Packed with breathtaking air battles and ground tactics, this new addition to the Great Generals Series features the controversial command and strategies of the former Air Force Chief of Staff.
Curtis LeMay was a terrifying, complex, and brilliant general. In World War II, he ordered the firebombing of Tokyo and was in charge when atomic bombs were dropped on Japan. He was responsible for tens of thousands of civilian deaths, a fact he liked to celebrate by smoking Cuban cigars.
But LeMay was also the man who single-handedly transformed the American Air Force from poorly trained and badly equipped pilots into one of the fiercest weapons of the war. Over the last decades, most US military missions were carried out entirely through use of the Air Force. This is LeMay’s legacy.
Download and start listening now!
"Having served in SAC post-Lemay I am well aware of the standards and achievements attributed to him. Mr. Kozak did an excellent job of explaining how those standards came to be. The book read fast and held my interest."
— Donald (4 out of 5 stars)
“A brilliant book! Barrett Tillman describes the true magnitude of LeMay’s achievements, while rendering the first posthumous biography of a complex, controversial figure. Objective and beautifully written…an absolute must for every aviation or military historian and for anyone interested in leadership.”
— Walter J. Boyne, author of Roaring Thunder and former director of the National Air and Space Museum“Mr. Tillman finds much to admire in LeMay, a general who led his own bomber missions and was more familiar with flying equipment than his own men.”
— New York Sun“Thorough, balanced, and insightful, Barrett Tillman’s masterful biography of Curtis LeMay is a long-overdue and thought-provoking study, one certain to become a standard.”
— Dr. Richard P. Hallion, aviation historian and author of Taking Flight: Inventing the Aerial Age from Antiquity through the First World War“Curtis E. LeMay…was far more complex than his detractors claim. Barrett Tillman, one of America’s top history writers, gives us an authentic feel for LeMay and for the way LeMay left his mark on the twentieth century.”
— Robert F. Dorr, author of Air Combat and columnist for the Air Force Times" An interesting, if a bit adoring, history of a true warrior of the spartan ilk. If he'd been around in 2003 under Bush, we'd all be paddling different canoes... "
— Blanden2000, 11/19/2013" I loved it Curtis E. Lemay is a unsung American hero. "
— Liam, 10/1/2012" I heard all the Dr. Strangelove / bombing them back to the Stone Age comments and decided to research this man's history myself. Love him or loathe him we can be thankful to have had men like him serving our country. I have personally visited the SAC museum in NE and it is a sobering experience. "
— Fanugee, 7/13/2011" Purely inspirational- Lemay was a man of blunt honesty and truth, but author Warren Kozak isn't afraid to point out his often severe flaws as well. "
— Dennis, 11/13/2010" The story of America's youngest general. Not an easy man to appreciate, LeMay was controversial and yet misunderstood. "
— Jonathan, 6/19/2009" Covers the beginning of SAC "
— Jim, 10/28/2008Barrett Tillman is a widely recognized expert on air warfare in World War II and the author of more than forty nonfiction and fiction books on military topics, including Whirlwind. His work has been cited in dozens of history books and has been used as course work by the US Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps. The former managing editor of The Hook, he is frequently seen in television documentaries in the United States and Europe. He has received numerous awards for history and literature, including the Admiral Arthur Radford Award.
Tom Weiner, a dialogue director and voice artist best known for his roles in video games and television shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Transformers, is the winner of eight Earphones Awards and is an Audie Award finalist. He is a former member of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.