Air Power: The Men, Machines, and Ideas that Revolutionized War, from Kitty Hawk to Gulf War II (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Air Power: The Men, Machines, and Ideas that Revolutionized War, from Kitty Hawk to Gulf War II Kenneth P. Werrell Air Power: The Men, Machines, and Ideas that Revolutionized War, from Kitty Hawk to Gulf War II. By Stephen Budiansky. New York: Viking, 2004. ISBN 0-670-03285-9. Photographs. Illustrations. Figures. Notes. Bibliography. Index. Pp. x, 518. $27.95. This is an ambitious book on a difficult subject. Budiansky's aim, in his words, is "to tell the story of air power—of the revolutionary transformations that the airplane has brought to . . . war" (p. ix). He states that he is not offering a complete history and gives us a descriptive overview of a century of military air power, covering both engineering and operations. Air Power is a survey text based mostly on secondary sources, which is to be expected for such a broad topic, although surprisingly it does tap primary materials in a number of places. Budiansky sticks close to these sources, which are first rate, thus insuring there are few errors of fact or questions of interpretation. This is a narrative with no analysis, little opinion, and nothing new. Air Power is well written and does not get bogged down in details despite its 440 pages of text. Budiansky picks and chooses the events and people he discusses with a fine eye and skillfully summarizes the often complex and voluminous materials. This probably is due to the author's training as a journalist, his experience in writing eight other books (six on natural history), and not being a specialist in the field. He includes a bibliography of about four hundred items that gives a fair overview of the field. There are several criticisms. First, the author uses a strange and frustrating system of endnotes that cites by page numbers, using words and phrases. While certainly better than no citations at all, it is an inadequate substitute for the time proven and accepted system used by historians. As in any such sweeping study, the author is vulnerable to criticism regarding the balance (or lack of balance) of his work. Specifically, while Budiansky devotes 121 pages to the years from the beginning through World War I (less than two decades), he uses the same amount of space for World War II, and but 100 pages for the almost six decades since the big war. Some important topics get little or no attention such as airlift, airborne operations, guerrilla war, reconnaissance, and air-sea rescue operations. And while the British and Israeli air forces receive some coverage, Budiansky centers on the USAF. Coverage of topics varies from good (Wright Brothers, Trenchard, Douhet, Mitchell, Battle of Britain, Taranto, and Midway) to poor (Chennault, Pearl Harbor, Russian front, Korean War, and Linebacker II), to nonexistent (V-weapons, Linebacker I, and the Falkland Islands campaign). The basic thread of the book is strategic air power. Budiansky highlights the problems of such operations and indicates the influence of precision guided munitions and stealth upon the airmen. However, the author does not discuss or comment on the fact that while it is now easier to get through the defenses and hit, if not destroy, the target, it is still no easier to determine if it is the proper target. Airmen continue to be bedeviled by problems of intelligence and targeting. In addition, increased accuracy has heightened expectations that collateral damage will be minimal and "innocent" casualties few. [End Page 1321] Omni-present observers armed with video cameras, 24/7 newscasts hungry for exciting footage, open access to the internet, and heightened political concerns confront the airmen with considerable problems. Further, the author does not emphasize, apparently does not appreciate, the significance of AWACS for the air battle. Although strategic bombing is his focus, Budiansky does not neglect other aspects of the subject such as naval and tactical aviation. In fact, he concludes the book, literally the last sentence, with the observation that in the Gulf War II "it was on the battlefield where air power finally achieved not merely equality, but its claim to ascendancy" (p. 441). More than most books, the value of Air Power depends on the reader's background and purpose...