-
Book Review: The Air War in Vietnam
Vince Alcazar
Author: Michael E. Weaver
Reviewed by Vince Alcazar, Air Force (retired) planner and fighter pilot, Department of Defense
The Air War in Vietnam addresses President Lyndon B. Johnson’s administration’s use of airpower (or lack of it) and why American airpower underperformed, as well as airpower innovations that influenced the US warfare model in the Vietnam War. The reviewer bills this work as “…an indispensable volume of airpower scholarship. It is a richly developed analysis of airpower in a decade-long war with challenging hybrid characteristics and shifting US strategies.”
-
Book Review: Spies and Shuttles: NASA’s Secret Relationship with the DoD and CIA
Carlos Barrera and Manuel Carranza
Author: James E. David
Reviewed by Professor Carlos Barrera, Mexican Institute for Strategic Studies in National Security and Defence, and Manuel Carranza, defense and security affairs researcher
Starting with the 1957 launches of the Soviet Union’s Sputnik 1 and 2, James E. David’s autobiography “offers a cautionary tale on grandiloquent endeavors and highlights the need to prioritize planning over narrative” in space. David was a curator in the Division of Space History at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, which gave him access to newly declassified materials. He put this information to good use in Spies and Shuttles as he chronicles NASA’s history and impact.
-
Book Review: Original Sin: Power, Technology and War in Outer Space
Jeffrey Caton
Author: Bleddyn E. Bowen
Reviewed by Jeffrey Caton, colonel, US Air Force (retired), and president, Kepler Strategies LLC
Based on three key arguments, Original Sin covers the development of spacepower during the Cold War, space technology’s progress, and the weapons, planning and doctrine that surround space warfare. The reviewer notes, “What sets Original Sin apart from similar books is the outstanding context it provides and its willingness to challenge trite slogans attached to spacepower.”
-
Book Review: Without Flyers, No Tannenberg: Aviation on the Eastern Front of 1914—Evolution of a Critical Role for Modern Warfare
Greg Pickell
Authors: Terrence J. Finnegan, Helmut Jäger, and Carl J. Bobrow
Reviewed by Greg Pickell, US Army lieutenant colonel (retired)
Providing valuable historical context, Without Flyers, No Tannenberg “offers a wealth of previously unavailable information and provided needed context to the German triumph over the Russian 2nd Army in the opening weeks of the First World War.” The book describes how aviation developed in Germany and Russia and offers detailed maps and graphics. The latter part of the book covers events following the defeat of Russian General Samsonov’s 2nd Army, to include the Battle of the Masurian Lakes and the campaign that followed.
Printing is not supported at the primary Gallery Thumbnail page. Please first navigate to a specific Image before printing.
