BIRD MEN

Unity Temple on the Plaza

The sweeping story of how one general bet everything to build WWII’s most expensive weapon—more costly than the Manhattan Project—and how it won the war and rewrote the future of American air power.

Bestselling author of The Accidental President, A. J. Baime returns with the incredible story of the airplane that ended World War II, the rise of American airpower, and the man who made it all possible.

Of all the feats of American ingenuity in World War II, perhaps none was as impressive in scale or vital to the Allied victory as the creation of American airpower. Just a few years before the start of World War II, the American military was stuck in the dark ages of aviation, with the U.S. Army’s Air Corps mainly focused, not on combat, but on mail delivery. Fast forward to end of the war, and America had launched the most impressive flying machine the world had ever seen: the B-29 Superfortress, a weapon so essential to ending the war that its research and development process cost more than the Manhattan Project.

Now A. J. Baime, one of our foremost chroniclers of 20th-century history, returns with the story of this remarkable turnaround. From the dawn of aviation until the creation of the U.S. Air Force, Baime tells a sweeping story of American ingenuity, perseverance, and resilience, as the brightest minds from around the country came together to create the planes and the air strategy that carried the Allies to victory.

What emerges is a book that rightfully places the creation of World War II airpower in the pantheon of American technological achievements alongside the Manhattan Project and the Space Race. In the end, the Superfortress did more than win the war—it made America a superpower.

A. J. Baime is a New York Times bestselling author of narrative nonfiction exploring pivotal moments in American history. His books include The Accidental President, The Arsenal of Democracy, Go Like Hell, Dewey Defeats Truman, and White Lies.