Review by Booklist Review
Rendall's overview of air-to-air combat with jet fighters covers the period from the last days of World War II to operations over Bosnia in support of UN peacekeeping efforts. In between those times came the Korean War, in which the F-86s fought throughout for their air superiority; lethal combat in four wars over the Middle East; the limitations of U.S. technology and tactics on jet fighting in the Vietnam War; the hard-fought air battles over the Falklands; and the one-sided air war in the Persian Gulf conflict. Interspersed with the battle narratives are discussions of new developments in tactics and technology, with the latter sometimes outstripping the former, and of the strategic background of the development of air-to-air combat methods. Rendall is British, and he shows greater literacy and a less triumphalist view of U.S. achievements than are found in some comparable accounts. His is a more useful book on the subject than most and will attract and reward aviation-minded readers. --Roland Green
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Over the course of the last half-century, warfare has been completely transformed by jet aircraft and aerial combat. This is a tale that has been often told, but rarely as eloquently and insightfully as by RAF veteran Rendall (now a TV producer and writer). Working from the premise that jet-dominated Western war strategy may soon be eclipsed by computer-driven combat, Rendall evokes both the mystery and the power of the deadly but, for some, romantic airborne machines. (A jet fighter, he writes, is "like a stunningly beautiful and dangerous courtesan.") Rendall's vivid battles scenes, often reconstructed from original reports or testimony, are interspersed with knowledgeable technical discussions as he takes readers through 50 years of fighters, beginning with the Luftwaffe's Me 262s and the USAF's answering X-I (in which Chuck Yeager became the first pilot to fly faster than sound). He then surveys jet warfare in the Korean War, the early years of the Cold War and Operation Rolling Thunder, America's 1965 entry into the Vietnam War. Chapters on the wars in the Middle East and computerized aviation lead inexorably to the Gulf War, to which Rendall accords his authorial standing ovationÄa response that aviation-loving readers will be happy to bestow on this book. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
In the last months of World War II, air combat saw the introduction of jet-powered fighters; from then on, with continuous improvements to airframe, components, and armament, air warfare's course to the present was set. Rendall, a writer and TV producer who served in the Royal Air Force, presents a thorough, straightforward history of his complex subject's trends and turning points that is well told, immediate, and nicely aimed at an aviation-related readership. Using the Korean, Vietnam, Israeli-Egyptian, Falklands, and Gulf War air actions, Rendall illustrates how having the edge in technology and training has produced battlefield success and speculates on the future of air combat, in which the fighter pilot, ironically, may be relegated to a "virtual" cockpit on the ground. A wide-ranging history; for public libraries and all military and aviation history collections.ÄMel D. Lane, Sacramento, CA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A highly detailed report of the rapid development of jet aircraft, which became the heart of US global power just as Britain's sea power was in the 19th century and before. Rendall, an ex-RAF flier and television producer, shows that modern warfare has changed drastically with constant improvements in technology and the training of the highly specialized pilots. The only jets to see action near the end of WWII were the German ME 262 and the British Meteor. It was the US and the Soviets who perfected the most advanced jet fighters, the F-86 Sabre and the MiG-15, which faced each other during the Cold War. Rendall believes that UN air power stopped the attacking North Korean and Chinese armies in the Korean War. Rockets and space exploration intensified competition between the West and communist countries; the arms race became the space race and created improved nuclear weapons. In Vietnam the US Air Force, trained for long-range strategic nuclear bombing, was at a disadvantage against the tactical Soviet MiG fighters manned by WWII'veteran Soviet pilots. Avoiding the bombing of enemy airfields for fear of killing Soviet ground crews impeded US war efforts despite the heavy bombing of North Vietnam. Rendall argues that when you fight a war, you have to fight to win and not pull your punches. Air superiority requires the finest aircraft and pilots, as illustrated in the Mideast wars, when outnumbered Israelis defeated Arab countries. Learning from the mistakes of Vietnam, according to the author, the US-led Gulf War air offensive, with skilled pilots and top technology, destroyed Saddam Hussein's large army and Soviet equipment while avoiding high casualties. A well-researched warning that the US and the West must have the best technology and trained personnel to survive in a partially hostile and competitive world in which US air power is once again being tested.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Review by Library Journal Review
Review by Kirkus Book Review
