Beyond the Wild Blue: A History of the U.S. Air Force: 1947-1997

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Overview

Beyond the Wild Blue is a fascinating look at fifty turbulent years of Air Force history. From the prop-driven armada of World War II to the most advanced Stealth weaponry, from pioneers like General Henry "Hap" Arnold to glorious conquests in the Gulf War, Beyond the Wild Blue is a high-flying study of the triumphs (and failures) of leadership and technology.
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Overview

Beyond the Wild Blue is a fascinating look at fifty turbulent years of Air Force history. From the prop-driven armada of World War II to the most advanced Stealth weaponry, from pioneers like General Henry "Hap" Arnold to glorious conquests in the Gulf War, Beyond the Wild Blue is a high-flying study of the triumphs (and failures) of leadership and technology.
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Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly - Cahners\\Publishers_Weekly
Retired Air Force colonel Boyne (Clash of Titans, 1995, etc.) effectively describes the development of aerospace technology: aircraft, missiles and the electronic systems that shape their employment. His operational narratives, particularly those of MIG Alley during the Korean War and Vietnam's Rolling Thunder, are useful for non-specialists. The intellectual framework of his history of the USAF, however, seldom goes beyond whatever passes as conventional Air Force wisdom on the nature and use of air power. Boyne depicts senior Air Force officers in terms usually reserved for George Washington or Robert E. Lee. Errors of judgment or failures of insight are spin-doctored. He brushes over the long and bitter internecine struggle between tactical and strategic factions, while describing the reorganizing and downsizing of the early 1990s as a harmonious process. Instead of analyzing doctrines and policies, Boyne focuses on criticizing bureaucrats and politicians for repeatedly cutting Air Force strength to the bone, for refusing to fund new weapons systems and for intervening in the conduct of operations. Robert McNamara is a particular villain, repeatedly indicted as responsible for "inane restrictions" and "unreasonable rules of engagement" during the Vietnam War. In developing this argument, Boyne presents what amounts to a theory of betrayal that is unsubstantiated by archival evidence and rejected by Air Force scholars such as Earl Tilford and Mark Clodfelter. Boyne takes a similarly unsophisticated approach to Desert Storm, making claims for air power's role that have been challenged even by Air Force analyses of the campaign. This book cannot be considered a significant contribution to the still-developing field of Air Force history. Photos.
Booknews
A history of the triumphs and failures of leadership and technology in the US Air Force, focusing on advances in equipment and on the Air Force's integration of women and minorities. Includes color and b&w photos, a detailed chronology since 1903, and lists of leaders. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.
Kirkus Reviews
A survey of air force history from the time it succeeded the old Army Air Corps after WW II.

Retired Air Force colonel and military historian Boyne (Clash of the Titans, 1995, etc.) writes of the enormous changes in postwar US air power wrought by the chance of the Cold War turning hot. Boyne criticizes the rapid demobilization of our powerful armed forces after WW II and Truman's deep cuts in the defense budget. Boyne's hero is the WW II general Henry "Hap" Arnold, the visionary architect of air power and the advocate of constant technical research and development; he aggressively pushed for intense training, an action that made possible the air force of today. He credits our rapidly rebuilt air power with saving American and South Korean forces from defeat in the early days of the Korean War; argues that the Strategic Air Command was crucial in preventing nuclear war; and reminds us of the success of the Berlin airlift and other humanitarian efforts. Boyne's villain is former defense secretary Robert McNamara, whom he blames for losing the Vietnam War as a result of his arrogant disregard of military advice, but he is strangely uncritical of President Johnson, the commander-in-chief. He credits Nixon's bombing offensive with forcing North Vietnam to the peace table. Reagan's great increase in military budgets, and the subsequent growth of the air force, won the Cold War and the Gulf War, in his view. He sees today's air force as the best on the planet, reflecting "Hap" Arnold's vision and faith.

A comprehensive study of the development of the air force and a spirited argument for the necessity of long-term planning.

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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780762828289
  • Publisher: St. Martin's Press
  • Publication date: 3/15/1997
  • Edition description: 1st Edition
  • Edition number: 1
  • Pages: 442

Meet the Author

Walter J. Boyne is the former director of the National Air & Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution. Boyne's books have made both the fiction and the nonfiction bestseller lists of The New York Times. His novels Roaring Thunder and Supersonic Thunder cover the first forty-four years of jet aviation. His critically acclaimed nonfiction book, Dawn Over Kitty Hawk, recounts the story of the Wright Brothers. A retired Air Force Colonel, Boyne was enshrined in the National Aviation Hall of Fame class of 2007.

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