Skies to Conquer A Year Inside the Air Force Academy (Audible Audio Edition) Diana Jean Schemo Donna Postel Turner Publishing Company Books
Download As PDF : Skies to Conquer A Year Inside the Air Force Academy (Audible Audio Edition) Diana Jean Schemo Donna Postel Turner Publishing Company Books
A former New York Times reporter's year behind the scenes at the scandal-ridden Air Force Academy.
Diana Jean Schemo covered the Air Force Academy's sexual assault scandal in 2003, one of a series of academy embarrassments that have included drug use, rape complaints, and charges of evangelical officers pushing Christianity on cadets of all faiths. Today, the institution is in flux - a fascinating time to look at the changes being made and the experience of today's cadets.
Schemo followed a handful of academy cadets through the school year. From the admissions process and punishing weeks of basic training to graduation, she shares the triumphs and tribulations of the cadets and the struggle of the academy's leaders to set their embattled alma mater on a straighter path.
- Follows cadets in all grades, with insights on day-to-day academy life and training
- Written by a veteran reporter, two-time foreign correspondent and Pulitzer Prize nominee, with excellent contacts at the academy
Like David Lipsky's successful Absolutely American Four Years at West Point, this book offers a fascinating window on the training of our military today. But Schemo's book updates the story the seniors were the first class to sign up after the attacks of 9/11, and the road to graduation, this time, leads to an America at war.
Skies to Conquer A Year Inside the Air Force Academy (Audible Audio Edition) Diana Jean Schemo Donna Postel Turner Publishing Company Books
I wanted to like this book. I am fascinated by the workings of the Air Force Academy and was interested in insights into the controversies. But the author seemed to almost avoid anything good in order to dig for the drama. Her subjects clearly started to move away from the drama by the end of the year. The author did not.Product details
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Skies to Conquer A Year Inside the Air Force Academy (Audible Audio Edition) Diana Jean Schemo Donna Postel Turner Publishing Company Books Reviews
I'm fascinated by the concept of the service academies, and so I was intrigued when I saw this book come out. However, I was less than impressed. First, the book is very repetitive. The author mentions the sexual assault and religious recruitment scandals multiple times throughout the book, but never goes into any detail about them.
Second, the characters are not fully drawn. We meet several first-year cadets at the Academy, but we don't get to know nearly as much about them as I'd have liked. For example, when talking about a female cadet, she is consistently described as obstinate, conceited, lacking in social skills. I'd have liked for the author to show me, not tell me. The same was true when she described upperclassmen who were respected or not - why? Vignettes would have helped me understand far more than assertions and conclusions did.
Third, the author refers several times to the three prongs of the Academy experience physical, military, and academic. We learned virtually nothing about the academic experience (although she tells us frequently that it is top notch), and so we have difficulty understanding why certain characters have so much difficulty in the classroom. The physical experience seems limited to tests, which can't be right. And the military is somewhat described, especially in the context of the summer "BEAST," but mostly in the context of the hierarchy and chain of command, not in the sense of the culture.
In other words, I didn't gain many insights from this book, and I was really disappointed by that.
My boyfriend just went into basic training at the United States Air Force Academy. This book has helped me understand just what he is going through. It is hard for the loved ones left at home, but this book is really informative. Letters don't come as often as we had hoped and I've had to rely on this book to tell me what he is going through. I would give the book 4 stars because a lot of the information is on a specific person's situation, but it is still a great book.
I've read many books about life at the various service academies, including the Naval Academy and West Point, so I was thrilled to hear about a book on the Air Force Academy (written by a former NY Times reporter) as I hadn't read much about it. I'm so glad that someone finally wrote this book.
This is an absolutely fascinating look at the Air Force Academy, from the day the new "basics" arrive to start training up until graduation day. It doesn't mince words, even when looking at tough Academy issues, such as cheating, rape charges, and religious indoctrination. Of more interest to me, however, were the descriptions of how doolies were broken down (only to be "rebuilt").
As I said, I've read a number of these types of books and this one compares well to these others. However, at times, it seemed a bit disjointed. (There were valid reasons for it, especially with regard to one female doolie, but it was annoying nonetheless.) Yes, there was follow up as in "where are they now" but I felt that the author took on covering too many students and then, would either reintroduce them or, at times, never really introduce them.
Even so, this is a terrific book and I'd recommend it.
First person accounts from women struggling against gender barriers at Annapolis and West Point have provided inside information about the 'boys clubs' that have existed at the service academies. Such an account of the AF Academy has not yet emerged. This book, while not an account written from a cadet's experience still provides a good sense of the experience.
I would agree with the other criticisms to a great extent -- that for what she did cover, Ms. Schemo got to the heart of things. However, although she dances around the topic, she never comes out and says what is really the crux of the academy -- commitment to serving the country. That is what the Academy is really about.
I was glad to see her emphasize what my classmate Sue Desjardins did to re-invent the Academy as well as highlight the problems with evengelical Christianity (which I experienced only to a small degree).
The book overemphasizes the sex abuse scandal and the cheating scandal -- however, she fails to emphasize how the Air Force Academy addresses these issues head-on and is not afraid to question its processes and adjust as necessary.
The problems of cheating and sexual attack are rampant in our society and particularly our universities. Scandals come not from the acts but from the ability to report and investigate them which is why the Academy is out front. Ms. Schemo should perhaps compare the Academy to other institutions.
In her personalized account of things, Ms. Schemo exposes problems in leadership where young men and women make mistakes in leading other young men and women, who are there voluntarily, in order to learn, instead of learning these lessons out in the Air Force where the price for a mistake is much higher. However, these mistakes are OK -- that is part of why the Academy exists.
Certainly the Academy has warts, as does the Air Force, but they never stop trying to get better; this cannot be said for most other segments of society. After 21 years on active duty, 9 years in academia with concurrent experience in the private business sector, the value of the Academy and the leadership that results for the Air Force, the nation, and our society are clear to me. That is the story that really needs to be told.
I wanted to like this book. I am fascinated by the workings of the Air Force Academy and was interested in insights into the controversies. But the author seemed to almost avoid anything good in order to dig for the drama. Her subjects clearly started to move away from the drama by the end of the year. The author did not.
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