The Icarus Syndrome: The Role of Air Power Theory in the Evolution and Fate of the U.S. Air Force [Hardcover]

Carl H. Builder (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1994 | ISBN-10: 1560001410 | ISBN-13: 978-1560001416

At the end of the Reagan era, many in the U.S. Air Force began to express their concerns about the health of their institution. They questioned whether the Air Force had lost its sense of direction, its confidence, its values, even its future. For some, these concerns reflected nothing more than the maturation of the most youthful of America's military institutions. For others it was a crisis of spirit that threatened the hard-won independence of the Air Force.

Although the diagnoses for this malaise are as numerous as its symptoms, The Icarus Syndrome points a finger at the abandonment of air power theory sometime in the late 1950s to early 1960s as the single, taproot cause of the problems. That provocative diagnosis is followed by an equally provocative prescription the Air Force must follow to regain its institutional health.

Author Carl H. Builder begins with an overview of this crisis of values within the Air Force, along with a litany of concerns about what seems to have gone wrong within that institution. The history of the U.S. Air Force, along with the role played in it by air power theory, is explored and is used to support Builder's thesis. The remainder of the book is an analysis of what went wrong and when, how these wrongs might be corrected, and the challenges for Air Force leadership in the future. Now available in paperback, The Icarus Syndrome will be of great interest to U.S. Air Force professionals, military and aviation historians, and institutional psychologists.

"The juxtaposition of theory and the operational principles is superbly managed in the framework of the strategic questions about the future of air power. This book is strongly recommended for those who think or should think in terms of shaping air and space power for the future."--Harry H. Almond, Jr., The Friday Review of Defense Literature

"The Icarus Syndrome is an intellectually engaging work and particularly timely. The author's conclusions are skillfully developed and clearly articulated."--Jeffrey C. Prater, Military Review

Carl H. Builder was a senior staff member at RAND, and specialized in strategy formation and analysis. He is the author of The Masks of War: American Military Styles in Strategy and Analysis, and wrote extensively on nuclear issues, the military, institutional analysis, and technological and societal futures.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The juxtaposition of theory and the operational principles is superbly managed in the framework of the strategic questions about the future of air power. This book is strongly recommended for those who think or should think in terms of shaping air and space power for the future."--Harry H. Almond, Jr., The Friday Review of Defense Literature

Product Details

• Hardcover: 299 pages
• Publisher: Transaction Publishers (January 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560001410
• ISBN-13: 978-1560001416
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,273,791 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I rate this book with five stars, without hesitation., June 29, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Icarus Syndrome: The Role of Air Power Theory in the Evolution and Fate of the U.S. Air Force (Hardcover)

In this at once sobering and pragmatic book, Mr Builder brings to the fore a background to an ongoing story that is rarely accessible to the general reader. The modern Air Force continues to evolve due in large part to the sheer force of the personalities wearing the unifiom. Exploiting technology relentlessly while stubbornly clinging to the ways of their upbringing as captains and majors, today's Air Force colonels and generals are hamstrung between new and old. This book expertly and accurately describes the process and its result. The book's core focus is on contemporary leadership and the experiences that shaped them (i.e., the Cold War and Vietnam, in a combination of extremes) If anyone wants to know why the Air Force does the odd things it occassionaly does (in public and private), the answers lie herein, told in unemotional tuths. Thank you, Carl Builder, for providing what Gen McPeak was unable to give you credit for in the book's opening remarks. Strongly recommended for the intelligent student of Air Force history - this book should have been on the Air Force Chief of Staff Reading List. The only improvement would be a reissue in paperback to spare the $44.00 cost.

Senior Master Sergeant Paul D. Helphenstine Directorate of Logistics/Aircraft Maint Policy and Programs, Headquarters, United States Air Forces in Europe