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

Mixed emotions

I'm a big fan of Ambrose, but somehow I came away after reading The Wild Blue with mixed emotions. On the one hand you only have to look at the extensive notes section at the back of the book to realize how much research Ambrose and his son poured into this effort. The details he offers of each of the young men that fought, and sometimes died, in their B-24s is very impressive. Yet it is this same detail that causes me some disappointment. The cast of characters he offers is quite large, as witnessed by over 40 names mentioned on Page 25. As Ambrose takes us through the various stages of training, shipping over to the war, and eventually engagement in the war, he does so not just from the perspective of George McGovern, but from the perspective of many of the other characters. What this left me with was a feeling of abrupt changes, that happened continually throughout the book. I found it especially difficult to stay on top of who was who in the training chapters. Names of men, locations and thoughts wizzed by so fast I ended up just reading over the names as if they didn't exist, and concentrated more on George McGovern. Perhaps I'm alone in this thought, but I wished a few times as I read through the book that Ambrose would have fixed his incredible writing powers just on McGovern, and not brought in so many other interesting, but sadly short, perspectives. I am and will always be a big fan of Ambrose, but I feel that perhaps this was not quite his best effort. Would I recommend this book to others? Hmmm, I have mixed emotions.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great 12 page excerpt ... the book is out Tues, 8/14

These young flyers had more courage than my baby boomer generation will ever hope to have. The excerpt is about the first missions for several of the crewmembers. Dr. Ambrose has a wonderful way of putting you right there in the aircraft, enduring the horror of buddies killed and flak tearing the B-24 apart. Riveting!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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I enjoyed reading this book; it was very informative and interesting.

This non-fiction novel by Stephen E. Ambrose is about the crews of the B24 Liberators flown in World War II and their crews; specifically, the crew of the Dakota Queen. This book begins by explaining where the crew members of these bombers came from and has a large focus on George McGovern and his difficult training in which 124,000 out of roughly 317,000 men (after physical testing) "washed out". Washing out means that the men who aspired to be a pilot, bombardier, or a navigator could not pass one or several of various challenges or tests that were placed before them so they were sent off to either another branch of the service (such as the army) or were instead trained in being a gunner for the B24. The rest of the book outlines the missions that the Dakota Queen engaged in and also speaks of the Tuskegee Airmen who were the B24's fighter escorts for some of their missions. The major stress or theme at the beginning of this novel is the stress on the growth of the United States Army Air Force (the USAAF or the AAF for short) and the large number of young men volunteering to join in the AAF. I enjoyed this book because it contains large amounts of information about the bomber crews and their missions in World War II and it also explains the very rigorous and difficult training that the crew, especially the pilots, had to endure to become what they aspired to be. This book kept me interested throughout most of its entirety with a few exceptions. During the first few chapters the book progresses very slowly and dumps almost too much information on you as Ambrose explains the training they went through. The book soon speeds up however as Ambrose begins to describe the risky missions that the Dakota Queen partook in. This is a must read for anyone who is interested in history, planes, or a combination of the two as it is full of good information. Not only do I recommend this book but I also recommend Band of Brothers which is also written by Ambrose and is much better known. Another good book is Marine Sniper by Charles Henderson which I also read recently. This book is about the marine sniper Carlos Hathcock who recorded a record 93 confirmed kills while on his tour in Vietnam.

Good Reading

I purchased this book for my husband who enjoys books about World War II. He has read other books by Stephen Ambrose and likes his style of writing.

DISAPPOINTING

This is my first experience with a Stephen Ambrose book and I found it quite disappointing. I found his writing style to be rather clumsy; not very smooth at all. While I enjoyed the combat descriptions and the descriptions of the training and the flying conditions were well done, there was far too much on the personal lives of the crews. Frankly, I found a good % of the book to be boring.

An overall excellent read.

Stepehen Ambrose's 'The Wild Blue' is a book about the men who flew the B-24 bombers over Germany. The American Air Force is commonly thought of as the best branch of the American military. The young men that flew the bombers during World War II helped set the standard for the Air Force. The failure rate in the Air Force was very high. If a man made it through initial training, he was already an outstanding individual. It was then time to see what these few men were capable of in the air. Young men from all over the country joined the Air Force for one reason; to fly. The men trained for weeks on end to become pilots and crews for the huge bombers. The men prided themselves on being able to wear their pilot wings and to be able to say that they contributed to their country's effort to stop the war. Without a doubt, the men from the B-24 bomber divisions made limitless contributions in the war.

an extraordinary acount of the european bombing campaign in WW2

I found this book to be captivating from cover to cover. Each page was extremely informative as well as a wild ride in the pilot seat of a liberator in the heat of battle.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

4 stars is well deserved

Well structured story that holds the reader in from cover to cover, but it seems to go by too fast. I enjoyed the climaxes of danger in the air and the settling comfort of life on the ground when weather prevented any missions to take place. True patriots only in this book and it is very humbling!!! Highly recommended to all.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

GREAT BOOK

This book gave me great insight into the pilots of the B-24's.

Flak hits Flack!

I knew my Dad was in WW II and was injured when German flak went through the plane and hit his wrist and forearm but I did not understand the real danger that he and others like him faced until I read this book. Fortunately he was only wounded and is still going strong at 78 today. He was in the 15th Air Force and after reading the book and talking with him, I discovered he endured the same conditions that Stephen Ambrose accurately portrays in this account. I also discovered that my dad was a nose gunner which was perhaps the most vunerable position of the gunners and after hearing the danger these men faced, I believe he (and I) are extremely fortunate to be here today. Mr. Ambrose's book accurately depicts that if not for the courage of men like him and others that gave the ultimate sacrifice, none of us would have the freedom that we all enjoy today! Although this book features George McGovern, you may need a scorecard to keep track of all of the other men portrayed in this book as sometimes you need to page back to review the characters. I am not an avid WW II buff, but this book may be the start of me learning a lot more of what my father and others like him faced in the B-24 Liberator. This book really opened my eyes to the dangers of the war and made me extremely proud of my dad as well as others like him!

Great Book

A great book for anyone interested in World WarII. If you would like to know what it is like to fly a B-24 in WWII this is a must read. Very factual and interesting.

are any left?

wow! A whole book on the subject. My dadflew out of Angel Isle, 35 missions overGermany, I love the connection this book has brought. Are there any buddies ofLt. Lloyd Howard Bruton (Officer, Pilot)From '42-'45 in Eng., Itly., Morrocco,around?

Mixed Reactions

First allow me to begin by saying that the 15th US Army Air Force is too often over-shadowed by its larger and much more well-known sister - the Eighth Army Air Force. (I do not write this as an attack upon the Eighth). So Ambrose has done a great service to the study of World War II history and to 15th AAF vets in particular by telling some of their stories. Also since the book focuses much upon Senator McGovern's experiences as a B24 pilot, I have gained much greater respect for the man. Unfortunately, Ambrose's book overall is disappointing. The title of Ambrose's book is somewhat misleading. I was fully expecting a broad overview of B24 / 15th AAF operations. From the list of veterans that Ambrose reported as having talked to, one would also get that impression. However, the vast majority of the book focuses upon one crew - McGovern's. There is nothing wrong with Ambrose having written in essence a combat biography of McGovern. But don't market it like its a compendium of wartime experiences when its not.

The Wild Blue

Great insight from crews of the B-24's and a very interesting world war 2 story. Stephen Ambrose is one of the best writers on the subject of world war 2.

Gripping stories but too many names to follow.

I always enjoy reading Ambrose. Having said that, The Wild Blue is a pseudo-biography of Jim Mcgovern that when focused that way, is fantastic. When Ambrose gets away from his main character, one needs a chart handy to keep track of the dozens and dozens of flight crews who come and go during the chapters. I found it difficult to tell which names I was supposed to remember and which he would introduce and one paragraph later were KIA. Ambrose's mechanical and aeronautical attention to detail makes the reader feel as though he too was a crew member of the B-24s. I found the book enjoyable and would recommend it to any WW II reader having told them that Mcgovern is the main character and not to remember the rest of the crews of which dozens are introduced and are killed on the next page.

Disappointing effort

I too grabbed the first copy I could get my hands on. I mistakenly assumed this would be of the same calibre as his previous works. It was a repetitive and sloppily arranged collection of stories that did not flow very well. I also was surprised that a crew that entered late in the war was the focus of this book. There is a conspicuous absence of mission accounts where the Luftwaffe was a formidable force. There were several accounts that did stand out as being amazing and well written, but these were the exception and not the rule. I still count myself as an avid Ambrose fan, but hope he takes more time to make his future works worthy of his name.

Ambrose misses the mark

This was one of the most disapointing reads I have had in recent years. Ambrose's writing in this effort and his characters featured lack any emotional pull for the reader. Unlike Band of Brothers, here Ambrose seems to make little connection to the men behind the words. His prose is muddled and repetitive. The pacing is slow and somewhat confusing (why talk about the POW experience when the combat expereince has not even been presented?) The whole focus on McGovern should be a welcome thread throughout the book and yet somehow this falls flat and feels contrived. Ambrose has done composite experiences before that have worked (Citizen Soldiers, D-Day) but here it comes off as a jumbled mess. This would only be acceptable as a read if you knew nothing (I mean zero) about the air war in Europe during World War II. See the recommendations below for a better choice.

Been There Too

The Wild Blue was my first read of Ambrose. I enjoyed the read and as a WWII navigator of B-24s with the 8th Air Force I can relate to much of the text and especially liked the stories of the individual airmen. We didn't do things the same way as in the 15th but the 24s were essentially the same except no ball turret and the 'flak' most assuredly was just as intense and accurate.

My Grandfather is on the cover

My grandfather is the one in the center with the crooked hat on his name is Charles Jacobson. His friends called him 'Jake'. I was so suprised when I saw his picture I had to buy the book. It's just like he used to tell me.