Air Power: A Global History

Product Description This essential book offers a compelling and original interpretation of the rise of military aviation. Jeremy Black, one of the world’s finest scholars of military history, provides a lucid analysis of the use of airpower over land and sea both during the two world wars and the more limited wars of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Considering both the theory and praxis of air power, the author begins with hot air balloons, and then highlights the use of zeppelins, piston engine fighters, jet bombers, and finally the so-called Military Revolution of today. While discussing the growth of American and European military aviation, Black, a pioneer in emphasizing the importance of non-Western military history for understanding global developments, also traces the emergence of air power in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Black breaks new ground by exploring not only to conventional war—both inside and outside Europe—but also to the use of air power in unconventional wars, especially critical given to the spread of insurgencies around the globe. He vividly describes traditional debates over the pros and cons of strategic bombing and aircraft carriers versus battleships and gives equal attention to managerial, doctrinal, and technological innovations. The author shows how better management resulted in increasing lethality of close air support of the RAF during the latter part of World War II and at the same times highlights the limits of air power with case studies of the two Gulf Wars. The author goes beyond our traditional understanding of air power associated with bombing and fighter engagements, adding the important elements associated with naval power, including ground/logistics support, anti-aircraft measures, and political constraints. As he explains, air power has become Western politicians’ weapon of choice, spreading maximum destruction with the minimum of commitment. His current and comprehensive study considers how we got to this point, and what the future has in store. Anyone seeking a balanced, accurate understanding of air power in history will find this book an essential introduction. Review Synthesizing numerous secondary sources and combining them with some primary research, Black offers a synthetic history of air power that emphasizes the post–WW II era, when military aviation matured considerably, then carries his survey all the way to recent air operations and military aircraft acquisitions. Over the course of 13 chapters, this remarkable book shows the context of aerial combat not only through evolving technology but also through economic exigencies, political prestige, and shifting sensibilities on such matters as civilian casualties. By reminding readers that military aviation does not solve matters alone, the author also hints at the considerable intricacies associated with any aerial campaign, from political decision making to the incorporation of naval air power. However, to distill such complexity, Black assumes readers will be familiar with the variety of aircraft named yet neither described nor pictured. Lay audiences with a prior interest will appreciate the wider context offered as well as the brief glossary and supplementary reading list. . . .Summing Up: Recommended. Most levels/libraries. ― CHOICE [Jeremy Black] is an outstanding scholar. . . . [The] intelligent predictions that Black makes here . . . are much more subtle and nuanced. As a result, they are likely to stand the test of time. . . . To conclude, this is a useful introduction to airpower and it is particularly good in looking at it, not in isolation, but in the larger context. Airpower is not presented here as the silver bullet resolving all problems, but as a game-changer in many respects. It opened the door to city bombing on a scale that has made some think of genocide, but also to precision targeting, with the arrival of smart missiles. All this is ably demonstrated in this volume. ― RUSI Journal