Books of this kind are difficult to pull off successfully; the subject is so broad that confining the writing to a mere 277 pages would seem impossible. Mr. Bowman, I believe, pulls it off quite well.

The author developed the subject of the World War II U.S. Army Air Forces in 14 chapters. Following a useful glossary, Chapter provides both a background to the war and the development of U.S. Army airpower. Chapter 2 introduces the reader to the development of an airpower strategy that was developed in the last two years of peace leading up to Pearl Harbor. Chapter 3 describes the composition of a numbered Air Force that kept evolving over the course of the war. Chapter 4 gives the specifics of each numbered Air Force, along with their commanders, significant subordinate units, and theaters of operation. Chapter 5 dives into the important topic of Army Air Forces (AAF) training, without which victory would have been impossible, as the Germans and Japanese found out to their dismay.

Chapter 6 talks about fighter aircraft development and the tactics governing their use across various theaters of war. Chapter 7 describes the formations and bombing procedures specific to heavy and super heavy bombardment units. Chapter 8 is a brief but useful encyclopedia of major aircraft used during the war. Chapter 9 focuses on AAF personnel, their recruitment, classification and management. It also discusses ranks and qualifications. Chapter 10 details personal clothing and flight equipment, while Chapter 11 talks about weapons, ordnance, and weapon systems. Chapter 12 is about the health and survivability of AAF personnel, and Chapter 13 speaks to personnel morale and the kinds of medals and awards merited by AAF personnel. Chapter 14 provides a useful "war diary" that provides significant dates and events for the AAF during the war.

There are two appendices: the first is a listing of 8th and 9th Air Forces group and squadron codes while the second is a listing of the leading AAF aces covering all numbered Air Forces.

Mr. Bowman produced a very helpful guides here. It does not get too focused and provides just enough detail to satisfy most readers. It also provides a good start for those who wish deeper dives on some of the topics using the helpful bibligraphy.

This book, to me, is a reminder of what I consider to be the golden age of military history resource writing--the 1990's. Authors did research the old-fashioned way, without overly relying on flawed web-based resources and before publishing houses lost their editorial competence. Sigh...... ( )