America’s Airports: Airfield Development, 1918– 1947 by Janet R. Daly Bednarek. Texas A&M University Press (http://www.tamu.edu/upress), John H. Lindsey Building, Lewis Street, 4354 TAMU, College Station, Texas 77843, 2001, 240 pages, $39.95 (hardcover).

Most of us know of the relationship between civil airfields and military interests. In this book, Professor Bednarek, once an official Air Force historian, has provided a thorough treatment of airport development and management in the first four decades of flight. America’s Airports is the first study to delve deeply into the experimentation and innovation that formed municipal airports. She describes the trend from local boosterism development to federal and military investment in airfields throughout the nation, especially in the late 1930s, when the demands of World War II required federal attention. She not only discusses the complex local and federal relationships but also investigates legal and city-planning issues.

The Best of Wings Magazine by Walter J. Boyne. Brassey’s, Inc. (http://www.brasseysinc.com/ index.htm), 22841 Quicksilver Drive, Dulles, Virginia 20166, 2001, 256 pages, $27.50 (softcover).

Walter Boyne, one of America’s premier aviation writers, has collected an interesting mix of his articles previously published in Wings magazine. Boyne has earned his credentials in nearly 40 books and, by his account, 600-700 articles on aviation. This collection includes accounts of some unusual aircraft of the past 90 years, including Howard Hughes’s H-1 and the Boeing B-9. It also relates the building of some great military aircraft such as the Boeing B-52 and McDonnell F-4. Readers who like airplanes will enjoy, perhaps again, the fascinating writing of this knowledgeable author. Particularly useful is the preface, which gives a snappy account of the periodical publishing history of aviation.

The Technological Arsenal: Emerging Defense Capabilities edited by William C. Martel. Smithsonian Institution Press (http://www.si.edu/sipress), SI Building, Room 153, Washington, D.C. 20560-0010, May 2001, 284 pages, $29.95.

In an informative compendium of essays, William Martel, professor of national security affairs at the Naval War College, attempts to bridge the gap in understanding between high-technology aficionados and laymen with respect to emerging defense technologies. The Technological Arsenal reviews the Department of Defense’s (DOD) technology-development programs in the areas of directed energy, military targeting and effects, and command and control. Focusing on technologies that could yield operational weapon systems between 2010 and 2020, the editor does not attempt to address all new technologies under development at DOD. Instead, the book concentrates on those technologies that are mature enough for initial system development to have begun, such as the airborne laser. The experts who have contributed to this work do a superb job of laying out the many technical challenges inherent in the development- and eventual employment- of lasers for various missions, high-power micro-waves, advanced cruise missiles, nonlethal weapons, space-operations vehicles, unmanned aerial vehicles, computerized command-and-control architectures, and information-warfare systems.

The technology-savvy reader may be disappointed at the lack of technical description in most of the essays, but each contains a good bibliography for further study. Overall, The Technological Arsenal does a fine job of educating the reader on how the future of warfare might look.

Technology and Security in the Twenty-First Century: U.S. Military Export Control Reform by John J. Hamre, Jay C. Farrar, and James A. Lewis. CSIS Press (http://www.csis.org/pubs/ index.htm), Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), 1800 K Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20006, May 2001, 76 pages, $21.95.

Export control of military-critical technologies has been an important, albeit unsung, instrument for protecting US national security for most of the twentieth century. Tight controls and complex licensing procedures were utilized to keep the most advanced technologies, mostly developed by US defense industries, out of the hands of potential adversaries during the Cold War. However, in today’s globalized economy, in which defense industries do not lead the development of the most important technologies, the 1970s-era export-control procedures still in place today can potentially damage US national security. This report by the CSIS Military Export Control Project examines the problem in depth and makes recommendations on how to change the export-control regime to expedite the useful transfer of ubiquitous technologies, while ensuring the interoperability of weapons systems with our allies and keeping those truly military-specific technologies away from potential adversaries. This report is recommended for anyone interested in export control and technology issues.

India’s Emerging Nuclear Posture: Between Recessed Deterrent and Ready Arsenal by Ashley J. Tellis. RAND (http://www.rand.org), 1700 Main Street, P.O. Box 2138, Santa Monica, California 90407-2138, 2001, 885 pages, $40.00 (hardcover), $25.00 (softcover).

This comprehensive text outlines how India developed nuclear weapons, what threat scenarios it uses, and what political forces drive its nuclear arsenal. It also discusses the models that Indian decision makers may use to develop this arsenal in the future. By examining territorial flash points and the strategic environment India faces on the subcontinent, Tellis explores various force options in light of technical and budgetary limitations. He also argues that it is time for the United States to reexamine its ties with and policies towards India and attempt to build on past pronouncements to support a more stable region that now has nuclear weaponry. Anyone whose specialty is India and/or the proliferation of nuclear weapons should study India’s Emerging Nuclear Posture.

Understanding Information Age Warfare by David S. Alberts et al. Command and Control Research Program (CCRP) Publications (http:// www.dodccrp.org), c/o EBR, Inc., 1595 Spring Hill Road, Suite 250, Vienna, Virginia 22182-2216, 2001, 312 pages, free from Web site or to government offices.

Need to know about war in the computer age? This detailed primer explains the importance and possibilities of the latest technology. Not only does it show concepts, theories, hypotheses, and models, but also it recommends ways of getting and keeping a military advantage. The authors explain the physical, information, and cognitive worlds; their relationships; and the way modern war works in those areas. They also point out the value of information in war, from the writings of Sun Tzu and Clausewitz to current and future sources of data. We must avoid the uncertainty of war and use modern tools as force multipliers for quick victory at the lowest cost. Detailed models, comparisons with traditional systems, and exercise examples all aid the reader’s comprehension by explaining the use of information-age tools, organizational structures, and decision processes. A fount of knowledge for the computer illiterate and an update for the computer savvy, Understanding Information Age Warfare calls for aggressive planning, investment, and coordination of these tools.

Maj Herman Reinhold, USAF
Yokota AB, Japan

Lightning Rod: A History of the Air Force Chief Scientist’s Office by Dwayne A. Day. Chief Scientist’s Office, United States Air Force, Washington, D.C., 2000, 310 pages.

Starting with the famous bond between Gen Hap Arnold and Dr. Theodore von Kármán, Dwayne Day uses the history of the Air Force Chief Scientist’s Office to chronicle the relationship between the Air Force’s leadership and the science and technology community. Since the establishment of the position of chief scientist in 1950, 29 interesting and diverse individuals from academia, industry, and the government have served as the principal science and technology advisor to the chief of staff and secretary of the Air Force. Day gives us a synopsis of the life and career of the individuals who have filled this important role, as well as a taste of the political and technological environment in which they served. In this volume, we see that the relationship between Air Force leadership and its chief technology advisor has been sometimes effective, sometimes tumultuous, and sometimes ineffective, depending upon the personalities involved and the atmosphere at the time. Lightning Rod will be of most interest to avid Air Force historians or science and engineering officers curious about how technology decisions are made at the highest levels of the Air Force.

Silent Heroes: Downed Airmen and the French Underground by Sherri Greene Ottis. University Press of Kentucky (http://www.uky.edu/UniversityPress), 663 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky 40508-4008, 2001, 248 pages, $24.00.

Action . . . suspense . . . valiant heroes and heroines fighting evil foes! Sherri Ottis’s inspiring book has it all, telling the tale of rescue groups created (and often betrayed) in France who risked all to save downed Allied airmen in World War II. Readers will relish its accounts of both the greatest tragedies- the courageous patriots caught, tortured, and killed- and the greatest successes- the bravery and planning that saved over 5,000 young lives. Like Schindler’s List, Silent Heroes could be a great movie that tells of little-known heroes who saved many lives amidst tragedy. And its excellent bibliography and footnotes give readers the opportunity to learn more about these heroes. Forget dry history books and fictional thrillers. The real people and true courage of Silent Heroes will appeal to a wide audience.

Maj Herman Reinhold, USAF
Yokota AB, Japan

The Great Snafu Fleet: 1st Combat Cargo/344th Airdrome/326th Troop Carrier Squadron in World War II’s CBI Theater by Gerald A. White Jr. Xlibris Corporation (http://www.Xlibris. com), 436 Walnut Street, 11th Floor, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106-3703, 2001, 276 pages, $28.79 (hardcover), $18.69 (softcover), $8.00 (E-book).

We have very few accounts of the magnificent airpower performances in the China, Burma, and India (CBI) theater of World War II, partly because of very weak archival resources. Gerald White not only combed the archives but also interviewed the participants and examined privately held records to produce this magnificent account of the gallant C-47 squadron that operated as both the 1st Combat Cargo Squadron and later as the 326th Troop Carrier Squadron in 1944 and 1945, delivering supplies and personnel in Burma and China. Operations in this often-forgotten part of the global war forged tools the Air Force would use in future airlifts. In the foreword, Gen Ronald R. Fogleman, retired Air Force chief of staff, points out how hard it was to provide lift when "our airlift capability was largely what could be appropriated from civilian airlines for the duration." Still, our airmen prevailed, thus adding to the luster of American airpower.