The John Batchelor Show

Saturday 26 January 2013

Air Date: 
January 26, 2013

Above: Nuclear war.  See: Hour One, The Second Nuclear Age: Strategy, Danger, and the New Power Politics by Paul J. Bracken

Photo from: "Nuclear warfare still a real threat."  February 11, 2008 in civilisation?  

JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW

January 26, 2013 - Special Podcast    Guest: George C. Daughan, author, 1812: The Navy's War.

Hour One

Saturday  26 Jan 2013 / Hour 1, Block A: The Second Nuclear Age: Strategy, Danger, and the New Power Politics by Paul J. Bracken; 1 of 4

"Read this book. We should not wait for the first nuclear crisis of this century to start thinking about what to do differently."--Admiral Mike Mullen, USN (ret.), former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Saturday  26 Jan 2013 / Hour 1, Block B: The Second Nuclear Age: Strategy, Danger, and the New Power Politics by Paul J. Bracken; 2 of 4

Saturday  26 Jan 2013 / Hour 1, Block C: :  The Second Nuclear Age: Strategy, Danger, and the New Power Politics by Paul J. Bracken; 3 of 4

"Challenging the vision of a world free of nuclear weapons, Paul Bracken argues that we have already entered a second nuclear weapons age -- and that the United States needs to face that reality. His book is well worth reading."--Graham Allison, director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University, and author of Essence of Decision and Nuclear Terrorism

"Put Paul Bracken in charge of our nuclear policy for the twenty-first century. The Second Nuclear Age is a superb analysis of why and how a continuation of our Cold War nuclear forces and doctrines will fail, and how we can make them safer and far more strategically useful."--R. James Woolsey, former Director of Central Intelligence.

Saturday  26 Jan 2013 / Hour 1, Block D: The Second Nuclear Age: Strategy, Danger, and the New Power Politics by Paul J. Bracken; 4 of 4

Hour Two

Saturday 26 Jan 2013 / Hour 2, Block A:  Ike's Bluff: President Eisenhower's Secret Battle to Save the World by Evan Thomas; 1 of 4

"With grace, insight, and originality, Evan Thomas has written a brilliant and engaging book about the most important of subjects: how close we came to Armageddon in the seemingly placid 1950s. Thomas's Eisenhower is a canny savior, a president who kept the peace through feint and bluff. No one writes more astutely or more honestly than Evan Thomas. This is the work of a master of storytelling at his best." ( Jon Meacham, author of Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power )

"[Thomas's] detailed, engaging pictures of Eisenhower's personality bring him vividly to life. Most important, by the end of the book Thomas has made his case that Dwight Eisenhower's 'greatest victories were the wars he did not fight.' " (New York Times Book Review)

Saturday 26 Jan 2013 / Hour 2, Block B:  Ike's Bluff: President Eisenhower's Secret Battle to Save the World by Evan Thomas; 2 of 4

Saturday 26 Jan 2013 / Hour 2, Block C:  . Ike's Bluff: President Eisenhower's Secret Battle to Save the World by Evan Thomas; 3 of 4

 "Evan Thomas has written an insightful and penetrating study of my father, Dwight D. Eisenhower. Dad was a hard man to know; he played it close to the chest. So despite my extensive exposure to him throughout forty six years, I still found myself learning new aspects, some of which, I must admit, are a bit painful. But the balance that Thomas achieves between Eisenhower the public servant and Eisenhower the man is, in my opinion, as close to the mark as we are likely to see." (John Eisenhower)

Saturday 26 Jan 2013 / Hour 2, Block D:  . Ike's Bluff: President Eisenhower's Secret Battle to Save the World by Evan Thomas; 4 of 4

Hour Three

Saturday 26 Jan 2013 / Hour 3, Block A:  Such Men as These: The Story of the Navy Pilots Who Flew the Deadly Skies over Korea by David Sears; 1 of 4

Smithsonian Air & Space magazine, July 2011  
“A valuable study of the culture and conduct of the naval air war over North Korea…A fitting addition not only to the literature of the Korean War, but also to the literature emerging in this, the centennial year of U.S. naval aviation.”

Collected Miscellany, 7/8/11  “A great tribute to the U.S. Navy pilots who flew in the Forgotten War.”

Saturday 26 Jan 2013 / Hour 3, Block B:  . Such Men as These: The Story of the Navy Pilots Who Flew the Deadly Skies over Korea by David Sears; 2 of 4

Saturday 26 Jan 2013 / Hour 3, Block C:  . Such Men as These: The Story of the Navy Pilots Who Flew the Deadly Skies over Korea by David Sears; 3 of 4

In 1951, James Michener went to Korea to report on a little-known aspect of America’s stalemated war: Navy aviators. His research-inspired, bestselling novel became perhaps the most widely read book ever written about aerial combat.

Using Michener’s notes, author David Sears tracked down the actual pilots to tell their riveting true stories. The result, Such Men As These, brims with action-packed accounts of combat, from the icy, windswept decks of aircraft carriers to the treacherous skies over Korea, while providing unforgettable portraits of the pilots whose skill and sacrifice made epic history.

Saturday 26 Jan 2013 / Hour 3, Block D:   Such Men as These: The Story of the Navy Pilots Who Flew the Deadly Skies over Korea by David Sears; 4 of 4

Hour Four

Saturday 26 Jan 2013 / Hour 4, Block A:  Two Roads to War: The French and British Air Arms from Versailles to Dunkirk by Robin D. S. Higham; 1 of 2

"The noted aviation historian Robin Higham [pron: high-am] has written this comparative study of the evolution of the French and British air arms from 1918 to 1940 to determine why the Armée de l'Air was defeated in June 1940 but the Royal Air Force was able to win the battle over Britain in September. After analyzing the structure, men, and matériel of the air arms, and the government and economic infrastructure of both countries, he concludes that the French force was dominated by the Armée de Terre, had no suitably powerful aero engines, and suffered from the chaos of French politics. In contrast, the independent RAF evolved into a sophisticated, scientifically based force, supported by consistent government practices. Higham's thorough examination, however, finds the British not without error."

Saturday 26 Jan 2013 / Hour 4, Block B:  Two Roads to War: The French and British Air Arms from Versailles to Dunkirk by Robin D. S. Higham; 2 of 2

Saturday 26 Jan 2013 / Hour 4, Block C:  Death from the Heavens: A History of Strategic Bombing by Kenneth P. Werrell; 1 of 2

"While other books have addressed various aspects of the subject, such as specific aircraft or warfare in specific wars, this book is the first to take a comprehensive look at strategic bombing from its beginnings to the present. Written by a historian, who is also an expert on the technology of bombing and its application, the work covers the theory, hardware, and operations of strategic bombing. While the author, a former U.S. Air Force pilot, focuses primarily on American aircraft and activities, he includes the strategic bombardment efforts of Great Britain, Germany, and Russia, as he places the topic into a larger context and also covers air-to-surface and surface-to-surface missiles. More than a chronological narrative, this study offers a critical analysis and concludes by calling into question the value of strategic bombardment."

Saturday 26 Jan 2013 / Hour 4, Block D:   Death from the Heavens: A History of Strategic Bombing by Kenneth P. Werrell; 2 of 2

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Music

Hour 1: Babylon AD

Hour 2: Atonement

Hour 3: Eastern Promises

Hour 4: Valkyrie