Bill Cross reviews Donald Miller's Masters of the Air, a history of the US Army's 8th Air Force bombing campaign against Germany.

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Thanks!

I agree! This was a GREAT book to read. I read it about four years ago and was particularly interested in the discussions about the flight surgeons and how they kept the guys going in the air and on the ground.

It is a well written book on the bombing by the United States 8th air force of Germany, one of the best I've read since I could read. ha ha (I'm 45)

I recommend it highly to anyone interested in adding to their knowledge of the air war in Europe. Russell

OK, I have a question.

Is this a re-release of Millers previous book "Eighth Air Force, The American Bomber Crews in Britain"?

All the photos in the review can be found in the earlier book with exactly the same captions.

If, and I suspect this may well be the case, this is the same book with a different title then it's a VERY misleading ploy by the publishers.
if I had been browsing Ebay/Amazon etc and seen it advertised I would have bought it straight away, and it's only through reading Bills review that I believe the two books to be the same.

It really is an excellent book though.

EDIT.
It IS the same book with a different title.

From an Amazon review.



Very unimpressed!!!

Nige

It looks as though the two titles have different publishers. Eighth Air Force, The American Bomber Crews in Britain was published by Aurum Press Ltd in the UK, while Masters of the Air was published by Simon & Schuseter in North America.

It's not uncommon for books to be published this way, and it's only in these days of retailers without borders that we notice it.

Nigel, I'm sorry that you were under the impression this was another book. Jessica is correct though, that publishers often contract for a title in their territory, and either sell the rights to other publishers abroad or allow the writer's agent to make the foreign sales. In any case, I hope this matter would not deter someone from ordering the book, as it THE BEST BOOK on the subject as far as I can tell, and one of the better non-fiction titles on the war. The only other books that compares in that way are Clay Blair's books on subs (Silent Victory: The US Submarine War Against Japan and Hitler's U-Boat War).

I agree Bill, it is one of the best books I've ever read on the subject of the American bombing of Germany during WW2. I have been reading books on the subject for my entire life and have found few to match the comprehensive nature of this title. Russell

Hi all.
It may be common practice but it can be very misleading, as the Amazon review shows.

That said, it is without a doubt a fabulous book and one that I have read from cover to cover a few times. ( Whatever it's called nowdays )

Perhaps it would be worthwhile noting in the review that it's available under a different title from another publisher?

Nige

Done.

Awesome

Thanks, Jessica, for adding that detail.

Appreciate the perspective, Russell.

What I like about the book is the sense it gave me of how the war evolved, both strategically and tactically. We tend to think that the Eighth Air Force just sorta went over and won the war, never getting a full grasp of how things changed, whether shifting targets to making use of the fighters that were available. All-in-all, it's one of those books you carry around inside for awhile wishing it hadn't ended.

Over on another forum, there was a bit of a row about Arthur "Bomber" Harris when I referred to him as a "nut," saying he didn't corner the market on nuttiness because Curtis LeMay went a bit over the edge later in his career, eventually running as the VP candidate on white supremacist George Wallace's presidential bid in 1968. Clueless politically, he was dismayed to find out people thought him a bigot, too, even though he had worked to end the military's policies of discrimination.

Am I correct in thinking that the character Major T.J "King" Kong, who rides the nuclear bomb down at the end of Dr Strangelove was based on "Bombs Away LeMay"?

Nige

EDIT.
Apparently it was the character General Jack D Ripper

I read this book about a year ago and it is one of the best, unvarnished looks at the air war over Europe I've ever read. As the reviewer stated, movies and TV shows like "12 O'Clock High" made we wish I'd been in a Fort over Europe, reading this book made me thank God that had not been my fate. It does an excellent job of depicting the savage mental and physical toll flying those missions over Germany and occupied France took on the young, and I do stress young, men who flew them. There are also anecdotes of nearly unbelievable courage reported by the authors. This is a must read for anybody interested in the air war over Europe and particularly the strategic daylight bombing campaign. I recommend it without hesitation.

Bob

In light of Revell's announcement of a newly-tooled B-17F "Memphis Belle" and the release of the "Flying Fortress. B17 - Luftkrieg über Europa" ("Flying Fortress B17 - War in the Air over Europe") DVD, this book is even more apt for anyone interested in the theater, including fighter junkies.

Bump.