The Influence of Air Power Upon History

Here Col. Boyne takes a look at the overall war fighting capability of air forces through the 1900's. While it's an excellent book, there is a bit of repetition from Clash of Wngs.

The Influence of Air Power upon History tells the tale of flight from the first balloon travels through to the modern era. As one would expect, much of this history is more accurately termed military history as the evolutionary process and specific modifications to the various crafts were often driven by military need. This book contains good detail about flight history while still managing to be an interesting read. Moreover, the chapters are separated into useful time periods or specific changes in technology that will allow this book to also serve as a useful reference for those individuals looking for information on a particular craft, wanting to explore the influence of flight in particular campaigns, or wanting to understand the air power strategies that each country used in these battles. The Influence of Air Power upon History is a very good all round reference on the history of air power. This book is suitable for those with very little knowledge of flight and is also useful as a reference for those individuals wanting to look deeper into these aspects.

An easy read. Despite the book's title and its implication that it is related conceptually to Mahan's book on seapower, it is not. It is about the influence of air power in a broader sense -- not necessarily on the battlefield. In addition to war, it is about the influence of air power in the areas of politics, diplomacy, technology, and mass culture because Boyne believes that air power has been not only significant in battle but maybe even more in, "the direction of national policies, the growth of industries, and perhaps most important, the rapid advance of technology, even in times of peace." Unlike seapower, airpower presents an immediate threat to a nation's population, whereas a sea-based blockage takes time to be felt. Boyne believes there has always been a symbiotic relationship between air power and the mass media, and that it is no coincidence that popular perceptions and enthusiasm for air power have been influenced by the simultaneous advance of the mass media.

This is a surprisingly easy read about a complicated subject--really the effect of heavier-than-air aircraft upon military history, and to a lesser extent, upon industrial development. Author Boyne is obviously possessed of a vast knowledge about his subject. Sometimes this can be the downfall of a book of this type, where a torrent of facts can overwhelm the overall theme of a work. Not here. Boyne tells the story of the rise and development of air power in a clear, concise, and yet nevertheless surprisingly detailed way. I was frankly expecting something of a hard slog to get through a serious work such as this. I was pleasently surprised, because this is a readable work that keeps the reader interested and the pages turning. Mr. Boyne does not merely relate facts--he tells a story, punctuated with interesting insights, opinions, and conclusions. The reader can decide whether he or she agrees with Mr. Boyne's various conclusions. Personally, I was usually persuaded, if not necessarily always. Since this is an overall look at the rise of air power, it contained less details on some subjects than I would have liked to see. For example, the book covers the battle between the US 8th Air Force (and its British counterparts) and the German Luftwaffe with just enough detail to leave me wanting more, this being a subject of intense interest to me. Another fascinating observation by Mr. Boyne is his conclusion that the development of air power, and its demand for high-quality industrial specifications, had far-reaching effects upon industrial development. This is undoubtedly true, although I personally had never really thought about it before. More facts illustrating this plausible conclusion would have been welcome. On the other hand, too much more detail on these and many other subjects would of course have increased the scope of this book beyond the appreciation of most readers. This is the inherent shortcoming of a work of this type, and Boyne strikes a reasonable balance. Overall, the reader is unlikely to find a better written or researched book about this broad subject.

Walter Boyne's The Influence Of Air Power Upon History is an informed and informative history which examines the nature and applications of air power from the early days of the balloon to current space warfare and jets. Air power exercised in both war and peace times survey the contributions made by people and technology of each era, drawing some important links between individual achievement and usage.