I recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: The Not-so-Cold War
Review: William Burrows' effort here is very successful. The sacrifices made by intelligence gathering personnel, mostly military, in the early stages of the cold war is not well known. The US government went to great pains to insure that being the case. As Burrows recounts, these missions to snoop imperative targeting data, along with the offensive and defensive capabilities of the Soviet Union, China and other potential adversaries, wasn't the cold part of the cold war--it was the dangerous, tedious, frightening and secret part. The bravery and accomplishments of those who served in this manner, living and dying under the prohibitive stress of secrecy, deserves the attention finally coming to light. While Burrows' story is more one of hardware than people, we do get a sense of the personal sacrifice for both those who served and their families. For readers unfamiliar with these operations, Burrows provides an extensive overview. The numbers of aircraft shot down or lost, American captives enslaved and beaten to death without chance of reparation, and the danger in each mission is sobering. These men could reveal none of this to friends or family. We get details of the progression of aircraft and sensor capability that is engaging. Aircraft like the B-50, B-45, B-47, P2V and so on aren't nearly as well known as those types made famous by open combat. As in his This New Ocean, a very good portrayal of the US/Soviet space programs, Burrows makes use of declassified and Russian information. I wonder, however, about the description of the Powers U-2 shoot down. It varies greatly from other accounts. Rather than SAMs launched like bottle rockets and scores of MiGs flailing desperately, we're told this brand-new weapon system fires just three missiles in salvo. Two misfire but the other scores the hit. In addition, only three MiGs scramble. One, an unarmed MiG-19 with a pilot ordered to ram the target, easily climbs to the U-2's altitude, but fails to make visual contact. After Powers is down, two other interceptors reach the area. One turns back low on fuel. Thinking the lone remaining fighter is the U-2, a different SAM site launches a single SA-2 and brings it down. I don't know how a reader can simply accept this account. As thoroughly footnoted as is this book, no footnotes address this episode. To borrow a line from Dr. Strangelove, it sounds like a bunch of Commie bull. (I've always felt, by the way, that the overflight by Powers on May 1, crossing central Russia from Turkey to Norway, was an overt attempt by the CIA to humiliate the Russians that backfired.) The continuing cover up of the fate of American prisoners at the hands of their captors is troubling. A cover up, Burrows states, that is an ongoing joint arrangement for the sake of diplomacy. Burrows confuses the reader from time to time but jumbling the chronology of events (we get the Cuban Missile Crisis before the Powers story, for example). But still its a good, detailed book that I recommend and will probably re-read again some day. For a more first-hand, although less detailed account of cold war air operations, see Paul Lashmar's Spy Flights of the Cold War. Its quite good, too.
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