General Curtis E. Lemay's military contributions were enormous. His firebombing campaign against Janpan between March 1945 and the Japanese surrender in August 1945 may have killed more than 500,000 Japanese civilians. He said, "if the US lost the war he fully expected to be tried for war crimes". After the war, he unintentionally iniated the Berlin Airlift, then reorganized the Stretegic Air Command (SAC) into an effective instrument of nuclear war.

This is a big book with over 500 pages. I read many biographies and one biography cliché is describing the parents and childhood. In my experience reading about family history and childhood has no effect on the life of the notable person. If a autobiography spends 20-50 pages on this I will read it. Lemay spends about 150-200 pages and I skipped it. I usually get interested in a subject's life after the age of 15, when they begin to find their purpose in life.

One chapter I read with great interest is describes the bombing missions on Japan. LeMay's analytical approach to warfare is an eye opener to me. It is the reason why I read the book. I am for peace and I am surrounded by like minded friends. I wanted to read about a man who was completely enveloped by war. I wanted to understand how his mind processes it and how he justifies his acts.

LeMay does mention lives lost, but overall he is for using the most powerful weapons he can to obliterate his enemy. He is not interested in politics. He is a soldier who is fulfilling the commands of his superiors. Superiors told him to kill and that is what he does.

He justifies killing civilians because it has historicall been part of warfare.

He thinks it is more humane to use one giant bomb, like a nuclear bomb, than smaller bombs. A giant bomb sends a better message to the top tier of the enemy.
Before the Nagasaki and Hiroshima bombs were dropped, the US heavily bombed Tokyo. Tokyo was mostly wooden buildings and LeMay orchestrated the bombing of civilians. It was a horrific event where the entire city was on fire.
LeMay was also involved with the planning of Nagasaki and Hiroshima bombings. He brags about his Tokyo bombing because he killed more people and he says it was worse than the nuclear blasts.
When I read this justification, I began to see why LeMay has been called a psychopath.

When WWII ends, the narrative shifts to LeMay living in Germany and the rebuilding of the country.

Then he is appointed to he Pentagon to lobby for airplanes for the Air Force.

LeMay was a central figure in the rise of the Cold War military industrial complex.
His nuclear fear efforts frightened millions of Americans and citizens of the world. I think it was unnecessary. LeMay would argue it is necessary to lead through strength. Frighten the world and they will not attack America. His philosophy of power prevailed for decades.

I am trying to understand the positives and negatives of this attitude. ( )

LeMay's autobiography is a surprisingly readable book, considering how often autobiographies tend to lean towards endless philosophizing and finger-pointing at peers and contemporaries. LeMay, for those who are not familiar with him, is one of those larger than life characters who not only made a significant impact on the course of WW2, but for the next twenty years was a major factor in shaping not only the United States Air Force but also American foreign policy through his development of the Strategic Air Combat and the commitment to around the clock alert status for the nuclear armed aircraft under his command.

He was a member of the United States Army Air Corps during the 1930s and participated in some of the most significant events of the Corp during that time, such as the "bombing" of the USN battleship Utah and the locating of the liner Rex 800 miles off the coast of the USA, demonstrating the ability of the Army Air Corps to act as a strategic arm. He describes these activities, as well as his later WW2 and post war roles, rather well (you can read the Wiki link for LeMay for more info, it's really rather impressive).

LeMay's style as a first person writer (the contributions of Kator versus LeMay are not defined) is fairly readable, although there is a definite sense of someone who knows he is right telling the story. Towards the end of the book he does lose his talent for telling a story and instead indulges himself in political diatribes, so many may just want to skip the last part of the book.

Recommended to anyone who would like a very "I was there" view of some of the most critical command decisions of WW2 and the early Cold War. ( )