A. J. Baime, one of our foremost chroniclers of twentieth-century history, returns with the story of this remarkable turnaround, detailing the creation of the Superfortress and how U.S. General Hap Arnold made the rise of American airpower a reality. Through the lens of Arnold’s remarkable career—stretching from the dawn of aviation until the creation of the U.S. Air Force—Baime tells a sweeping story of American ingenuity, perseverance, and resilience, as the brightest minds from around the country came together to create the planes and the air strategy that carried the Allies to victory. From the crowded assembly lines of American factories to antiaircraft fire in the skies over Western Europe to the machinations of Roosevelt’s Oval Office, Baime masterfully recreates the decisions, weapons, and victories that demonstrated to the world that whoever controlled the skies would win the war and control the future. Yet it was the Superfortress that brought it all together, culminating with the delivery of atomic bombs which could not have been carried by any other plane in the U.S. arsenal.
Pages: 432
Published: October 2026
