Air Power: The Men, Machines, and Ideas That Revolutionized War, from Kitty Hawk to Gulf War II [Hardcover]

Stephen Budiansky (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 12, 2004 | ISBN-10: 0670032859 | ISBN-13: 978-0670032853

Within a decade of the Wright Brothers’ historic flight at Kitty Hawk, pilots were dropping the first crude bombs out of airplanes in combat while visionaries were predicting that the crushing power of an aerial assault would end warfare as we knew it.

Yet for much of the first century of flight the myth of the airplane’s unstoppable power often surged far ahead of technological reality. It would take both brilliant new inventions and bold new thinking for air power to triumph at last—as it did with such devastating effect in the two Gulf wars.

This sweeping history includes the latest inside details of air operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, where precision weapons and unmanned drones quickly determined the outcome of the fight against the Taliban and Saddam Hussein. Stephen Budiansky draws on combat memoirs, government archives, and museum collections to create a sobering and dramatic account of the air wars of the last hundred years. A story of ideas and men, of intricate machines and fierce passions, Air Power is an edge-of-the-seat drama of contemporary warfare and technology crafted by one of our most gifted writers.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

For the aviation buff with a passion for history, this survey from veteran national security correspondent Budiansky (Battle of Wits: The Complete Story of Codebreaking in WWII) will be a must. Budiansky has plumbed a plethora of the right sources to assemble an eminently accessible and accurate survey of the evolution of military aviation during the 20th century, with an emphasis on U.S. and British experience. From a succinct account of the development of powered flight in the early part of the century, Budiansky moves on to its military application by the world's armies during WWI and its "coming of age" during WWII, cleverly interweaving technical advancements that have directly affected military aviation with the fighting man's point-of-view. World War I, the Spanish Civil War, World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam, the 1991 Gulf War and the Iraq campaign of 2003 are all covered accurately and succinctly, as is the context necessary to understand the air warfare component of each. From the propellers and airfoils of the Wright brothers to the stealth aircraft of today, the important technological developments and innovations made in aircraft design are all here, simply and clearly explained. The research is extensive and thorough, and more than 100 images concretize all the tech talk and descriptions of action. The mention of the air warfare theories of John Boyd, developed during and after Vietnam, that revamped air force fighter tactics and design, comprise just one of myriad rewarding byways in this comprehensive project. 40-plus airplane diagrams; 35 maps and illus.; two 16-page b&w photo inserts totaling 87 images (not seen by PW).
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

A seasoned defense journalist surveys the application of aviation to war, which became possible less than five years after the Wright brothers' first flight. Aviation as a decisive factor in warfare, however, wasn't realized until during the two Gulf Wars against Iraq. That long development is attributable to a variety of factors, beginning with a sheer lack of aircraft and inappropriate aircraft design, as in the early World War II heavy bombers. The matter of having faulty--or no--theory and tactics of aviation warfare, as in Vietnam, and the capacities of enemies for creating stout defenses and making rapid repairs, as in Korea, needed to be overcome. Politics also had retarding effects, especially in Vietnam but also in the controversy over area bombing during WWII. Not until the convergence, in the wake of Vietnam, of new aircraft and tactics with the concept of electronically supported smart weapons did air power achieve the results advocates had long anticipated. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 528 pages
• Publisher: Viking Adult (April 12, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670032859
• ISBN-13: 978-0670032853
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.5 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,300,038 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Stephen Budiansky is a writer, historian, and journalist, the author of 14 books about military and intelligence history, science, and the natural world. He is a former editor and writer at U.S. News & World Report and The Atlantic and the former Washington Editor of the scientific journal Nature. He lives on a small farm in northern Virginia.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Use and Abuse of Air Power, April 13, 2004

By 

William Holmes "semloh2287" (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Air Power: The Men, Machines, and Ideas That Revolutionized War, from Kitty Hawk to Gulf War II (Hardcover)

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.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A terrific survey, May 1, 2004

By 

W. D ONEIL "Will O'Neil" (Falls Church, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Air Power: The Men, Machines, and Ideas That Revolutionized War, from Kitty Hawk to Gulf War II (Hardcover)

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.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars War and Peace, January 8, 2009

By 

Declan Trott - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Air Power: The Men, Machines, and Ideas That Revolutionized War, from Kitty Hawk to Gulf War II (Hardcover)

Before the Wright Brothers ever flew, authors like HG Wells were predicting that vast destruction would be wrought from the air in any future conflict. This is the story of how aviation technology slowly, fitfully came to deliver on that promise.

From the first short hops at Kitty Hawk, Budiansky takes the reader from the anticlimactic debut of heavier than air craft in the Italo-Turkish war to the awesome power of the USAF during the two Gulf Wars. Without neglecting the obvious great battles and aircraft, he emphasises crucial peacetime developments, in both aircraft design and the equally important realm of tactics and strategy, that did so much to shape how wars were fought.

The book has some minor flaws. British and American development of such technologies as the jet engine, radar, and swept wings are given exhaustive treatment, at the end of which we are informed that, by the way, the Germans had also made these inventions years before. It is also unfortunate to end any piece of writing with the statement "Rumsfeld was right". While the second Gulf war was a technological and military triumph, we are given no hint of the morass Iraq was to become or how ineffective all weather medium level precision bombing is against an urban insurgency.

But these jarring notes are insufficient to spoil a masterpiece. Budiansky leaves us with the irony that air power has achieved its greatest success in the battlefield role that ambitious officers have been trying to escape since the beginning.