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Rating: 
Summary: A terrific survey
Review: As someone with four decades of professional experience with air power both as a military planner and aerospace engineer, I was initially a little skeptical about a survey to be written by a professional writer with no direct background. In fact, however, Stephen Budiansky's book, is an extremely impressive accomplishment -- it is hard to imagine that anyone could do it better. It is very thoroughly researched and sets a high standard for accuracy and thoroughness, but never gets bogged down in the details. Budiansky fashions his immense collection of data into a coherent and fascinating story, alive with real people and vivid action. There is always a sense of purpose and direction to his narrative and the reader never feels lost.The high quality of the research and writing is matched by the quality of the book's production. Its nearly 100 photos are well selected and very finely reproduced on high-grade glossy stock. Budiansky's concise, clear, and accurate explanations of battles and technologies are illustrated with well-drawn maps and diagrams. As specific aircraft are discussed, they are represented in the margins in clear drawings and basic data. Rather than clutter the text with footnotes, the extensive references are collected at the end, in a format which makes it easy to locate the source of every quotation and important piece of information. A bibliography of more than 500 items testifies to the author's thoroughness as well as providing easy routes to finding additional information. In every way, this is a great deal of book for the money, particularly at Amazon's price. Books about air power seem as common as clouds, and most have about as much substance. This one is a great exception, a volume packed with solid information, presented in a consistently clear and interesting manner. Will O'Neil PS. As a matter of full disclosure I should note that I am mentioned among Budiansky's acknowledgements. In reality, I played a very modest role in it, restricted to providing some research information and advice. It is in no sense my book, and I would not hesitate to criticize it if criticism were warranted. It is not.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent thesis on the effects of airpower in war
Review: Bottom line up front Amazon.com buyers: This book is worth its money just for the number of insightful tales. Example, the writer gives the full aerodynamic reasons why the Fokker VII was the best fighter of the Great War, World War One. The little Fokker D VII only had 160 HP, little better than a modern Cessna 172. Allied aircraft of WWI had up to 400 HP engines and had less performance than the German Fokker. The Germans had a spents more time on the science of aerodynamics.
The book is full of wonderful stories. Here is an example. Did you know in the closing months of WWII a group of British FM-2 Wildcats (Martlet IIs) flying from carriers mixed it up with German pilots flying BF-109s out of Norway and shot several of the 109s down? Yes! Who would have "thunk" the portly Wildcat could best the BF-109? The aircraft that helped win the 1942 Battle of Midway could best the BF-109 if its flown by the right pilots. Speed is life to a fighter but something can be said for turning radius, rate of climb, and pilot experence.
There is a saying among historians that it takes 50 years for the truth to be written about subject. This book is very anti-strategic bombing but gives specific reasons why strategic bombing is pointless. Why? Well, if you want to miss the target, waste aircrews, wreck aircraft, kill civilians, and enrage the populace of a nation then use strategic bombers. The writer goes on to give sterling examples of how much better the fighter bombers (or Jabo, pronounced "ya-boh", a contraction of the German word Jagbombenflugzeug) was for bombing targets and tactical support. Example, it was the fighters, not the bombers, that beat Germany in the Western front in France during WWII. Nearly every tank, truck, train, and bridge were knocked out by fighter bombers, not bombers.
And those lessons were ignored.
Korea was a mini-repeat of WWII. While B-29 bombers would impotently flail against the North, it was the fighter bombers that stopped communist forces in the South.
And those lessons were ignored.
Vietnam was a wretched air war from every point of view. The aircraft were wretched, such as the F-105 that few without self sealing fuel tanks (what was the USAF thinking!?!). The targets were wretched, like the "Ho-Chi Minn" trail that was nothing more than a series of bicycle trails spread over a 75 mile wide area. The political control from Washington was wretched, Johnson bragged the military could not bomb an outhouse without his permission. Vietnam was a nearly worthless war from an air power point of view.
Desert Storm is the first war, post WWII, that air power was used right. However, the author gives some stories that didn't quite make it to the major media. First point, the only aircraft that could fly to Bagdad was the F-117. One massive raid by regular aircraft on Bagdad was done and it took losses. Yes, the Iraqi anti-aircraft artillery was that good. Second point, the aircraft that did the "tank plinking" in Desert Storm was NOT the A-10. It was the F-111. Why? The two seat F-111 had a dedicated WSO (weapons system officer) and better sensors than the Warthog. The WSO would designate the tank and the pilot would kill it with a string of iron bombs. Using an F-111 to kill tanks is like using a semi-truck to pull your lawn mower. It works but...
The death of the strategic bomber cult happens during the Gulf War. Some strategic bomber clown flies down to Saudi Arabia and tries to show USAF General Chuck Horner a proposed strategic bomber version of "shock and awe". Horner isn't buying it and it's amazing to read. One thing comes to your mind: used car salesmen are in every profession.
What does the future hold? Who knows? Stealth will play a huge part. So will robotic aircraft. Desert Storm will be seen as the high water mark of air power. Missiles, super artillery, robots, particle weapons, and stealth will be the future of support on the battlefield.
This is a most excellent book
Rating:
Summary: The Use and Abuse of Air Power
Review: I'm always a little wary of long history books written by journalists, who sometimes present history as a tedious interview of various "sources." Stephen Budiansky, a correspondent for the Atlantic Monthly, is a happy exception to the rule. His prose is clear and crisp, and he tells an engaging story in a way that kept drawing me back to his rather hefty "Air Power." Budiansky begins his book by explaining why the accomplishments of the Wright Brothers were so remarkable. He then renders a detailed history of the military uses, both real and imagined, of aircraft. The result is a story of a rapidly emerging technology told against the background of the military theories of the 20th and early 21st century. Throughout his book, Budiansky takes issue with the views of theorists and generals who claimed that air power could be a "war-winning" weapon, either because it could be used to terrorize civilian populations into surrender or because it could cause rapid economic collapse by striking at the chokepoints in an enemy's supply system. The author argues that, with very few exceptions (such as the interdiction of German oil supplies in the last year of World War II), air power has not performed very well as a strategic tool and has always been far more effective when used as a tactical weapon in support of forces on the ground. In this sense, the Second Gulf War in Iraq can be viewed as the apotheosis of the effective use of air power: with the advent of readily available precision weapons, even "strategic" aircraft such as the B-1, B-2 and B-52 bombers have been used to great advantage in the role of close support of ground troops. In the aftermath of the opening phases of the Second Gulf War, air power is for the moment ascendant on the battle field. But if there is anything to be learned from Budiansky's meticulous history, it is that military innovation is a very Darwinian business. Plenty of bright people are studying the successful American and British invasion of Iraq, trying to make sure that the air power strategy used in that conflict will work just as well in the next war--or, for those worried about being on the receiving end, trying to prevent that strategy from working at all.
Rating:
Summary: A techno-historical page turner
Review: This book has just the right mix of fascinating anecdote, illuminating technical detail, and historical exposition to make it both an entertaining read and deeply informative. As a pilot with a background in physics I especially liked the fact that Budiansky's technical explanations were generally clear concise and accurate. Probably the most important thing to take out of this book is how a military doctrine can become so ingrained that it survives for decades despite voluminous empircal evidence to the contrary.
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