Description:
***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.
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Reviews/Endorsements:
“Everything you need to know about the evolution of modern air warfare is here. I have been studying air warfare for over forty years now, but if I had room for only one historical volume that encapsulated the evolution of western air warfare since 1914, this would be it. It is superbly written. Should be on the syllabus for staff colleges and a must for all serious students of modern warfare.”
-- RUSI Journal, June/July 2010
“A fine assembly of papers on air power history and development and a ‘bible’ packed with information. This captures the changing history of air warfare and analyzes the role air power has played in military conflicts over the last century. These sixteen essays pack a punch and are a ‘must’ for any serious military history library.”
-- The Midwest Book Review, June 2010
“The book provides the most comprehensive and best recent overview of the air warfare development, and accordingly, will be considered for the 2011 Chief of the Air Force Reading list.”
-- Aimpoint, newsletter of the Royal Australian Air Force Air Power Development Centre
“A History of Air Warfare is an epic work that captures all the essential elements that have made the airplane a dominant force in warfare. The authors are the most knowledgeable for each period they chronicle. Most of all, the readers will be captivated as they relive the excitement of swirling air battles or the use of modern marvels such as stealth tactics, precision weapons, or air campaign planning. This book should be required reading for all military leaders, but it is also great entertainment for the general reader as it captures the vivid history of our new way of war.”
-- Gen. Charles A. Horner, USAF (Ret.)
“John Olsen has assembled the best historians of air power; the result is a superb overview, indispensable to anyone interested in how the expansion of warfare into the third dimension has transformed the art of war. A first-rate work.”
-- Eliot Cohen, Robert E. Osgood Professor of Strategic Studies, Johns Hopkins University
“A History of Air Warfare is . . . in a class of its own. Olsen and his very expert authors deliver on the promise of providing a history of air power that is both appreciatively celebrating and critical, as the record requires. No existing history even comes close to Olsen for domain, depth, and contextual analysis. Also, although this is an edited work by many authors, editorial guidance, keyed to clear purpose and sensible attitude, yields a well-coordinated whole; this is a history, not just a collection of useful essays. . . . Today and in the future, whatever the character of warfare, the air dimension must be significant. A History of Air Warfare, explains better than does any other book available today why this will be so.”
-- Colin S. Gray, professor of politics and international relations, University of Reading, United Kingdom, and author of National Security Dilemmas
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