S. Conner

Excellent book, wonderful story-hoped for more

Revisado: 03-07-19

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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Performance wonderful-Book meanders

Revisado: 11-28-18

"Collision of Wills" does almost everything except what the title offers. Enjoyable and informative, narrated in subperb fashion, yet lacking in a structure that would have allowed more direct delivery of the author's ideas.

Mr. Gilden has created a story that covers a transitional time in the NFL, but the tale is told indirectly. The great collision of the title between Johnny Unitas and Don Shula is about playing time, tactics, and ego, but is not really shown as being part of the rise of the modern National Football League. THis is unfortunate, because there was much to be made of the diametrically opposing philosophies of football between Shula and Unitas-especially as the NFL since the 1980's has consistently moved more toward a pass first league (the Unitas preference) under the influence of the West Coast offense v. Shula's run first traditional approach.

The book ranges far and wide in its stories, serving almost as a social history of the NFL. Here is where you see the evolution of the League in the lives and attitudes of its players. The book includes interesting and lengthy stories about the players and personalities in the game, but without offering a framework to show them as part of the NFL evolution. Sometimes the stories seem to be told just so they could be told. Examples-Joe Don Mooney's court troubles adn the death of Brian Piccolo just rise up out of nowhere. The stories are fascinating, and a book comprised of only these stories as set pieces would be worth getting...as is this book. This reviewer would have preferred more structure so you could see where the author wanted things to be going.

Mr. Gilden also seems to have a grudge against Vince Lombardi, the man who guided the Packers to 5 NFL/world championship titles from 1961-1968. He makes it a point to criticize Lombardi for not having a long or successful coaching tree, for being rough on his players, for creating the great Packer teams out of personnel acquired before he got to Green Bay. Gilden even colors outside the factual lines in his anti-Lombardi commentary. Example: Gilden says Lombardy had never been offered a head coaching job prior to getting to Green Bay. In fact, Lombardi was offered the Philadelphia Eagles position after the 1957 season but declined. He also constantly harps on how Shula had a better regular season record than Lombardi during those Colt years...ah, but those pesky playoff problems.

Of course, the irony here is the criticism of Lombardi doing well with players already at Green Bay can also be leveled at Shula at both Baltimore and at Miami (esp Miami). At neither team did he build the personnel, but came over and took over teams already loaded with talent.

In a small aside, Gilden also keeps up the sports reporting practice of subtly dissing Joe Gibbs, the former Redskins HOF coach. Gilden goes through a list of coaches that Shula matched wits with over his career...and omits Gibbs, who won more Super Bowls than Shula and whose Redskins beat Shula's Dolphins in the 1982 Super Bowl. Its a small nit to pick, but one that this Redskin fan cannot help but point out.

I got this book as part of my introduction into Audible and the world of narrated books...and if all narrations are as good as this one then I am in for a happy future in Audible-land. Kevin Spalding does a wonderful job with his inflection and pacing. There were no times when I could not understand him, and no need to rewind and relisten to items 'missed". Mr. Spalding's eloction is crisp and clear. His phrasing was appropriate as needed, and clearly he sought to simply tell the story as the author wrote it. Kudos to Mr. Spalding for a wonderful job!

If you like sports, or the NFL, or even American history-I highly recommend this book.

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