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George C. Kenney
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General Kenney Reports: A Personal History of the Pacific War Paperback – September 7, 2015

by George C. Kenney (Author)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 9 ratings
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General Kenney Reports is a classic account of a combat commander in action. General George Churchill Kenney arrived in the Southwest Pacific theater in August 1942 to find that his command, if not in a shambles, was in dire straits. The theater commander, General Douglas MacArthur, had no confidence in his air element. Kenney quickly changed this situation. He organized and energized the Fifth Air Force, bringing in operational commanders like Whitehead and Wurtsmith who knew how to run combat air forces. He fixed the logistical swamp, making supply and maintenance supportive of air operations, and encouraging mavericks such as Pappy Gunn to make new and innovative weapons and to explore new tactics in airpower application. The result was a disaster for the Japanese. Kenney’s airmen used air power-particularly heavily armed B-25 Mitchell bombers used as commerce destroyers-to savage Japanese supply lines, destroying numerous ships and effectively isolating Japanese garrisons. The classic example of Kenney in action was the Battle of the Bismarck Sea, which marked the attainment of complete Allied air dominance and supremacy over Japanese naval forces operating around New Guinea. In short, Kenney was a brilliant, innovative airman, who drew on his own extensive flying experiences to inform his decision-making. General Kenney Reports is a book that has withstood the test of time, and which should be on the shelf of every airman.
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    614 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    September 7, 2015
  4. Dimensions
    7 x 1.39 x 10 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    1517235464
  6. ISBN-13
    978-1517235468
  7. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Createspace Independent Pub (September 7, 2015)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 614 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1517235464
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1517235468
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.86 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7 x 1.39 x 10 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 9 ratings

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George C. Kenney

George C. Kenney

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Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
9 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

warren matha
5.0 out of 5 stars The finest memoir!
Reviewed in the United States on October 6, 2017
Verified Purchase
An outstanding memoir! Anyone interested in World War II in the Pacific should read this book. In addition, Kenney's example of how to innovate, manage and motivate remain worthy of careful study by anyone seeking to manage and motivate others. His leadership qualities and creativity were of the highest order. He also offers a close-up view of General MacArthur's management and leadership style as well...also worthy of study.
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Al @ the Beach
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent History of the 5th Air Force
Reviewed in the United States on November 22, 2011
Verified Purchase
This is an excellent blow by blow history of the 5th Air Force and the behind the scenes action that took place in the South Pacific during WWII. It told the story of the poor living conditions and lack of equipment suffered by the 5th Air Force and how they persevered in spite of those conditions. I compared this to my fathers Log Book from the 43rd Bombardment Group and it was right on. This book helped me relive the missions my father flew. I highly recommened this.
4 people found this helpful
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Jerry L Allen
4.0 out of 5 stars Just what I wanted
Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2013
Verified Purchase
If you ever wondered about this man and his times this will supply most of the answers to any questions you may have. There is much new information about tactical innovations and strategic decisions of that era.
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Don Crawford
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on September 15, 2017
Verified Purchase
Very well done
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Larry E Furrow
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on June 6, 2015
Verified Purchase
Great account of the war in the Pacific in WWII.
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Peter Burton
3.0 out of 5 stars I got this for an Australian veteran Pilot that flew ...
Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2015
I got this for an Australian veteran Pilot that flew Catalinas rescue planes under General Kenny's command and who also won a Pacific Gold Star for his efforts , he is 95 and has started to talk about his times in the War in Papua New Guinea and his 12 hour patrols in the Coral Sea to pick up downed pilots. He was very exited to have me read Kenny's report of those times so long now past but not forgotten.
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K. Patton
4.0 out of 5 stars A great and enlightening History of the Air War in the Pacific
Reviewed in the United States on December 27, 2011
I consider my self an amateur aviation historian of sorts. I can remember sitting on weekends in the 1960's with my late father who was in the USAF and watching the Air Force Story, a 16mm film history of the Air Force. There must have been 15-20 reels of 16mm film that we checked out of the library while stationed on Okinawa.

As well versed as I was in the aviation history of WWII, it was heavily slanted to the European Theater of Operations as are most historical films about the war, or baised in favor of the more glamourous carrier operations of the Central Pacific Theater. It took Kenney's book which by the way, can be downloaded for free in PDF form from a USAF website here: [...]

His memoir not only shows an inside look into MacArthur's headquarters, but also the monumental undertaking that Kenney and the men of the 5th Air Force accomplished from 1942 to 1945.

Not only did they have to fight a war like the 8th Air Force did in Europe, they had to build and relocate new facilities along the length of New Guinea while doing so. The logistic and engineering hurdles they overcame were mind boggling.

Out of curiosity and to put things into perspective, I searched and found many of the aerodrome facilities that they constructed on Google Earth. Today only a few runways of these massive bomber and fighter landing strip complexes are still in use, but the size and extent of them are still clearly evident on the aerial photos of the jungles in which they were built even 65 years later.

One has to realize that men build these facilities under arduous conditions, used them for a few weeks or months only to move on to do the same thing in a different location.

The men of the 5th didn't get the glamourous coverage that the fliers of the 8th did in Britain, and there were no cozy pubs or weekends off in London. What they did was truly amazing and more tragic it is all but forgotten.

Kenney's book while self serving at times, and what self written memoir isn't? I found it a worthwhile education and a very entertaining read. I especially liked the episode where he had to call in a rambuncous pilot for looping the Golden Gate bridge in a fighter. I knew who it was from having read the pilots own biography. Kenney could have broken the young pilot, but instead saw in him the stuff needed to win wars. So he sent Lt. Richard Bong on his was with a verbal reprimand. Bond went on to become our highest scoring ace of the Pacific.

Kenney waves his own flag at times but rightfully so, he was an innovator at a time when we needed them. He along with Curtis Lemay in Europe designed new tactics and designed or adopteded new weapons to better fight the enemy and to save their men's lives. Kenney did nothing if not cut through red tape and remove impediments to the creativity of others under his command.

Kenney went on to command Strategic Air Command and was replaced by Curtis Lemay.

The book is well worth reading especially if you can get it for free as I did.
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