President Putin made three foundational assumptions in launching his war against Ukraine that should have been correct but were not. First, Putin assumed the invasion of Ukraine would be a quick and easy fight. Second, he assumed the world would denounce the invasion but tacitly allow it. Third, Putin assumed the war would deter NATO expansion.
Malcolm Gladwell is known for telling stories—stories about success, societal change, underdogs, and how people or groups of people misunderstand each other. In his book, The Bomber Mafia: A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World. Gladwell brings to life historical figures who were instrumental in developing the United States’ bombing campaigns during World War II.
Bold Venture’s presence as a window into a little known air campaign that evolved and grew as fortunes, strategies, and leadership changed, makes it worthwhile for those interested in learning more about how American bomber crews and fighter pilots and their Japanese opponents interacted above the skies of the Pearl River Delta between 1942 and 1945.
Proponents of strategic airpower argued endlessly with those who trusted in other ways to win. Yet, the resulting application demonstrated a far more complex and unified approach to airpower than envisioned by the inter-war airmen theorizing at the Air Corps Tactical School, who resolutely set out to determine how to bring Germany to its knees.
McArthur’s Operations Analysis in the United States Army Eighth Air Force in World War II is not always the easiest read, but anyone interested in operations research, the history of World War Two, strategic bombing, the United States Air Force, or improving military operations would gain value from its pages. Most importantly, future war will almost invariably involve another Great Experiment as warfighters try to implement new ideas of warfare whose vision on paper do not live up to the cruel reality of war.
