Hap Arnold
The General Who Invented the US Air Force
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Narrated by:
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Kevin F. Spalding
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By:
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Bill Yenne
About this listen
General Henry Harley “Hap” Arnold is widely considered the father of the United States Air Force. But his long list of accomplishments doesn’t begin or end there. He was also the first and only five-star general of the US Air Force; one of the first US military aviators; the first American to carry air mail; and the architect of the war-winning air strategy of World War II.
In this new biography of one of the American military’s most towering figures, author Bill Yenne weaves the story of Hap Arnold’s life, from his youthful days as a cunning prankster to his sunset career as an elder statesman. All along, Yenne unfolds General Arnold’s life like the adventure story it is. A bold advocate for technological advancement, Hap Arnold was a powerful character in the golden age of aviation, an innovative warrior in the conflict that defined the modern era, and the creator of an entirely new branch of the US military.
Hap Arnold: The General Who Invented the US Air Force is an adventure biography for history buffs, aviation enthusiasts, and anyone interested in the events that shaped America and the world in the first half of the 20th century.
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World War II changed the course of history. Douglas MacArthur changed the course of World War II. Macarthur at War goes deeper into this transformative period of his life than previous biographies, drilling into the military strategy that Walter R. Borneman is so skilled at conveying and exploring how personality and ego translate into military successes and failures.
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An interesting, but flawed, history
- By Mike From Mesa on 07-29-16
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Nimitz
- By: E. B. Potter
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 25 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Called a great book worthy of a great man, this definitive biography of the Commander in Chief of the Pacific Fleet in World War II is considered the best book ever written about Admiral Chester W. Nimitz. Highly respected by both the civilian and naval communities, Nimitz was sometimes overshadowed by more colorful warriors in the Pacific such as MacArthur and Halsey. Potter's lively and authoritative style fleshes out Admiral Nimitz's personality to help listeners appreciate the contributions he made as the principle architect of Japan's defeat.
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Spectacular Book
- By Darrell E. Fisher on 07-13-18
By: E. B. Potter
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The Rise of Germany, 1939-1941
- The War in The West, Volume 1
- By: James Holland
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 27 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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For seven decades, our understanding of World War II has been shaped by a standard narrative built on conventional wisdom, propaganda, the dramatic but narrow experiences of soldiers on the ground, and an early generation of historians. For his new history, James Holland has spent over 12 years unearthing new research, recording original testimony, and visiting battlefields and archives that have never before been so accessible.
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Good Book painfully read
- By richard on 01-21-16
By: James Holland
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The Admirals
- Nimitz, Halsey, Leahy, and King - The Five-Star Admirals Who Won the War at Sea
- By: Walter Borneman
- Narrated by: Brian Troxell
- Length: 17 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Only four men in American history have been promoted to the five-star rank of Admiral of the Fleet: William Leahy, Ernest King, Chester Nimitz, and William Halsey. These four men were the best and the brightest the navy produced, and together they led the U.S. Navy to victory in World War II, establishing the United States as the world's greatest fleet. In The Admirals, award-winning historian Walter R. Borneman tells their story in full detail for the first time.
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Fantastic Insight In To Another Side Of the War
- By K. Winters on 02-25-13
By: Walter Borneman
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Roosevelt's Centurions
- FDR and the Commanders He Led to Victory in World War II
- By: Joseph E. Persico
- Narrated by: Dan Woren
- Length: 24 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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All American presidents are commanders in chief by law. Few perform as such in practice. In Roosevelt’s Centurions, distinguished historian Joseph E. Persico reveals how, during World War II, Franklin D. Roosevelt seized the levers of wartime power like no president since Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War. Declaring himself "Dr. Win-the-War", FDR assumed the role of strategist in chief, and, though surrounded by star-studded generals and admirals, he made clear who was running the war. FDR was a hands-on war leader, involving himself in everything from choosing bomber targets to planning naval convoys to the design of landing craft.
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Superficial description of World War II
- By Mike From Mesa on 06-23-13
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Brute
- The Life of Victor Krulak, U.S. Marine
- By: Robert Coram
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 12 hrs
- Unabridged
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From the earliest days of his 34-year military career, Victor "Brute" Krulak displayed a remarkable facility for applying creative ways of fighting to the Marine Corps. He went on daring spy missions, was badly wounded, pioneered the use of amphibious vehicles, and masterminded the invasion of Okinawa. In Korea, he was a combat hero and invented the use of helicopters in warfare.
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Leaves a deep impression while also entertaining
- By PaulaD on 04-26-15
By: Robert Coram
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The Brilliant Disaster
- JFK, Castro, and America's Doomed Invasion of Cuba
- By: Jim Rasenberger
- Narrated by: Bob Walter
- Length: 17 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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The U.S.-backed military invasion of Cuba in 1961 remains one of the most ill-fated blunders in American history, with echoes of the event reverberating even today. Despite the Kennedy administration’s initial public insistence that the United States had nothing to do with the invasion, it soon became clear that the complex operation had been planned and approved by the best and brightest minds at the highest reaches of Washington, including the Joint Chiefs of Staff and President John F. Kennedy himself.
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US Government Perspective
- By Kindle Customer on 05-25-11
By: Jim Rasenberger
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Blackett's War
- The Men Who Defeated the Nazi U-boats and Brought Science to the Art of Warfare
- By: Stephen Budiansky
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 11 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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In March 1941, after a year of unbroken and devastating U-boat onslaughts, the British War Cabinet decided to try a new strategy in the foundering naval campaign. To do so, they hired an intensely private, bohemian physicist who was also an ardent socialist. Patrick Blackett was a former navy officer and future winner of the Nobel Prize; he is little remembered today, but he and his fellow scientists did as much to win the war against Nazi Germany as almost anyone else.
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First time science used to fight a war
- By Jean on 08-20-14
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Pan Am at War
- How the Airline Secretly Helped America Fight World War II
- By: Mark Cotta Vaz, John H. Hill
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 12 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Pan Am at War chronicles the airline's historic role in advancing aviation and serving America's national interest before and during World War II. From its inception, Pan American Airways operated as the "wings of democracy", spanning six continents and placing the country at the leading edge of international aviation. At the same time, it was clandestinely helping to fight America's wars.
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Disappointing Presentation
- By JP on 04-01-20
By: Mark Cotta Vaz, and others
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Above and Beyond
- By: Casey Sherman
- Narrated by: Maxwell Hamilton
- Length: 12 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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From the authors of the best-selling The Finest Hours comes the riveting, deeply human story of President John F. Kennedy and two U-2 pilots, Rudy Anderson and Chuck Maultsby, who risked their lives to save America during the Cuban Missile Crisis. During the ominous two weeks of the Cold War's terrifying peak, two things saved humanity: the strategic wisdom of John F. Kennedy and the U-2 aerial spy program. On October 27, 1962, Kennedy, strained from back pain, sleeplessness, and days of impossible tension, was briefed about a missing spy plane.
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Narrator’s mispronunciations detracted from the story
- By Stephen E. Smith on 08-01-18
By: Casey Sherman
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Douglas MacArthur
- American Warrior
- By: Arthur Herman
- Narrated by: Henry Strozier
- Length: 39 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Douglas MacArthur was arguably the last American public figure to be worshipped unreservedly as a national hero, the last military figure to conjure up the romantic stirrings once evoked by George Armstrong Custer and Robert E. Lee. But he was also one of America's most divisive figures, a man whose entire career was steeped in controversy. Was he an avatar or an anachronism, a brilliant strategist or a vainglorious mountebank?
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Claims to be balanced... glosses over flaws
- By Us 5 Camp on 07-03-18
By: Arthur Herman
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Firestorm
- Allied Airpower and the Destruction of Dresden
- By: Marshall De Bruhl
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 13 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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On February 13 and 14, 1945, three successive waves of British and U.S. aircraft rained down thousands of tons of high explosive and incendiary bombs on the largely undefended German city of Dresden. Night and day, Dresden was engulfed in a vast sea of flame, a firestorm that generated 1,500-degree temperatures and hurricane-force winds. Thousands suffocated in underground shelters where they had fled to escape the inferno above.
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slanted view of air attacks during war
- By Ed Yusis on 03-31-14
What listeners say about Hap Arnold
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- S. Conner
- 03-07-19
Excellent book, wonderful story-hoped for more
NOTE-I was provided an audible copy for purposes of review.
I greatly enjoyed the Audible version of "Hap Arnold". Excellent history documenting the life and times of Henry Harley "Hap" Arnold. He is a man I was aware of but was not familiar with, and this book remedies that problem.
This story traces the lifestory of Hap Arnold, and along the way traces the evolution of the US Air Force and the growth of American air power. I found of particular interest the path by which the Air Force evolved from being a part of the Signal Corps, to part of the US Army (USAAF), and then an independent branch.
Arnold comes across as a talented and focused man, seemingly blessed with a vision of what air power would become and how it would evolve into strategic bombing. Arnold's path to his generalship was not without obstacles or trouble, but it seems to be much smoother and less controversial than those of Eisenhower and others-perhaps because he was somewhat unopposed as an authority figure in the realm of air combat. After all, the man was trained to fly by Orville Wright himself and twice won the MacKay for Outstanding Flight of the Year.
The book also follows the evolution of US Airpower in WW2, and brings into full picture the massive testing, training, and maufacturing process that allowed the USAAF to evolve into a large and critical presence. I also found of particular interest the tales of Arnold's globe trotting, his staffing decisions-especially the decisions regarding the 20th Air Force Group in the Pacific, and the descriptions of flying supplies over The Hump into China (this is a personal like, as one of my fathers dear friends flew that route in the USAAF during WW2).
My only quibbles are a wish for more information at specific points. I would have loved to hear more of his relationship with Billy Mitchell, did he have one with Eddie Rickenbacker, a larger description of what strategic bombing should be, and why it was that the Soviets did not seem to grasp the value-or even the process-of Strategic Bombing.
A wonderful read for its historical accounts and bringing to life an important yet somewhat forgotten military figure.
I would also note the excellent job done by the reader/narrator in this book. Excellent tone helped move the story along, and careful preparation was in evidence. I am perhaps a little more sensitive toward this aspect of book reading since recently I have had the occasion to listen to a non-trivial number of books (Often read by the author) where it sounded like they were reading a book that they had just received. The reader/narrator of this book gave me a story that was consistent and did not offer editorial commentary by way of vocal calisthenics or unneeded dramatic pauses.
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- TPS Eck!
- 12-28-22
Bill Yenne Delivers
Great biography of THE key Air Force leader. The strategic concepts and vision sustained by Hap Arnold persist today.
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- Brandon James
- 11-15-24
Good biography of an important man. Narration just ok
Good biography of Hap Arnold. It has the info I wanted. But...
I'm not a fan of this narrator. His narration is overly and often incorrectly inflected - emphasizing. THE wrong. WORDS at. The... Wrong times.
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- Anonymous User
- 08-17-20
Unfortunate
Was hoping for an insightful view into the brilliant mind of Hap, but this book was simply a collection of war facts rather than analysis on who he was. Too many recitations about how many planes were assigned where, what generals he moved around, and Hap's travel schedule during WWII. Don't waste your time with this book and go find Hap's autobiography instead.
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- Jensen
- 09-25-19
Garbage
Just a book full of references to other books. You should just read Arnolds own book. The book is one big reference.
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