A Question of Loyalty, Gen. Billy Mitchell and the Court-Martial That Gripped the Nation, by Douglas Waller, HarperCollins Publishers Inc., NY 2004
About all I knew about the court-martial of Billy Mitchell was the little I learned from watching the movie by the same name. While the movie is about as inaccurate as most Hollywood movies, it did give me an overview of the trial and its' context. This book goes into much greater depth and provides an excellent biography of Billy Mitchell.
The major focus is the trial and there are hundreds of footnotes indicating the massive research conducted by the author. The author does an excellent job of placing the trial in context of the world the nation and the Army of the 1920's. Unfortunately the US Government has a terrible record of cutting national defense in times when there is no obvious enemy and the 1920's was certainly such a time. I love the minute detail even discussing the soap and paper clips used during the trial.
I recommend this book to anyone who is an aviation buff or interested in the Inter-war period.
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