ebooks Bully Able Leader: The Story of a Fighter-Bomber Pilot in the Korean War by George Loving USAF (Retd.) in History

Review

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. The Air Force's Forgotten WarBy Bryan GibbyBully Able Leader is not a comprehensive history of the Korean air war. It is one man's view; mainly from the cockpit of a F-51 or F-80 fighter bomber during the first year of the conflict. The author; George G. Loving; rises to become a Lieut. Gen. in the air force -- likely a product of his Korean War experience where he not only proved himself in the air; but also on the ground as an air operations officer and squadron commander. In other words; this memoir is about more than just fighter jockeying; it is a fairly broad slice of how the U.S. air force fought its first jet-war.The editing; maps; and layout of the book are less than great; but the picture gallery is a very nice touch; and to get right to the point; the story is compelling -- even riveting. As with the best war memoirs; there is much to learn about men in battle in this account; which describes close air support; interdiction; air superiority; and even the use of strategic bombing from July 1950 through July 1951.Overall; despite its drawbacks; highly recommended for the student of modern air power; the Korean War; leadership in war; and the human experience.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy Paul D. DillonExcellent book. Received in good order6 of 7 people found the following review helpful. This is not really the story of a fighter-bomber pilot but rather a list of missions flown by the 9th FBS/49th FBW.By Flying PhotographerThe title of this book is rather misleading; but it most probably reflects the author's original intention. While he wanted to write his own story; mostly due to lack of a detailed diary and due to the over 40 years that elapsed between the 1950/1951 events he's describing in Korea and the actual writing of this book; he ended up using the 9th FBS/49th FBW diary as his main source. Accordingly; this book is rather general in his descriptions; sticking to a pattern "Flight of 4 F-80; flew armed reconnaissance along road 11; after dropping bombs strafed with machineguns; FAC reported good results".At least from the title I was expecting a lot more personal data and much more details of this largely uncovered time period. Granted that being a fighter-bomber pilot will not allow you to write gripping air-to-air encounter reports; but nevertheless having been part of such a big war effort and during the most intense period of the Korean War (when the US/UN troops were almost expelled from the peninsula) should have provided with an interesting source material. From the book you get the impression that General Loving was too busy fighting a war and thus had no time to keep a diary; which is fair enough and cannot be condemned. However; if you want to write a book titled "The Story of a Fighter-Bomber Pilot in the Korean War"; then you will need a lot of own material.I think it would have been a wise decision if General Loving would have instead written a book about the 9th FBS/49th FBW participation in the Korean War; in which he could have included his own and other pilot's stories. But since he did not; I have to rate what he is presenting with 2.5*; mainly for his commendable effort and for the short but intense POW description added as an afterword.Overall; as a personal memoir not recommended; if you need to know some detail about the 9th FBS/49th FBW in Korea; then you will find it here.