James K. Libbey

Good biography of Kentucky Representative, Senator, Senate Majority Leader, and Vice President of the United States under President Harry Truman, Alben Barkley. Mostly focuses on his legislative career. He had a very progressive record and advocated prohibition, which was, as the author explains, a progressive position in 1910s. Wish there would have been a little more on race. Barkley supported anti-lynching and civil rights legislation, for example, despite the fact that Kentucky had segregationist laws. Yet, he was the most popular politician in the state and unbeatable. I felt that this seeming incongruity required some explanation.… (plus d'informations)

Something of a renaissance man, Seversky had a long and high-profile career as an officer, aviator, businessman, inventor and public commentator. It was the last role that probably gave him his highest profile as, for a time, his 1942 polemic "Victory through Air Power" made him something of a household name. Apart from general background I did want to understand the feud between the man and General Hap Arnold, as I can remember back in the day an issue of "Wings/Airpower" magazine (ca.2000 I believe) made the claim that Seversky selling warplanes to Japan facilitated the exit of Seversky from the firm that bore his name. Libbey doesn't offer any commentary on that allegation but does remind the reader that Seversky never really owned the company and that when the board tired of his free-wheeling tactics Seversky became expendable. That said, Hap Arnold's efforts to either co-opt or contain Seversky do read as being somewhat amateurish; too many people respected Seversky (many of whom were in the USAAF) for a vendetta to work. Then again, Seversky was not enough of an organization man to be the model corporate CEO and he never recognized that his failures in delivering aircraft on time and on budget did not endear him to the procurement staff of the USAAC; when it just happened to be directed by Hap Arnold.… (plus d'informations)