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LeMay

Written by: Warren Kozak
Narrated by: Grainger Hines
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Publisher's Summary

The firebombing of Tokyo. Strategic Air Command. John F. Kennedy. Dr. Strangelove. George Wallace. All of these have one man in common—General Curtis LeMay, who remains as enigmatic and controversial as he was in life.

Until now. Warren Kozak traces the trajectory of America’s most infamous general, from his troubled background and heroic service in Europe to his firebombing of Tokyo, guardianship of the U.S. nuclear arsenal in the Cold War, frustrated career in government, and short-lived political run. Curtis LeMay’s life spanned an epoch in American military history, from the small U.S. Army Air Corps of the interwar years to the nuclear age.

LeMay: The Life and Wars of General Curtis LeMay tells the whole story of the innovative pilot and navigator; the courageous general who led his bomber formations from the front, flying the lead bomber; the brilliant strategist; the unflagging patriot; and the founder of modern strategic bombing, who was both famous and notorious. The book is an unprecedented glimpse into the might and mind of one of the founding fathers of air power, whose influence, and controversy, continues to this day.
©2009 Warren Kozak (P)2012 Phoenix Books
World War II Armed Forces Wars & Conflicts United States
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Profile Image for John Devlin

Mixed Bag

Grainier Hines has a great voice, but the production isn’t top-notch. There’s at least one mispronunciation every ten minutes, some rough editing, and one place early on when he reads a line twice.

This is a decent biography, but felt a bit rushed in places. The Cold War as a whole gets less attention than it should have. The book’s also very much pro-LeMay, at times excessively so. It’s fine that Kozak takes a side, but I wish the narrative was more introspective about ethical matters. LeMay’s fairly one-dimensional utilitarianism is defensible, but it’s not the only valid opinion on war (strategic bombing in particular), then or now.

The sections concerning the Allied bomber offensive in Europe, that said, are gripping and brilliantly written. It’s worth buying this for those alone.

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