In-depth, readable, and enjoyable

Excellent book that covers the acquisition and operations of yet another "interim" TAC aircraft. The author does a great job of fleshing out the politics and resulting compromises that the aircrew and maintenance troops had to make work. He spares no punches in describing the impact that failed projects such as the XB-51 and XB-68 had on TAC and how the pursuit of funding led to nuclear specialized aircraft to the detriment of TAC as critical mission capabilities atrophied.
The coverage of the RB/WB squadrons and their personnel is excellent and was obviously well researched. The anecdotes are well written and extensive throughout the volume. They provide an excellent glimpse into squadron life and the missions both accomplished and failed.
The book itself? The discussion of mission systems, their acquisition and use by the EWO community should be required reading for today's FOGO's. (Things haven't changed at DoD.)
The appendices are excellent and the bibliography is very extensive. The appendix covering losses in particular appears to be very factual with no attempt by the author to clean up the reputation of the airplane or aircrew. Overall this was obviously a labor of love for the author who has a connection to the aircraft.
Highly recommended as an aircraft history, unit history, and history of the Vietnam war. ( )

While the title is perhaps just a tad bombastic, this is a good aircraft history, as Samuel examines the changing fortunes of the B-66 (which he flew during Vietnam) in the Cold War. This gives you the arc of how a stop-gap tactical bomber became an essential component of the USAF strike operations in the air war over Vietnam in the electronic warfare mode; at least until the aging machines reached the end of their effective usefulness.

In as much as this is a memoir as much as it is an organizational and technical history, Samuel seems to be a good writer who has a talent for evoking the flavor of the service he was a member of. He also does a good job of integrating the stories of his colleagues in the B-66 community into this history. Finally, you can count Samuel as another U.S. veteran of the Vietnam War who will disdain the strategy of the Johnson Administration until his dying day. ( )