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This might seem a bit much, but here is the truth:
The power and masterful language with which Caidin paints the Fort's history portrays not so much the story of a machine as a profile in human spirit. The men who designed, built, flew, and especially fought in the B-17 are profiled here in a remarkable alternation of big-picture history and the individual tales of a crew or a mission.
Reading Flying Forts at that young age was the first I learned of WW II. I can say without doubt that my appreciation for the dignity, heroism and tragedy of that mighty conflict, were all first engendered in me as a child by this one book. As an adult,I can trace my pilot's license, my aviation library and my deep love of history directly to the day that I first read Flying Forts.
If you read only the prologue and the epilogue, this book is worth whatever it costs. If you ever had an interest in history, airplanes or flying, find a copy, and keep it forever.
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The cockpit of the large, sturdy and power Republic P-47 is the setting for a large portion of the book. Missions flown over Germany against the deadly Luftwaffe pilots and their superb planes are covered in the first person in gripping fashion. Though his recollection of events after ten years cannot be completely accurate, the author nonetheless describes tense battles in remarkable detail, down to the combat technique of each adversary. Besides his own experiences, the author also relates hair raising stories of colleagues who ditched at sea, bailed out over enemy territory, suffered catastrophic equipment failures or were in fact killed.
Though military pilots are often categorized as arrogant and self-centred (necessary traits as the split-second demands of aerial combat require the pilot to be unhindered by self-doubt), Johnson's storytelling is uniquely free of pretense and self-adulation. In fact, using his easy and informal writing style, Johnson has included his misfortunes and blunders for the reader's amusement. It should be said however, that Johnson's descriptions of battle are a little too fond, and he sounds entertained by killing. A disappointment is that Johnson does not tell curious readers what personal qualities, habits, or techniques he thinks caused his spectacular twenty-eight vietories with zero planes lost. The book also lacks the technical content which a nostalgic reader would enjoy.
Thunderbolt! is an enjoyable autobiography of an otherwise ordinary boy who, despite failures, went on to become a very gifted pilot. Perhaps Johnson's story says what kinds of fellows a large number of Air Force youths were, and so gives a more personal description of the military pilot to supplement one's historical knowledge.
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I'm very glad that I did because, despite any flaws in the author's historical methodology, he is a wonderful storyteller. If you are not too sophisticated to allow yourself, when encountering an issue of Reader's Digest, to immediately turn to the "Drama in Real Life" section, you must read this book simply for the chapter detailing the bridge-demolition mission of a Soviet sapper named Shershavin. The story is well-told and unforgettable.
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Caidin knows more about airplanes than I ever will, but in reading this book I had to wonder whether he has ever seen a Twin Bonanza (the 'plane flown by the book's hero); it's described as being a lot bigger than the aircraft actually is.
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