LeMay

By: Warren Kozak

Narrated by: Grainger Hines

Length: 13 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's Summary

The firebombing of Tokyo. Strategic Air Command. John F. Kennedy. Dr. Strangelove. George Wallace. All of these have one man in common - General Curtis LeMay, who remains as enigmatic and controversial as he was in life.

Until now. Warren Kozak traces the trajectory of America’s most infamous general, from his troubled background and heroic service in Europe to his firebombing of Tokyo, guardianship of the U.S. nuclear arsenal in the Cold War, frustrated career in government, and short-lived political run. Curtis LeMay’s life spanned an epoch in American military history, from the small U.S. Army Air Corps of the interwar years to the nuclear age.

LeMay: The Life and Wars of General Curtis LeMay, tells the whole story of the innovative pilot and navigator; the courageous general who led his bomber formations from the front, flying the lead bomber; the brilliant strategist; the unflagging patriot; and the founder of modern strategic bombing, who was both famous and notorious. The book is an unprecedented glimpse into the might and mind of one of the founding fathers of air power, whose influence, and controversy, continues to this day.

©2009 Warren Kozak (P)2012 Phoenix

Definition.....Leader.....General Curtis Le May

What did you love best about LeMay?

He thoroughly knew his mission and committed every ounce of his being to see it through to ultimate Victory

Who was your favorite character and why?

who else but General Curtis Le May. He understood we were at war,and there are no half measures in war. He lead from the front and used every resource made available to him to bring down the Japanese empire from the air. Much criticized for his ruthless attitude of round the clock firebombing of japan which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians but anything less would of been half measure. His attitude of ill take the job as long as everyone is clear im here to kill the enemy non stop 24 hours a day 7 days a week forever if necessary if that sounds to harsh or maniacal Get somebody else!! I fight to win. America is The powerful nation it is because a boy can be born holding the seeds of greatness in his heart and with hard work rise from nothing to be a great man a man like Curtis Le May

Which character – as performed by Grainger Hines – was your favorite?

Grainger Hines did a superb job narrating I enjoyed all 3 listens

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

one Generals formula for victory

Any additional comments?

Forget his Politics forgive his mistakes for in our nations darkest days was a high ranking Army officer who lead his men into the frighting sky's of Europe against a highly trained and experienced Luftwaffe trying to perfect the fledgling art of precision daylight bombing he didn't have to fly but he did he was the boss he trained his men relentlessly to win and when the worst of the worst missions came he calmed his men by saying do your job and follow me My favorite General Curtis Le May

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

The story is much more than the public perception.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

The narrator’s style is distracting, but the story is so good I plowed thru it.

What didn’t you like about Grainger Hines’s performance?

Disappointed

Important historical figure

Lemay played an outsized role during one of the most fraught periods of American history.

Narration was astonishingly poor. Is 'conflagoration' a word?

good book, bad narrator

A very interesting story about a man who made a great impact on the country. The rapid rise in rank and position has got to be one of the fastest in our nation's history, and it is hard to believe that he is responsible for more deaths than probably any other American military officer, even if it was necessary.
The narrator was one of the worst I have heard, his voice just is not pleasant to listen to, and he mispronounced many words.

Good, solid Bio

Aside from several mispronunciations, this was a thoroughly enjoyable book on a great & complex man (but aren't most great people?).

Okay hagiography; terrible narration

LeMay: The Life and Wars of General Curtis LeMay is hagiography from beginning to end. There is little critical insight provided by Kozak, who seems to be attempting to rehabilitate the reputation of a very complex individual. Kozak tends to magnify LeMay's virtues as a military leader (the youngest Major General---really? James Gavin might fit that role, based on date of rank; the only field/general office to lead troops into battle---really? Most Airborne commanders dropped with their troops in War 2) and soft peddled the effectiveness of the whole strategic bombing philosophy, of which LeMay was a dedicated proponent. There is little consideration given to the vicious firebombing campaign which devastated Japanese cities far more than the atomic bomb strikes, other than to adopt a "well, it wasn't nice, but it was war, after all" approach. LeMay's time in SAC received similar treatment.

The worst part of this audiobook was the narration. The narrator constantly mispronounced words, skipped words, and changed words in a bombastic tone that recalled Charlton Heston chewing scenery. I found myself switching frequently to the text just to escale the narrator.

The world deserves a good biography of Curtis LeMay: this isn't it.

Gentle Handling of a Hard Man

What did you love best about LeMay?

He did what was needful to win and was the hero/boogieman of a generation of US Air Force servicemen. He has since had no equal.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Lead.

Which scene was your favorite?

Good historical context about the firebombing of Tokyo, far beyond what they teach you in school.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. Too heavy and intense. Needed to be taken in small doses over a period of weeks.

A fascinating study of an incredible leader

Curtis LeMay is one of the more misunderstood heroes of WW II. His legacy was tarnished by his decision to run with George Wallace in 1968. Yet he was one of the most effective military leaders of his era who simply has not gotten the credit he is due. I don’t recall hearing much about LeMay in the various histories of that era, but this book highlights the significant contribution this man made to the Allied war effort in both Europe and Japan. His success in whatever he undertook is quite remarkable.

LeMay was known to be a demanding leader. He came into difficult situations and figured out how to fix them. Perhaps the most controversial was his decision to use incendiary bombs on Japan. LeMay thought he could destroy all industrial cities in Japan by October, a few weeks ahead of the planned invasion in November. The atomic bomb brought an end to that. Later he organized the Berlin Airlift and set up the Strategic Air Command. Worth a read!

Adequate biography, poorly narrated

This is a fairly unimaginative but adequate biography of a fascinating man. It draws heavily upon secondary sources, especially LeMay's own autobiography, so centres very much on his wartime experiences rather than his SAC time and after his retirement. It is also pretty uncritical, and does a weak job in debating the vastly controversial issues surrounding this complex man. Nonetheless, it does describe, albeit from LeMay's perspective, his role in the strategic bombing of both Germany and Japan, and to a lesser degree, his role in the development of Strategic Air Command. His relationship with MacNamara and two Presidents in the '60s is also touched upon, although this fascinating and important topic is not well covered, as it is not well covered in LeMay's own book.

It is fine as far as it goes, but the production is poor. There are many instances where "fluffs" are not edited, but the most salient issue is the narration, which is memorably dreadful. The narrator manages to mangle almost every 4 syllable word in the book (really; after a while I started to watch out for them). He invents new words all of his own as he stumbles past the three syllable mark and loses concentration with the rest of the word. His ability to get the intonation wrong started to turn English into a different language. As for foreign names and places, the fun was often trying to fathom where or whom he actually meant.

All in all, it was OK, but that is all.