Review: The Wild Blue
Editorial Review - Kirkus ReviewsAnother paean to the "greatest generation" of young Americans, this time focusing on the B-24 bomber crews—with special attention to the crew of the Dakota Queen, piloted by future US Senator and 1972 presidential candidate George McGovern. Ambrose (Nothing Like It in the World, 2000, etc.) took over this project from reporter Michael Takiff, who had begun work on a book about McGovern's wartime experiences. Ambrose and his editor decided to broaden the scope, and the result is this highly anecdotal biography-cum-military history whose purpose seems more to celebrate than to scrutinize. The author acknowledges that he is a McGovern partisan, so seldom is heard a discouraging word about the young South Dakota pilot's 35 combat missions—or about his character. Ambrose begins with a brief chapter about the B-24 (called the "Liberator"), describing its spartan design and the rigorous physical and psychological demands it placed on those who flew and maintained it. (He notes wistfully that only one of the craft is currently flying; virtually all were recycled after the war.) He then goes on to answer one of his questions: "From whence came such men?" He describes McGovern's background (his father was a preacher), then follows him (and others) through the arduous and highly competitive training process. McGovern arrived in Naples in September 1944 and proceeded to the base at Cerignola, where the B-24s launched their assaults on the Nazi assets, principally oil refineries and manufacturing centers. (Ambrose mentions that McGovern's group once attacked very near Auschwitz but elects to summarize FDR's position rather than enter the should-we-or-shouldn't-we? debate about bombing the death camp.) McGovern emerges as a skilled, courageous pilot (he earned a Distinguished Flying Cross) who made a couple of spectacular landings in perilous situations and enjoyed the respect of his colleagues. His inadvertent bombing of an Italian farmhouse troubled him for a half-century. Ambrose, as always, finds poignant details, tells powerful stories. Much nostalgia and admiration; very little analysis; virtually no censure.
Review: The Wild Blue: The Men and Boys Who Flew the B24s Over Germany
Editorial Review - Bookreporter.com - Stuart ShiffmanIn 1972 Senator George McGovern of South Dakota was the nominee of the Democratic Party for President of the United States. To a large degree, McGovern's candidacy was based upon opposition to the war raging in South Vietnam and Southeast Asia. Richard Nixon, the incumbent President, had been elected in 1968 with a promise to end the war. Four years later that promise was unfulfilled. McGovern's ... Read full review
Review: The Wild Blue: The Men and Boys Who Flew the B-24s Over Germany 1944-45
User Review - Jason Phillips - GoodreadsOne of the things I love about Ambrose's books is the personal history he brings to the subject. If you look at the bibliography of "The Wild Blue" you will notice that many of the sources are ... Read full review
Review: The Wild Blue: The Men and Boys Who Flew the B-24s Over Germany 1944-45
User Review - Nathan - GoodreadsI consider myself a student of the Pacific Theater of WWII. This started with the indoctrination that is Marine Boot Camp. I built upon that with my own reading, eventually spilling over to the ground ... Read full review
Review: The Wild Blue: The Men and Boys Who Flew the B-24s Over Germany 1944-45
User Review - Dave - GoodreadsI was hoping for more... The Wild Blue starts out with a series of bios on several men coming of age in the days prior to WWII. Their back stories are all very typical of the period, and not very ... Read full review
Review: The Wild Blue: The Men and Boys Who Flew the B-24s Over Germany 1944-45
User Review - Leslie - GoodreadsFascinating and brutally honest account of the pilots and their crews, as well as native Italians they met. It is amazing to us in this age of autopilots and on-board computers what physical skill and ... Read full review
Review: The Wild Blue: The Men and Boys Who Flew the B-24s Over Germany 1944-45
User Review - Trenton Dove - GoodreadsStephen Ambrose has written another amazing book about men flying B-24 planes during WWII, giving the reader an action filled book. The Wild Blue follows the men who gave their lives to protect their ... Read full review
Review: The Wild Blue: The Men and Boys Who Flew the B-24s Over Germany 1944-45
User Review - Steve Markham - GoodreadsA quick brief acount based on interviews with people who were there and did fly the bombers. A good acount, well written but perhaps not quite what I was after in length and over all detail. Read full review
Review: The Wild Blue: The Men and Boys Who Flew the B-24s Over Germany 1944-45
User Review - Jamie Sanders - GoodreadsThe Wild Blue: the Men and Boys Who Flew the B-24s over Germany tells the heroic tales of George McGovern and his experience flying B-24 Liberators over Nazi Germany out of the 15th Army Air Base in ... Read full review
Review: The Wild Blue: The Men and Boys Who Flew the B-24s Over Germany 1944-45
User Review - Bill Kennedy - GoodreadsI recently listened to this audiobook on a long, solo drive. My grandfather flew a B24, and I found the history of the plane and its crews fascinating. As the book is a history/biography, there are ... Read full review
