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The Journal of Military History 68.2 (2004) 646-647



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The Airplane in American Culture. Edited by Dominick A. Pisano. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2003. ISBN 0-472-06833-4. Photographs. Notes. Bibliographic essay. Index. Pp. 407. $24.95.

This collection of essays is a long-overdue study in the field of aviation history. As the editor, Dominick Pisano, notes in his introduction, "New Directions in the History of Aviation," most work in this field has been "narrowly focused" (p. 10). This is due to a variety of reasons. Aviation history owes much to military patronage, which has significantly limited its scope and objectivity. Also, aviation historians often have behaved as "enthusiasts" rather than scholars (p. 8). As a result, the field has "remained virtually static in its aims and methods over the course of its history," (p. 2) and has failed to keep up with historiographical developments. This work seeks to broaden the focus of aviation history by exploring various social and cultural facets of the field.

Twelve different scholars contribute essays to this effort. The first essay is a historical overview of flight in America; the remaining eleven are more specific and are organized in four sections. The first section, "Public Perception," consists of two essays, one on the public perception of flight as entertainment in American history, the other on Charles Lindbergh's cultural significance as a public celebrity. The second section, "Race and Gender," contains three essays. The first addresses African American perceptions of flight in the early twentieth century, the second the role of women as both employees and customers of American airlines, the third the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) of World War Two. The third section, "Perceptions of the Landscape, Literature, and Art," has three essays that consider how aviation has shaped American artistic perception, art, and [End Page 646] literature, respectively. The last section, "The Culture of War," includes three essays. The first deals with the cultural underpinnings of the U.S. strategic bombing policy of World War Two, the second the cultural acceptance of strategic bombing in America, and the third the institutional culture of U.S. Air Force pilot training during the late 1940s and 1950s.

As a whole, this work succeeds in its aim of broadening the scholarship of aviation history. Its essays provide a much-needed examination of oft-ignored facets of the field. By and large, the essays evidence good scholarship, with thorough research, clear logic, and thoughtful points. The writing is generally clear, making this work enjoyable to read. In general, the essays are well done. The one exception is H. Bruce Franklin's "Peace Is Our Profession." This essay on the culture of strategic bombing in the United States is ideological in tone, and contains some questionable assertions. Still, the work as a whole is well worth reading for anyone with an interest in the history of aviation. It would be extremely useful in any course on the history of aviation, and also could contribute significantly to courses such as military history and modern American history. For scholars in the field, this work offers not only some valuable historical perspective on aviation, but also some invaluable insights into possibilities for future study.



Erik Benson
Ouachita Baptist University
Arkadelphia, Arkansas


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