The Wild Blue : The Men and Boys Who Flew the B-24s Over Germany

Additional The Wild Blue : The Men and Boys Who Flew the B-24s Over Germany Information

The very young men who flew the B24s over Germany in World War II against terrible odds were an exemplary band of brothers. In The Wild Blue, Stephen Ambrose recounts their extraordinary brand of heroism, skill, daring, and comradeship.

Stephen Ambrose describes how the Army Air Forces recruited, trained, and chose those few who would undertake the most demanding and dangerous jobs in the war. These are the boys -- turned pilots, bombardiers, navigators, and gunners of the B24s -- who suffered over 50 percent casualties.

Ambrose carries us along in the crowded, uncomfortable, and dangerous B24s as their crews fought to the death through thick, black, deadly flak to reach their targets and destroy the German war machine or else went down in flames. Twenty-two-year-old George McGovern who was to become a United States senator and a presidential candidate, flew thirty-five combat missions (all the Army would allow) and won the Distinguished Flying Cross. We meet him and his mates, his co-pilot killed in action, and crews of other planes -- many of whom did not come back.

As Band of Brothers and Citizen Soldiers portrayed the bravery and ultimate victory of the American soldier from Normandy on to Germany, The Wild Blue makes clear the contribution these young men of the Army Air Forces stationed in Italy made to the Allied victory.

What Customers Say About The Wild Blue : The Men and Boys Who Flew the B-24s Over Germany:

The book is more about George McGovern not the boys/men that flew. It is more about his life written from more of a subjective point of view rather than facts. It was ok, not totally boring and interesting at times but I have read far better WWII books.

I would have liked more about the B-24's combat missions earlier in the war against a highly active Luftwaffe however the focus of this book is on one crew, piloted by George McGovern who started missions with the 741st Squadron, 455th Bomb Group, 15th Air Force, after the decline of the Luftwaffe, leaving German flak and weather as their greatest dangers. Most books cover the more glamorous B17 Flying Fortress flying missions against occupied Europe from bases in England. This book by Stephen Ambrose offers the reader an opportunity to learn about some of the men who flew the B-24 Liberator during WW2 from Italy. Overall this is still a very good account of what it takes for young men to fly highly dangerous missions against occupied Europe during WW2. I confess that I have a love for the B-17 but always felt that I should try and find something about the B-24 which was still one of the mainstay bombers of the USAAF. This book fits the bill and provides a decent overall snapshot of the B-24, the training of the crews who flew it and their missions from bases in Italy during 1944-45. The book is easy to read and utilises numerous first-hand accounts and interviews with veterans to high-light the dangers, the camaraderie, the missions and the results of combat flying on these young men, aged between 18 and 25. Well done to the author and well done to those brave men who climbed into their aircraft day-after-day during the Second World War

I enjoyed this book as I learned a great deal about the Army Air Force during World War 2, how the men were trained, and the dangers they faced not only in combat but in training. The process of young men from a variety of backgrounds coming together to engage in incredibly high risk activities, and getting the job done, makes for very interesting reading. It is true that the book centers upon George McGovern and his crew, but I don't see that as either a positive or negative, McGovern was just another guy from middle america when World War 2 took place. His experiences were not atypical, nor was his heroism.

The point is that citizen soldiers were not there because they desired a career in the military -- their stories are compelling precisely BECAUSE of what they risked losing through their service. Definitely don't buy it if: a) your politics make you ideologically predisposed to be sick if you are forced to read even one positive word about George McGovern or b) you really only like war porn where lots of stuff blows up on every page except for one chapter where they present statistics about the weapons and that other chapter where they talk about strategy.I liked it for exactly the reason Ambrose said he found the story interesting in his forward: citizen soldiers were primarily responsible for the defence of our democracy in World War II. I'll agree that this is not Ambrose's best work. You get the experience of one person and one crew from their beginning to the end. These were people who put their lives on hold and stood up because their country needed them to. Yes, you'll spend lots of time in McGovern's personal life, in school and in training. It also greatly motivates the McGovern's subsequent life and political career - the man knew about what he was trying to avoid.I'll throw one firebomb before I'm done -- even the peaceniks of the Greatest Generation were BAMFs compared to the boomers. No wonder our country has seemed to stumble as these wonderful folks have passed into history.

I just pulled the book out again and went through a couple of chapters. I read this book a couple of years ago. While the overall story was interesting I remember being very unimpressed by the writing style. Sorry to say but the quality of writing is very simple and not nearly up to the standard of Ambrose's other books. I'm wondering if he really wrote it - or had it subcontracted out.