A History of Air Warfare

by John Andreas Olsen (Editor)

***Selected for the 2010 Chief of the United States Air Force's Reading List*** This one-volume anthology provides a comprehensive analysis of the role that air power has played in military conflicts over the past century. Comprising sixteen essays penned by a global cadre of leading military experts, A History of Air Warfare chronologically examines the utility of air power from the First World War to the second Lebanon war, campaign by campaign. Each essay lays out the objectives, events, and key players of the conflict in question, reviews the role of air power in the strategic and operational contexts, and explores the interplay between the political framework and military operations proper. The concluding section offers wider perspectives by focusing on air and space power in both unconventional and conventional warfare from 1913 to the present. More than a simple homage to air power, A History of Air Warfare exposes air power’s strengths and weaknesses and, where relevant, illuminates the challenges of joint operations and coalition warfare. Because of its critical approach, even treatment, and historical background, the book will appeal to modern warfare scholars, air power specialists, and general readers interested in military history alike.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Military Fiction, Military History, Aviation, War

522 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 2009

Reviews

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a group of essays written by leading specialist in the field each focusing on a specific war or concept. This is fine for what it is but this style tends to be repetitive in parts as each expert brings you up to speed on where air warfare has reached by the time there specific subject starts. That plus the fairly large back brief on the particular conflict they are discussing makes the whole thing a bit clunky. Still a good overview of the history of air warfare and there are some really fine essays on strategic thought and concepts related to the subject matter.

The book is a bit clunky but parts of it are well worth the time and since its written in essay format you can skip the parts that are not relevant to your interests and easily get to the rest.

[John Connolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great for understanding the different operational mission sets of Air Warfare such as strategic bombing, air-to-air, close air support, ISR and more. Often these methods proved advantageous in some contexts and not in others and the book does a good job trying to highlight the reasons for this success or lack thereof. I would have enjoyed a little more on naval and army aviation and I found these subjects mostly lacking. The book ends right around 2007 so it is missing about 20 years of recent aviation history.

[Dylan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compendium of historic analysis of airpower (The title nailed it). The Richard Hallion essay "Air and Space Power Climbing and Accelerating" struck a chord with me. Operation Desert Storm essay was good as well.

[Stork · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super technical not super great.

[Michael Bond · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book is a collection of chapters written by different air power experts. As such, there can be a little bit of repetition among chapters. There is also an inordinate amount of time spent on setting up the scenario instead of actually talking about air power, so if the reader is already familiar with a particular war but looking for the air power angle, there is less of that specialized content. It all might have been better executed if written by a single author, in order to reduce the "chaff." Nevertheless, there are some decent lessons.

[Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

As promised, a thorough history of air warfare, beginning with World War I and concluding with the Second Lebanon War. In addition to the chronological chapters, Olsen includes three topical essays, one on airpower and counterinsurgency, and two pro/con pieces on the usefulness of airpower. The writers have contrasting styles, but overall the collection holds together, and is especially valuable for the attention paid to air warfare after Vietnam.

[Boudewijn · Rating 2 out of 5]

A collection of essays, written by different writers, about the various wars in which the Air Forces were playing a role. As such, the title of the book is misleading. It's not a history, but rather a strategic look at the different wars since World War I.

[Joseph Monaco · Rating 5 out of 5]

I took my time on this one and it was well worth it. If you're looking for a comprehensive read on the evolution of air and space power this is it.

[Barry Hunte · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great history book

[V · Rating 2 out of 5]

How did they manage to make an otherwise interesting topic so BORING?