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

This long work covers the history of air power in great, yet interesting detail. Budiansky fully captures the personalities of those who influenced thinking on air power while also covering technical developments. His coverage of the people and the ideas is more interesting than the machines, though all three are covered in great detail.

I read this book, here in Brazil, when a friend of me, send it.I read this book in some days days and, as combined, I return the book to the owner. This book has come parts that are good, and many parts bad. About the beggining of air power, it claims that Wrights Brothers begin it.In fact, the first ever plane, ver to fly was the 14-bis, bye a brazilian, who flew publically and openly, in 1906, in France.In 1907, the brazilian Alberto S. Dumont, also made the first pratical airplane in the world.Were the experiences of Alberto Santos Dumont, in 1906-1907, who really shows the world the possibilities and realities of aircraft, and air power.The Dumont's experience were all public and we could repeat then. Before 1908, the Wright brothers never, even claimed that the were inventors of nothing.They and in fact anybody else, never made no (public)fly in any made by then before 1908.In fact, any Wright flying machine replica had ever flown, in any part of the world.In december, 2003, the president G. W. Bush, send to fly a fake.Even with so many frauds, the machine, never went in the air.If you go to Kitty Hawk, you can see museums, monument to the eugenist Wright brothers, etc.There's one thing you can't see.A real replica of any fly experience of Wright brothers between 1903 and 1907.Lyke the UFOs, the ghosts, Virgim Mary,etc., the Wright results between 1903 and 1907 are unpossible to be repeated.The russian, germanies claims they also invented aircraft before the brazilian A. S. Dumont.And all of then have experience to show.The same is unpossible to Wright brothers's experiences before 1908.The Wright brothers were also ridiculous wrong that any aircraft could in any future, to cross the Atlantic ocean.The Wright brother also claims that weels in aircraft "are ridiculous".In fact, 100% of aircraft ever produced with commercial and military use, had weels.100% of aircrafts made by Alberto S. Dumont had weels.The Wright brothers only in 1910, finnaly made an aircraft with weels.Even the USA's govern knew nothing about the Wright's sucess before 1908.The book "Man flies" tells you about this subject.It was wrien by an american. This book tells the limitations about strategic air power in World War II.In fact it don't tell facts such as the fact more then the half of German's 88 mm cannon were in Germany, fighting against american and english air bombers.In fact, even not destructing the German's industrial base,the fact of simple existence of that bombers put hundreds of thounsands of personal and cannons in German soil, not fighting USSR.The B-24 Liberators could exterminated the nazi subamrines in 1942, if Winston Churchill and Frankln D. Roosevelt had gave this order.They didn'd this because of orders, not lack of tecnology or manpower.Only after march, 1943, the B-24 Liberators and Sutherland begined the destruction of german submarines.In may, 1943, about 30% of german submarines were sent to destruction by air power.Aircraft and bomber's atacks also had propaganda efects in german's minds. About first Gulf War, in 1991, this book claims that F-117 made many diference.In fact Saddam Hussein never defeat even the weak Iran's air force in eight years, between 1980 and 1988. Saddam Hussein fail completely to destruct the Iran's air force.With or without the F-117, the result of that war will be the same.This book shows that F-111 was better then the A-10 Thunderbolt.I didn't know this thing. The AAA is very a limited weapon, against any kind of aircraft.More then about two miles height of fly or distance, every AAA will had very limited sucess, and more probably no results at all.In 2001, the taliban's AAA made any damage to any american aircraft.The weak Saddan's AAA in 2003, was nothing more the paper's tiger against the USAF.In fact USAF lost more aircraft by accidents and friend's fire, in second war against Saddan, then all the SAM and AAA of Saddam Hussein.

This book has just the right mix of fascinating anecdote, illuminating technical detail, and historical exposition to make it both an entertaining read and deeply informative. As a pilot with a background in physics I especially liked the fact that Budiansky's technical explanations were generally clear concise and accurate. Probably the most important thing to take out of this book is how a military doctrine can become so ingrained that it survives for decades despite voluminous empircal evidence to the contrary.

This item was given as a gift for an individual and they loved the book. They started reading it immediately.

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.

Stephen Budiansky's _Air Power_ is an excellent overview of the rise, development, and transformation of military aviation during the course of the twentieth century. Throughout, the author does a fine job of balancing his clear understanding of the physics behind the technology of flight with lively and interesting anecdotes regarding the technicians, pilots, and engineers who helped transform the airplane from the plaything of rich sportsmen into the world's most powerful weapon of destruction. Although, as another reviewer has already noted, Budiansky's incessant criticisms of those who favored strategic bombing from c. 1920 through the Viet Nam War does grow a bit tiresome, this remains a terrific introduction to a very important subject.