{"product_id":"wings-over-the-mexican-border-pioneer-military-aviation-in-the-big-bend-9780292770812","title":"Wings Over the Mexican Border: Pioneer Military Aviation in the Big Bend","description":"\u003cp\u003eAgainst a backdrop of revolution, border banditry, freewheeling aerial dramatics, and World War II comes this compelling look at the rise of U.S. combat aviation at an unlikely proving ground--a remote airfield in the rugged reaches of the southwestern Texas borderlands. Here, at Elmo Johnson's Big Bend ranch, hundreds of young Army Air Corps pilots demonstrated the U.S. military's reconnaissance and emergency response capabilities and, in so doing, dramatized the changing role of the airplane as an instrument of war and peace.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eKenneth Ragsdale's gripping account not only sets the United States squarely in the forefront of aerial development but also provides a reflective look at U.S.-Mexican relations of the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s, particularly the tense days and aftermath of the Escobar Rebellion of 1929. He paints a vivid picture of the development of the U.S. aerial strike force; the character, ideals, and expectations of the men who would one day become combat leaders; and the high esteem in which U.S. citizens held the courageous pilots.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eParticularly noteworthy is Ragsdale's portrait of Elmo Johnson, the Big Bend rancher, trader, and rural sage who emerges as the dominant figure at one of the most unusual facilities in the annals of the Air Corps. \u003ci\u003eWings over the Mexican Border\u003c\/i\u003e tells a stirring story of the American frontier juxtaposed with the new age of aerial technology.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eKenneth Baxter Ragsdale, an Austin-based writer and historian, holds a Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of Texas at Austin.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"University of Texas Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50318844002578,"sku":"9780292770812","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_268a8d82-1d6b-4df4-beaa-8de7774656b4.jpg?v=1727561734","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/wings-over-the-mexican-border-pioneer-military-aviation-in-the-big-bend-9780292770812","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}