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LeMay

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LeMay

Written by: Warren Kozak
Narrated by: Grainger Hines
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Curtis Lemay's life spanned an epoch in American military history—from his troubled background, heroic service in Europe, and firebombing of Tokyo to his guardianship of the U.S. nuclear arsenal during the cold war, frustrated career in government, and short-lived political run.

LeMay: The Life and Wars of General Curtis LeMay tells the whole story of the innovative pilot and navigator, brilliant strategist, unflagging patriot, and founder of modern strategic bombing. In this biography, Warren Kozak provides an unprecedented glimpse into the might and mind of one of the founding fathers of air power, a leader whose influence and controversy continues to this day.

©2009 Warren Kozak (P)2009 Phoenix Books, Inc. Americas Armed Forces Military Military & War Air Force War Imperial Japan US Army US Air Force Aviation China Cold War
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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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