All the Factors of Victory: Adm. Joseph Reeves and the Origins of Carrier Airpower - Softcover

Wildenberg, Thomas

Softcover

ISBN 10: 168247299X ISBN 13: 9781682472996

Publisher: Naval Institute Press, 2018

Synopsis

During the 1920s and 1930s Adm. Joseph Mason Reeves (1878-1948) emerged as the most important flag officer in American naval aviation. He took command of the U.S. Navy's nascent carrier arm during a critical period and, imagining the aircraft carrier's possibilities as an offensive weapon, transformed it from a small auxiliary command in support of the battle line into a powerful strike force that could attack far in advance of the fleet.

All the Factors of Victory is the first full-length biography of this eminent naval officer, whose story makes an important contribution to our understanding of not only the development of carrier warfare, but also how intraservice rivalries and the development of new technologies affected the Navy's mission.

About this title

About the Author:

Thomas Wildenberg is an independent historian/scholar specializing in the development of naval aviation and technological innovation in the U.S. Navy. He has written extensively about the Navy during the interwar period. His articles have appeared in various scholarly journals and is the author of five books on U.S. naval history.

Review:

"Wildenberg has written a very well researched and enjoyable biography. While having to deal with a scarcity of information from Reeves himself, Wildenburg made rational assumptions, where necessary, based on his extensive research. He provides many entertaining anecdotes about Reeves' life at sea and ashore. Of particular interest is the detail he offers on Reeves' interactions throughout his career with fellow officers, command-level naval officers, members of various boards and panels, and period politicians, including President Franklin Roosevelt. The book serves to enlighten the reader on the life, commitment and outcomes of a little-known, but highly influential, American patriot. It is a good read." --Air Force Historical Foundation

"Reeves made an important contribution in preparing the US Navy through the Fleet Problem experimental programme, to advance carrier warfare and make a contribution. A good read that adds to our understanding of the interwar period." --The NAVY

"Thomas Wildenberg has provided a long-needed . . . solid professional biography, telling us much about the man's motivations as well as his assignments and accomplishments. . . . Excellent." --NORMAN POLMAR in The Journal of Military History
"Wildenberg's detailed, easily read text is a compendium of the turn-of-the-century Navy that will be of interest to everyone. . . . The author explores this important but little-known period, including new aircraft like the Boeing and Curtiss fighters of the time. It's good reading." --PETER MERSKY in The Hook
"Wildenberg has mined previously neglected official and private sources to tell the story of Reeves's life and career against the background of technological innovation and bureaucratic change in the 1920s and 1930s. All the Factors of Victory is an important book that deserves the attention of all serious historians of naval aviation." --WILLIAM F. TRIMBLE, author of Admiral William A. Moffett: Architect of Naval Aviation

About this edition

• Publisher: Naval Institute Press
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 168247299X
• ISBN 13: 9781682472996
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 352