Billy Mitchell

by Hurley, Alfred F.

• ISBN13: 9780253201805
• ISBN10: 0253201802
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-06-28
• Publisher: Indiana Univ Pr

Summary

"This is the best book -- the most scholarly, the most judicial, the best written -- about the intelligent, attractive, undiplomatic, quixotic Billy Mitchell, the legendary founder of today's United States Air Force." -- Robert H. Ferrell, author of Harry S. Truman: A LifeRevered by many Americans as a martyr for his cause, Brigadier General William "Billy" Mitchell has been one of the least understood figures of modern military history. His position as the dominant figure in American aviation from 1919 until his court-martial in 1925 has made him the frequent subject of biography, film, and television, but usually these portrayals have overemphasized the sensational elements of his story. For Mitchell, sensationalism was only a means of drawing attention to his farsighted ideas on aviation. In Billy Mitchell, he emerges as a man with a mission and a true pioneer of modern aviation, a man whose ideas about leadership in aerial operations inspire and instruct today's airmen and women. Anyone interested in aviation will delight in this compelling biography.

Author Biography

Alfred F. Hurley, Brigadier General, USAF (Ret.), is Professor of History and Chancellor/President Emeritus at the University of North Texas, and publisher of Air Power History, journal of the Air Force Historical Foundation. He lives in Denton, Texas.

Table of Contents

Introduction	vii
1. "A FAIR FOUNDATION"	1	(21)
2. "NO DECISION ON THE GROUND...BEFORE A DECISION IN THE AIR"	22	(17)
3. "EVERYTHING ON A BROAD BASIS AND HIGH PLANE"	39	(17)
4. THE FIRST CAMPAIGN: "MAKE THEM EITHER 'FISH OR CUT BAIT'"	56	(17)
5. "THE FIRST LINE OF OFFENSE"	73	(17)
6. THE SECOND CAMPAIGN: "TREASONABLE ADMINISTRATION OF THE NATIONAL DEFENSE"	90	(20)
7. "IT IS DIFFICULT TO GET THEM STIRRED UP"	110	(15)
8. "THE END OF A LONG AND TORTUOUS ROAD"	125	(11)
EPILOGUE: AN INTERPRETATION	136	(5)
APPENDIX: ADDITIONAL INSIGHTS	141	(8)
Abbreviations Appearing in Notes and Bibliography	149	(3)
Notes	152	(26)
Bibliography	178	(7)
Index	185