Lemay: The Life and Wars of General Curtis Lemay

Reading this biography, I continued to be absolutely amazed at the annoying discrepancies and inaccuracies I noted just as a casual reader and non-expert. Didn't this author have any sort of editor? If some casual non-expert like me finds bonehead error after error in stuff I barely know much about, how many more errors and misunderstandings must this book contain? Such as the early P-51 had an engine that was "too small". The C-140 business jet is "huge", B-17's traveling at 300 mph, USS Utah being at Battleship Row, etc etc. It is 100% positive about LeMay and tries to minimize much of LeMay's downside. A lousy amateur effort, very inferior.

Having served three(3) tours in 'Nam (1967-70) I'm not into much military history reading. However- having heard much about General Lemay, I wanted to read up on him. A thoroughly enjoyable book about a much accomplished and almost ignored patriot.

As the daughter of Curtis LeMay I found this book the most cogent and descriptive of my father the man. Many of the myths that frequently clouded the facts and lead to a misunderstanding are dispelled. Kozak has done extensive research and presented a candid and unbiased account of his colorful career. I never saw my father as anything less than honest, fair and a willing leader beloved and respected by those he commanded. Frequently he has been quoted as having said of the Vietnam War "bomb them back to the stone age". Personally I can set the record straight. This was not his quote but MacKinlay Kantor's statement missed in my father's early editing of the manuscript for "Mission with LeMay". My family is heartened to know that his sacrifices, contributions and patriotism are being recognized.

How rare it is to spin such a compelling tale from the life of a man so reviled. This biography flows like a novel, and though one knows the historical facts the context is filled-in remarkably, with anecdotes that are colorful and enlightening. The sense of tension maintained throughout the book makes the story a true "page-turner"; I found myself drawn into this life history in a way that I would never have felt possible for a person with LeMay's reputation. Anybody who lived through the 60's, or has an interest in the political currents of the 60's, needs to read this biography. This book may transform the public perception of the archetypal Dr Strangelove figure in modern American History.

A gripping story vividly told. The author captures LeMay's life and achievements in a single, telling phrase: a "life of great consequence." His life was of great consequence for the country, for the men serving under him and for aviation in general. General LeMay's virtues, and shortcomings, make for a story that I could not stop reading. His struggles and successes at so many critical stages of his life and the life of this country repeatedly provoked a mental exclamation: "What a man!" His ingenuity and perseverance, whether in pursuing entry into flight school in the twenties or in creating the Strategic Air Command in the fifties, are astonishing. The book's presentation of LeMay's career before World War II was especially fascinating. The political and military situation of those years has spooky echoes in our own time, and it is hard to imagine who would be our own LeMay if we needed one. LeMay's guiding principle--civilians decide whether to go to war, generals must then carry it on so as to end it as fast as possible with the minimum loss of life--threw a new light on his career. It certainly revised my view of LeMay, which reflected the portrayal of "General Jack D. Ripper" in the movie Dr. Strangelove. At the same time, the story, told so clearly, is a modern tragedy. LeMay was not a "man for all seasons," but he was the best man for the difficult seasons of World War II and the Cold War. The very virtues that made him so essential during those periods--his doggedness, his utter focus on results rather than on appearance and style--made him someone for whom the country at peace thought it had no further use. He may not have been the man you want to sit next to at dinner, but he was certainly the man you want to stand next to in combat. A "must read" for anyone interested in World War II or in the country's response to unexpected but lethal external threats.