Audiobook13 hours
LeMay: The Life and Wars of General Curtis LeMay
Written by Warren Kozak
Narrated by Grainger Hines
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
()
About this audiobook
Curtis Lemay's life spanned an epoch in American military history—from his troubled background, heroic service in Europe, and firebombing of Tokyo to his guardianship of the U.S. nuclear arsenal during the cold war, frustrated career in government, and short-lived political run. LeMay: The Life and Wars of General Curtis LeMay tells the whole story of the innovative pilot and navigator, brilliant strategist, unflagging patriot, and founder of modern strategic bombing. In this biography, Warren Kozak provides an unprecedented glimpse into the might and mind of one of the founding fathers of air power, a leader whose influence and controversy continues to this day.
Author
Warren Kozak
Warren Kozak is a journalist who has written for top network news anchors over the past twenty-five years. Winner of the prestigious Benton Fellowship at the University of Chicago in 1993, he has appeared on PBS and NPR as well as in the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and other newspapers and magazines. Warren Kozak was born and raised in Wisconsin.
Related to LeMay
Related audiobooks
The Commanders: The Leadership Journeys of George Patton, Bernard Montgomery, and Erwin Rommel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMacArthur's Air Force: American Airpower Over the Pacific and the Far East, 1941-51 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Double Ace: The Life of Robert Lee Scott Jr., Pilot, Hero, and Teller of Tall Tales Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ends of War: The Unfinished Fight of Lee's Army after Appomattox Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRobert E. Lee on Leadership: Executive Lessons in Character, Courage, and Vision Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nimitz at War: Command Leadership from Pearl Harbor to Tokyo Bay Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Lincoln and Churchill: Statesmen at War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Holding the Line: The Naval Air Campaign In Korea Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Supreme Commander: MacArthur's Triumph in Japan Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Storm Over Leyte: The Philippine Invasion and the Destruction of the Japanese Navy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Freedom's Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In The Company of Soldiers: A Chronicle of Combat in Iraq Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5George Marshall: A Biography Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Before the First Shots Are Fired: How America Can Win or Lose Off the Battlefield Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Election Heist Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Last Charge of the Rough Rider: Theodore Roosevelt's Final Days Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Angels Against the Sun: A WWIl Saga of Grunts, Grit, and Brotherhood Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5To Kingdom Come: An Epic Saga of Survival in the Air War Over Germany Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Citizen Newt: The Making of a Reagan Conservative Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsI Heard My Country Calling: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5April 1945: The Hinge of History Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOn the Trail of Grant and Lee Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTragedy of Patton, The: A Soldier's Date with Destiny Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lions of Iwo Jima: The Story of Combat Team 28 and the Bloodiest Battle in Marine Corps History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Patton: The Pursuit of Destiny Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Tempting of America: The Political Seduction of the Law Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5TR's Last War: Theodore Roosevelt, the Great War, and a Journey of Triumph and Tragedy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Ball, a Dog, and a Monkey: 1957---The Space Race Begins Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Founders' Son: A Life of Abraham Lincoln Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Last Mission to Tokyo: The Extraordinary Story of the Doolittle Raiders and Their Final Fight for Justice Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Military Biographies For You
Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dirty Tricks Department: Stanley Lovell, the OSS, and the Masterminds of World War II Secret Warfare Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Finding Amelia: The True Story of the Earhart Disappearance Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unbroken Bonds of Battle: A Modern Warriors Book of Heroism, Patriotism, and Friendship Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Necessary Trouble: Growing Up at Midcentury Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/51776 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Code Name Blue Wren: The True Story of America's Most Dangerous Female Spy—and the Sister She Betrayed Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fearless: The Undaunted Courage and Ultimate Sacrifice of Navy SEAL Team SIX Operator Adam Brown Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Greatest Beer Run Ever: A Memoir of Friendship, Loyalty, and War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Art of Clear Thinking: A Stealth Fighter Pilot's Timeless Rules for Making Tough Decisions Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Seven Pillars of Wisdom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Scars and Stripes: An Unapologetically American Story of Fighting the Taliban, UFC Warriors, and Myself Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Rebel Yell: The Violence, Passion and Redemption of Stonewall Jackson Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Lives of the Twelve Caesars Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5African Samurai: The True Story of Yasuke, a Legendary Black Warrior in Feudal Japan Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Killing School: Inside the World's Deadliest Sniper Program Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Alexander the Great Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5American Shield: The Immigrant Sergeant Who Defended Democracy Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5American Ulysses: A Life of Ulysses S. Grant Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Helmet for My Pillow: From Parris Island to the Pacific Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Summary: Can't Hurt Me - Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds by David Goggins Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Operator: Firing the Shots that Killed Osama bin Laden and My Years as a SEAL Team Warrior Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Outlaw Platoon: Heroes, Renegades, Infidels, and the Brotherhood of War in Afghanistan Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Killing Patton: The Strange Death of World War II's Most Audacious General Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Here, Right Matters: An American Story Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Napoleon Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Related categories
Reviews for LeMay
Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars
4/5
20 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I finished Lemay: The Life and Wars of General Curtis Lemay (Hardcover) by Warren Kozak. Aside from a basic idea of his World War II military service, his leadership of SAC and his being present during the Cuban Missile Crisis I knew little about General Lemay.Lemay was a doer, not a talker, not a politician and not meant for small talk, he was like Patton well suited for the military and warfare, not as much for a peacetime service, although he postwar years were spent in making the U.S. Air Force a premier member of the armed forces.Too often remember for a poor political association with George Wallace and for being considered character who inspired Dr. Strangelove, Lemay was rather a professional in every positive way, He would be given a problem and solve it. He had no problems to the end of his life with the firebombing of Tokyo, or the dropping of the atomic bombs. He was of the mindset that war was to be fully fought and was not in favor of limited war.A controversial figure like George Patton, he made many contribution to the military, the Army Air Corps and the the Air Force but was poorly suited to peace. His importance however should not be dismissed.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5During World War II and after, until 1953, we lived in Bellevue, Nebraska which is near Fort Crook. During the war Fort Crook was the home of the Glenn L. Martin bomber company where some of the B-29s flown by General Lemay's forces in the Pacific were built. My father worked as a draftsman on the project. After the war the headquarters of the Strategic Air Command (SAC) was located at Fort Crook. There were at least two gates into the facility, one at Fort Crook and one at Bellevue. General Lemay was placed in charge of SAC. My father became County Superintendent of Sarpy County, Nebraska and my mother taught one of two fourth grade classes in Bellevue. General Lemay had one daughter who was my age. She was in my mother's class and I was in the other class. As the SAC staff grew my father, as county superintendent, became involved in planning for the influx of children who would attend county schools. He worked closely with General Lemay's staff. Too many years have passed for me to recall whether he dealt directly with General Lemay. I think I remember my mother telling me that one or both of the the Lemays attended Parent-Teacher Night at the school.Before reading the book I didn't know that General Lemay was the youngest Army general during World War II. I didn't know about the role he played in the war in Europe or what assignments he had after he left SAC. The final chapter deals with one of the biggest mistakes he made in his life, when he agreed to be the vice presidential running mate of third party candidate George C. Wallace of Alabama.If you are interested in the role of the Air Force in winning World War II and in the man who was chosen to lead the effort in both the European and Pacific theaters I think you will enjoy reading this book.
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5OK he was an engineer, OK he was brave, but . . . Kozak brushes over analyses of aerial terror bombing (as it was called when I was growing up and the Nazis started it) and its aftermath on civilians, but includes lots of technique--low level B-29 tactics explained well. And a bit of family life too.