Knowingo
Try 7 days free
The cover of The Rise of American Air Power The Creation of Armageddon

The Rise of American Air Power The Creation of Armageddon

Michael S. Sherry

How did Americans come to see strategic bombing as a normal way to fight, and what ideas paved the way?

Get the app Read on the web

At a glance

Author
Michael S. Sherry

Why read it

  • You will see how ideas and fantasies about a weapon shape how it is used, before anyone has seen it in action
  • You will learn why leaders and commanders found it hard to grasp what bombing really did, even as it happened
  • You will understand how habits of thought formed before Hiroshima still shape how people think about nuclear weapons

Who it is for

  • A reader asking how strategic bombing became accepted
  • A student of military ethics and technology
  • Someone studying nuclear policy who wants its roots before Hiroshima

Contents

  1. Preface
  2. 1 The Age of Fantasy
  3. 2 The Age of Prophecy
  4. 3 The Decline of Danger
  5. 4 The Attractions of Intimidation
  6. 5 From Intimidation to Annihilation
  7. 6 The Dynamics of Escalation
  8. 7 The Sociology of Air War
  9. 8 The Sources of Technological Fanaticism
  10. 9 The Triumphs of Technological Fanaticism
  11. 10 The Persistence of Apocalyptic Fantasy
  12. Epilogue
  13. Abbreviations and Guide to Archival Sources
  14. Sources and Notes
  15. Select Bibliography

More books like this