Thomas Alexander Hughes

One of the better biographies I've read in awhile, the author has the aim of examining the process of how Adm. Halsey went from being a pioneer of machine age naval power, to man of the hour in his nation's time of need, to becoming a caricature of himself and ultimately winding up becoming something of an embarrassment to and a pariah from the institution he served his whole adult life. In looking for the truth as to what sort of man Halsey really was, the problem was that while the thoughtful listener that illustrates the cover of the book is closer to the real person than the military showman, Halsey appears to have become addicted to publicity and wound up defending his public image to the point that it did him damage with his peers and comrades.

The main example is, of course, the conduct of the battle of Leyte Gulf. Most of the players were prepared to accept that mistakes had been made by all and that it was best to move on, but Halsey never got the message and he insisted that he bore no culpability at all in his post-war memoir. This is keeping in mind that Halsey was of the generation of U.S. naval officers for whom the command controversies of the Spanish-American War (see the public brawl between William Sampson and Winfield Schley) were an object lesson in the conduct one should not pursue. But if Halsey arguably had orders and doctrine on his side in regards to his conduct in the Philippines, he really had no good defense for not once, but twice, failing to admit responsibility for taking stupid chances in trying to continue military operations in the face of typhoons. A sad turn of events for a man who tried for the most part to maintain an honorable balance between responsibility and humanity.… (more)

This book is both a biography of Pete Quesada and a history of tactical Airpower with analysis on the importance of being able to effect groud warfare and the limits of air power in relation to ground warfare.

As such it was slow paced in several areas.

It highlights the importance of tactical airpower, effective communications, and how big bombers and their proponents took over the Air Force after WWII.

Tactical air power is still a big deal to this day and the US Air Force and Army are still in conflict about what role each service should play.

The A10 and tactical air power was huge in defeating Iraq in the first Persian Gulf war. However, as many A10 have been sent to pasture the Aire Force has not replaced that Air Frame with a modern equivelant. Drones seem to be the next big thing. Time will tell if they will be an effetive replacement for the real thing.… (more)