Customer Reviews

The First Air War: 1914-1918

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3 star:		(1)
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Having searched for a good overview of the Air War of World War 1, I was amazed by how difficult it actually is to find anything adequate, since most books tends to focus their scope only upon certain aspects of that war.
On the other hand, Lee Kennett's book provides the reader with a comprehensive introduction into those early days of air combat.
The accounts from both sides of the front, e.g. the Central Powers and the Allies are well balanced.

This book certainly lacks some depth, so readers with more specific and detailed interests probably want to look elsewhere.
And since it is not an oral history, it might be a bit dry for some others.
But for readers who have a more general interest on the subject, I can recommend this book without hesitating.

This is a surprisingly good book about a subject that has been already covered in tons of ink. Kennett has written widely on air warfare, and held a visiting professor position at the National Air and Space Museum. Many other works have examined combat or industrial aspects of the war, but his is still the best overall survey: balanced, very well thought out, well-argued, and not so drenched in detail as to confuse the reader with a welter or jumble of data. I strongly recommend this for the bookshelf of anyone interested in the use of aviation and airpower in the Great War!

As a life long WW1 air combat buff I have come to appreciate Kennett's account of the birth of air combat as the best on the topic I have read yet.

Both entertaining and thorough Lee focuses on the development of the air war as a whole rather than the individual exploits of a few elite aces. Chapters are devoted to subjects like aircraft design and maintenance, the structure of a nations air corps, day to day life in a flight squadron, or the general public's perception of pilots. What kind of man actually sought out this dangerous career of flight combat and how were they trained? How was this new fangled flying machine assimilated into a warring nations military and put to tactical advantage? We have all heard about the fighter pilots and their single seater scouts but what was the function of the recon squadrons and the bombers?
The book is well written. It is amazing how much information is contained in here. Every paragraph is meaningful, it is well organized, and I don't think there is a topic on the subject of the first air war that was left out. It is an historical narrative but Kennett brings it to life with personal opinions and thoughts from people of the period.
If you are looking for a great read on the subject of early aviation and the first air war, you will have to look hard to find one that tops this one!

Few books have been written on the on the air war during the First World War, Kennett's The First Air War is a must for historians and air power enthusiasts alike. His simplistic style of writing allows anyone to understand how air power grew from the Great War and became what it is today. The author's book is enhanced with pictures of early aircraft and their pilots. The extensive bibliography lends credence to the author's analysis which lacks bias or controversy.

The book presented a nice ovrview of the air war. I appreciated the fact it didn't focus on the aces and the fiew big air battles. But ist just seemed to lack depth. I think the author had the material to make an excellent book. I think it needed to be fleshed out a lilttle more. I missed the details of the planes themselves and the technological development that went on. As well as the evolution of the tactics developed by the differant combatants. I guess I was expection a "Castles of Steel" for the air war. It was well written and an excellent overview of the subject and I would recommend it for anyone wanting to get a good introduction to the subject.