“Tony Schinella is one the country’s finest military analysts and with Bombs without Boots he has contributed an absolute gem to America’s current security debate. Over the past twenty years, the United States has tried ever more frequently to win wars by employing air power in support of indigenous ground forces. Until now, no one has ever assessed the utility of this approachwhen it has worked, when it has failed, and why. Schinella’s masterful analysis makes clear both the advantages and disadvantages. It should be a critical component of any debate when Americans contemplate employing this same strategy all over again, as we inevitably will.”Kenneth M. Pollack, resident scholar, American Enterprise Institute; author of Armies of Sand: The Past, Present, and Future of Arab Military Effectiveness
“As a study of airpower, and the nature of modern warfare, Bombs Without Boots is to be read. Nuanced, using both primary and secondary sources, it presents valuable lessons as well as recommendatons, especially at a time when Western aversion to casualties still dictates its enduring dependence on airpower to achieve military objectives.”Dr. Guillaume Lasconjarias, Defence Studies
“A mix of history and strategy that significantly adds to the debate of airpower capabilities and limitations. . . operational and strategic air planners should pick up a copy of Bombs Without Boot.”Maj. Ian S. Bertram, USAF, Air & Space Power Journal
“Bombs Without Boots is an insightful and useful read for anyone interested in the use of military force abroad. It would be especially useful in professional military education courses where officers from different services-air, ground, and sea-could discuss and debate Schinella's conclusions.”Nathan K. Finney,Parameters
“A new and thoughtful discussion of the limitations and utility of airpower when used without commitment of ground forces. Carefully constructed and exquisitely sourced, Bombs without Boots is an exemplar of what analysis of a thorny and fundamental military issue should look like.”Dale C. Rielage, Naval War College Review
“An outstanding work by one of America’s premier military analysts on the uses and limitations of airpower in modern conflict. It will be read and re-read by intelligence officers and military strategists for years to come.”Michael Vickers, former U.S. undersecretary of defense for intelligence