Provided some amazing numbers to me about the air war in WWII, but this seemed like Ambrose just stuck together paragraphs and chapters written by his research assistants. ( )

I finished Stephen Ambrose’s, The Wild Blue: The Men And The Boys Who Flew The B-24’s Over Germany. A short book of only 263 pages. The Title would indicate that this is a history of the use of B-24’s in Europe but it instead focuses on the George McGovern later a senator and presidential candidate who was part of 15th Air Force based out of Italy and his drive to complete his 35 missions so he could rotate home.

A nice niche history but not a big picture of either the 15th Air For e or the use of B-24’s use in Europe. A nice read that is worth your time but probably better to first read a larger history of the use of strategic air in Europe first.

I will rate it as a 4 * read for what the book is, not what it isn’t. ( )

Wow! An Ambrose book NOT connected to Band of Brothers. This is about the Army Air Force in Italy. Yes the 8th does get the publicity (Memphis Belle etc.) BTW the RAF gets a very small mention indeed. Not bad. Anyone out there think three stars is cruel? ( )

This was a revealing story of the brave young men who wanted to fight WWII in the sky. Namely, the pilots and crewmen of the B-24 bombers that flew over Germany, Italy, and Austria in 1944 and 1945. The narrative is based on interviews and memories from George McGovern and the men he served with in the 485th Bomb Group of the 15th Airforce. This easy-to-read history gave me yet another interesting account of the horrors of war and the dedication of the men who fought. ( )

Stephen Ambrose has produced some excellent books - Undaunted Courage, an account of the Lewis and Clark expedition is outstanding - but this historical work felt 'put together', and somehow unconsidered. Still, a worthy tale and not without merit - particularly good description of wartime bombing missions. ( )