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The most important virtue of this book is the question at its core, "Is our current set of defense institutions optimal, given what we need them to accomplish?" Setting this question out clearly and showing some creativity in answering are important, and the book does a good job doing just that. Even if you disagree with the thesis of the book, you should be asking the same sorts of questions. The introduction to organizational theory is good, especially for non-specialists.
The book does a nice job of showing that the United States Air Force has made serious mistakes in the last 6 decades concerning procurement, training, and doctrine. The history of the service and the discussion of airpower doctrine are both quite good and worth reading for airpower buffs who want to ignore the rest of the book.
The book is less convincing, however, when arguing for its key conclusion. Namely, that USAF pathologies are the result of independence and that ending independence would resolve them. I think a deeper comparative analysis with other states, describing how and why other institutional designs either succeeded and failed in avoiding the problems Farley describes, is necessary to really isolate the key variables in the US case. The discussions of the Israeli and the RAF are suggestive, but much to quick to establish Farley's strong conclusion. So, I'd describe Farley's main conclusion as plausible and worth thinking about, but I wasn't completely convinced. In any case, the book is definitely worth reading.
- Series: Studies In Conflict Diplomacy Peace
- Hardcover: 272 pages
- Publisher: University Press of Kentucky (February 17, 2014)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0813144957
- ISBN-13: 978-0813144955
- Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.8 x 9 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
- Customer Reviews: 16 customer reviews
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Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
#1,538,025 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3395 in Military Strategy History (Books)
- #3926 in Political Commentary & Opinion
- #3908 in Military Aviation History (Books)
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