Review: "Air Force One"

W.J. Rayment / Conservative Bookstore -- The first president to get air-born was Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He found air travel to be quick, if not always convenient or comfortable. He was succeeded by Truman who made sure that there was a presidential plane that lived up to the dignity of the president. The press called it the "Sacred Cow", for obvious reasons, even though Truman had named it the "Independence". Then Ike became president in 1953. He scaled back some of the amenities that had been built into the "Sacred Cow" and dubbed the new presidential plane "The Columbine" (after the official flower of his wife's native state, Colorado).
The call sign for Ike's aircraft was "Air Force 610". When this was used on a flight to Florida it was briefly confused with "Eastern 610" a commercial flight. Although it caused no difficulties at the time the pilot, Col. Bill Draper, thought this could result in a dangerous misunderstanding in the future; so he quickly chose a call sign that would be confused with no other, "Air Force One". The press got wind of the new call sign and attached it to the presidential aircraft. So it has been called "Air Force One" in all its various manifestations ever since.
Kenneth T. Walsh's book "Air Force One" is loaded with fascinating stories about the famous aircraft and the men who flew in it. He has done a magnificent job researching each president, presenting anecdote after anecdote told by leading figures within each administration, including many of the past presidents themselves.
There are chapters covering each of the flying presidents telling how each used the plane and how the plane itself revealed the true personality of its most famous occupant. This is one of the major themes of the book. Mr. Walsh comments on the leadership style of each president, his accomplishments, his drawbacks. Each president had his good points as well as bad - in the tight quarters and sometimes long hours of travel in Air Force One this would be revealed to those who were not always close to him in the White House. Johnson was gruff and crude, Nixon reclusive and brooding, Kennedy polite and enthusiastic but sometimes ill and inconsiderate of his wife.
Famous incidents occurred on Air Force One like Johnson's swearing into office after Kennedy's assassination. Johnson prevailed upon the shocked and grieving Jackie Kennedy literally to stand beside him while he took the oath as the plane sat on the ground in Texas. She was still in her blood-spattered dress. Johnson wanted her to be prominent in the photos of the event so that the world would see him as the legitimate heir of the administration. The Kennedy clan never forgave Johnson for this callous act. After the swearing in, Jackie went to sit near the coffin containing her dead husband as "Air Force One" winged its way back to Washington D.C.
Many weighty decisions have been made in the air. This is where Nixon first considered bombing Cambodia during the Viet Nam War, and where he first learned of the Watergate break-in. This is where presidents have gotten closest to the press. This is where speeches have been written and critiqued, and where presidents have escaped from adoring or jeering crowds. All this is part of the "Air Force One" story, and it is a story well worth reading.
Mr. Walsh's writing style is fluid and engrossing. His analysis is cogent and pointed. What is more, his stories have a point, giving the reader insights into history and politics. When all is said and done, "Air Force One" is a fun and informative read.