Customer Reviews

The Great War In The Air: Military Aviation from 1909 to 1921 (Smithsonian History of Aviation Series)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought this book some years ago to assist me in some research I was doing on two Australian pilots of WWI. This book provided a detailed account of the aircraft, engine and armaments development and design, the politics between governments, air services and manufactures. It also provided ample details on what was happening on the war front to keep you interested. The book provides detailed facts and figures to give you a insight into war production and the problems faced by aircraft manufactures and the government bodies involved. The book itself never became boring and was enjoyable to read as it detailed the tactics used on the Western Front and other theatres of WWI. Stories of the great aces and their combat experiences intermixed with details of the feuds between politicians at home kept you glued to the story. Overall this book is an excellent one volume account of aviation during the Great War and any person interested in this subject will find this book a joy to read. Deserves to be on the shelf of any WWI avaition library, recommended reading.

Author Morrow has unearthed a remarkable amount of information detailing the impact of research, development, and production on aerial warfare of the period. This information feast has been tied together with thoughtful analysis. I have not seen any other reference which so clearly explains the reasons behind the enduring presence of obsolete equipment in all the air services of the Great War. Numerous vignettes of happenings at the front are interspersed amidst the analyses to maintain reader interest. This book is worth having just for the extensive notes and bibliography, but it is also good reading!

I had the privelage of taking a WWI class taught by Dr. Morrow. In that class I read this book and was amazed at the all encompassing way it views the air war. Dr. Morrow has a talent for drawing together different events and viewing the war from an economic, industrial, technological, social, and political view. This book is highly entertaining for any student of military history. Anyone interested in military aviation and the role it played in the first World War should not question the merit of purchasing this book.

As some reviews have noted, this exhaustive study of WW I aviation is not for casual readers or the gee-whiz crowd. It is a major contribution to the literature of the Great War, crammed with data describing the evolution of each major combatant's aviation organization, industry, and operations. Those who rate it poorly simply are not serious students of the subject, which is the book's core audience, and they would do better to look for books with "Aces" in the title.

Among the most enlightening aspects of Prof. Morrow's work are the incredible administrative and political problems, especially in Britain. Nowhere else are readers likely to learn that the UK ran short of magnetos in 1916 because the prewar German supply was exhausted, or that plans existed to cancel the SE-5, Camel, and Bristol Fighter before any replacements were ordered. (I thought only the US did that--and actually did--when the Dept of Defense cancelled the A-6 Intruder before the abortive A-12 was fully tested.)

The only reason I rate this excellent work at 4 stars is because Belgium is totally omitted. Granted, that small country had no aircraft industry to speak of, and lost its territorial integrity during the war, but its air service made a noteworthy contribution to the allied effort.

Considering the lack of comprehensive studies about this subject, this book definitely fills a void. But it is not easy to read at all, and I found myself asking why half of the dates, facts and figures in the pages could not have found themselves in easier to follow charts organized according to nations, manufacturers, etc. This would have allowed a better narrative. It seems as if such an idea had not occurred to the author and as a result we are given a long explanation of all these figures in almost a rambling manner, leaping forward and backwards in time, 1903 to 1914 and back to the 1800's, as if one were trying to read a chart to a blind man. The story of this early aviation history also darts about with no clear path..the chapters and titles are merely reminders that the author is conscious that the war ends in 1918. Something is lost in all of this, and I have found myself looking for a book that tells a better story about the industry than this one. To further my complaints, the footnotes annoyingly have no details and so their section at the end of the book occupies many pages that could have been filled with information. Any author with an audience needs to realize that most readers will not have access to the extensive bibliography utilized for this volume, and would rather have the information than try to spend time finding out whether or not the source is any good to begin with.

Recommend it? Not at all. It is definitely not a starting point for those lacking in knowledge about aviation history or the great 'war in the air' of 1914-18, and its value as a reference is questionable due to a lack of organization and compiled data that is still sorely needed on this subject. The information is in the book to be found, but another volume would have to be written to reveal it.

An interesting study, but a yawner to read. Not worth the price.