Book Talk - The Airborne Mafia: The Paratroopers Who Shaped America’s Cold War Army

“The Airborne Mafia” explores how a small group of World War II airborne officers took control of the US Army after World War II. This powerful cadre cemented a unique airborne culture that had an unprecedented impact on the Cold War US Army and beyond. With a deft touch, deep research, and an unwavering eye for the human stories behind organizational change, Robert Williams helps explain the existence and importance of the paratrooper mystique that remains within the military still today.

Robert F. Williams is a historian with the Army University Press and Combined Arms Center at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. A former airborne infantry non-commissioned officer, he has served in both Iraq and Afghanistan.