Long before he entered politics, when he was just in his early 20s, South Dakotan George McGovern flew 35 bomber missions over Nazi-occupied Europe, earning a Distinguished Flying Cross for bravery under fire. Stephen Ambrose, the industrious historian, focuses on McGovern and the young crew of his B-24 bomber, volunteers all, in this vivid study of the air war in Europe.

Manufactured by a consortium of companies that included Ford Motor and Douglas Aircraft, the B-24 bomber, dubbed the Liberator, was designed to drop high explosives on enemy positions well behind the front lines--and especially on the German capital, Berlin. Unheated, drafty, and only lightly armored, the planes were dangerous places to be, and indeed, only 50 percent of their crews survived to the war's end. Dangerous or not, they did their job, delivering thousand- pound bombs to targets deep within Germany and Austria.

In his fast-paced narrative, Ambrose follows many other flyers (including the Tuskegee Airmen, the African American pilots who gave the B-24s essential fighter support on some of their most dangerous missions) as they brave the long odds against them, facing moments of glory and terror alike. "It would be an exaggeration to say that the B-24 won the war for the Allies," Ambrose writes. "But don't ask how they could have won the war without it." --Gregory McNamee


From Publishers Weekly
Brought to life by best-selling historian Ambrose (author of more than 20 books), here is one of America's forgotten workhorse weapons of WWII the B-24 bomber. Carrying a heavier payload than the glamorous B-17 Flying Fortress, the B-24, nicknamed the Liberator, also filled the skies over Germany, bombing troops, oil refineries, factories and other strategic targets. South Dakota-born George S. McGovern was 22 when he became a B-24 pilot in the 741st Bomb Squadron, based in Cerignola, Italy. Though basing the book largely on McGovern's 35 missions, for which he won the Distinguished Flying Cross, Ambrose includes many other stories about the men who flew over Germany and eastern Europe. As Ambrose makes abundantly clear, the planes were not fun to fly. The crew faced inside temperatures of 50 below zero, sat in cramped seats and suffered high casualty rates. Ambrose follows pilots and crews from start to finish where they were from, their backgrounds, training, bravery and heroism as they did their part to help win the war. Today there are only four B-24s left of the 18,300 that once made up the force. While this book leans largely toward hagiography of the everymen it depicts, it also clearly refutes lies spread about McGovern's service during the 1972 presidential campaign. Photos not seen by PW. (Aug.)Forecast: Any book with the Ambrose name should do a short stint on bestseller lists; this one should pick up some (largely unrelated) momentum from the Pearl Harbor anniversary and film. The book's release coincides with the airing of a 10-part Dreamworks/ HBO series based on Ambrose's Band of Brothers. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Given the 50 percent casualty rate, it's hard to imagine young soldiers wanting to join the flight crews that flew B24s over Germany, but they did. A popular historian recounts their training and combat. Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From AudioFile
Preceded by woodwinds, Stephen Ambrose personally reads theintroduction and epilogue to his abridged audiobook about bomber crewsin WWII. Primary attention is focused on the flights of Lt. GeorgeMcGovern, who later became a senator and presidential candidate. Withmeaningful expression, reader Jeffrey DeMunn creates a believable andempathetic treatment of these touching, patriotic stories of the ArmyAir Corps in Europe. He seems interested in every word, and hiscaptivation impacts us, as well. The combination of story and telleroffers audiophiles a memorable examination of the psychologicaldynamics of men in aerial combat. J.A.H. © AudioFile 2002,Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine


From Booklist
Popular historian Ambrose's latest is about half the size of his usual books but much more than half as good. It focuses on former senator and presidential candidate George McGovern's experience as a B-24 pilot in the last months of World War II, when he flew 35 missions out of a base near Cerignola, Italy, during which he made three emergency landings and for which he won two Distinguished Flying Crosses. Ambrose admires McGovern pretty much without reserve, yet he hasn't written a panegyric. Nor is he uncritical of much of the rest of what he portrays. The B-24 Liberator performed better than its stablemate, the B-17 Flying Fortress, but it was emphatically less ergonomic and more vulnerable to battle damage. The Italian-based strategic bombers operated out of improvised fields, sans hangars and barracks, surrounded by a civilian population amid ruins and on the edge of starvation. And although the incompetent were few and the evil fewer in the Army Air Force, the strange were numerous. Based on an impressive array of primary and secondary sources, the book is another affirmation of the Greatest Generation, to be sure, and a tribute to a fast-diminishing band of American heroes who offered and in many cases gave their lives to save their posterity from real and gruesome dangers. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Review
Larry King USA Today Brilliant...It is a terrific story.


Book Description
Stephen Ambrose is the acknowledged dean of the historians of World War II in Europe. In three highly acclaimed, bestselling volumes, he has told the story of the bravery, steadfastness, and ingenuity of the ordinary young men, the citizen soldiers, who fought the enemy to a standstill -- the band of brothers who endured together. The very young men who flew the B-24s over Germany in World War II against terrible odds were yet another exceptional band of brothers, and, in The Wild Blue, Ambrose recounts their extraordinary brand of heroism, skill, daring, and comradeship with the same vivid detail and affection. With his remarkable gift for bringing alive the action and tension of combat, Ambrose carries us along in the crowded, uncomfortable, and dangerous B-24s as their crews fought to the death through thick black smoke and deadly flak to reach their targets and destroy the German war machine.


Download Description
Stephen Ambrose is the acknowledged dean of the historians of World War II in Europe. In three highly acclaimed, bestselling volumes, he has told the story of the bravery, steadfastness, and ingenuity of the ordinary young men, the citizen soldiers, who fought the enemy to a standstill -- the band of brothers who endured together. The very young men who flew the B-24s over Germany in World War II against terrible odds were yet another exceptional band of brothers, and, in The Wild Blue, Ambrose recounts their extraordinary brand of heroism, skill, daring, and comradeship with the same vivid detail and affection. Ambrose describes how the Army Air Forces recruited, trained, and then 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 B-24s -- who suffered over 50 percent casualties. With his remarkable gift for bringing alive the action and tension of combat, Ambrose carries us along in the crowded, uncomfortable, and dangerous B-24s as their crews fought to the death through thick black smoke and deadly flak to reach their targets and destroy the German war machine. 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 went down in flames. As Band of Brothers and Citizen Soldiers portrayed the bravery and ultimate victory of the American soldiers 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.


About the Author
Stephen E. Ambrose is the author of numerous books of history, including the New York Times bestsellers Citizen Soldiers, Undaunted Courage, and D-Day, as well as multivolume biographies of Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard Nixon. He is founder of the National D-Day Museum in New Orleans, a past recipient of the National Humanities Award, and a board member of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Council. He lives in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, and Helena, Montana.

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
Master WWII military historian Stephen Ambrose, bestselling author of such classic works as Band of Brothers and D-Day, hits the front lines again with this exciting and compelling look at the courageous young men who flew the massive B-24 bombers over Germany during the last two years of World War II.

The focus of the book is on George McGovern, the 1972 Democratic presidential candidate, who, ironically, was lambasted by the right for his anti-Vietnam stance. Here, he shines brightly as an American airborne hero, bravely piloting his huge and awkward bomber through massive German flak bombing. McGovern also comes across as a fine commanding officer, deeply caring about the men under his authority. McGovern, at the tender age of 22, wound up flying 35 missions and ultimately won the Distinguished Flying Cross.

The B-24 was not an easy machine to fly. It had a thin aluminum skin, which made it sufficiently airworthy but terribly susceptible to attack from ground-based enemy gunfire. It was a simple machine, though -- built with one purpose in mind: dropping a maximum load of 8,800 pounds of bombs. There were no windshield wipers, so a pilot like McGovern was often forced to stick his head out the window of the plane to see where he was going! Above 10,000 feet, the only way to breathe was through an oxygen mask. There was no heat, which made the bombing runs that much more arduous. And there were no bathrooms, meaning that the pilots and their crews had to use "relief tubes."

Ambrose goes into much useful detail on the origins of the pilots themselves. Interestingly, they were all volunteers -- the Army Air Corps (the precursor to the modern Air Force) did not want to make anyone take part in this difficult duty. They came from all walks of life. Some were college graduates, while others were still in high school. Many went straight from the farm to the airfield.

The pilots were treated quite well by the AAC, considering that they were part of the same armed forces that tended to dehumanize servicemen in order to get the maximum use out of them. They got to wear winged insignia on their uniforms. They got extra pay. As volunteers, they knew what they were getting into, unlike the typical draftee. Most of all, they wanted to serve -- and they wanted to fly.

Once again, Stephen Ambrose has turned his spotlight on a special and unique facet of the U.S. military and brought the heroism and courage of the American soldier back home to us. In his own way, Ambrose himself has done a great service to the American people. (Nicholas Sinisi)

Nicholas Sinisi is the Barnes&Noble.com History editor.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Stephen Ambrose is the acknowledged dean of the historians of World War II in Europe. In three highly acclaimed, bestselling volumes, he has told the story of the bravery, steadfastness, and ingenuity of the ordinary young men, the citizen soldiers, who fought the enemy to a standstill -- the band of brothers who endured together. The very young men who flew the B-24s over Germany in World War II against terrible odds were yet another exceptional band of brothers, and, in The Wild Blue, Ambrose recounts their extraordinary brand of heroism, skill, daring, and comradeship with the same vivid detail and affection. With his remarkable gift for bringing alive the action and tension of combat, Ambrose carries us along in the crowded, uncomfortable, and dangerous B-24s as their crews fought to the death through thick black smoke and deadly flak to reach their targets and destroy the German war machine.

SYNOPSIS

Stephen Ambrose is the acknowledged dean of the historians of World War II in Europe. In three highly acclaimed, bestselling volumes, he has told the story of the bravery, steadfastness, and ingenuity of the ordinary young men, the citizen soldiers, who fought the enemy to a standstill -- the band of brothers who endured together.

The very young men who flew the B-24s over Germany in World War II against terrible odds were yet another exceptional band of brothers, and, in The Wild Blue, Ambrose recounts their extraordinary brand of heroism, skill, daring, and comradeship with the same vivid detail and affection.

Ambrose describes how the Army Air Forces recruited, trained, and then 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 B-24s -- who suffered over 50 percent casualties.

With his remarkable gift for bringing alive the action and tension of combat, Ambrose carries us along in the crowded, uncomfortable, and dangerous B-24s as their crews fought to the death through thick black smoke and deadly flak to reach their targets and destroy the German war machine. 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 went down in flames.

As Band of Brothers and Citizen Soldiers portrayed the bravery and ultimate victory of the American soldiers 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.

FROM THE CRITICS

Book Magazine

In 1985, George McGovern, best known for his failed presidential campaign of 1972 and for his committed opposition to the Vietnam War, told Austrian television a striking tale of his experience piloting a B-24 during World War II. During one of the thirty-five missions that McGovern flew, a bomb had gotten stuck in the bomb bay door, a situation that placed the lives of all ten men aboard the plane in jeopardy. McGovern and his crew managed to dislodge the bomb, but to their horror, they watched it fall directly on an Austrian farm. It was high noon, he recalled, and as a farm boy himself, he knew that in all likelihood, the bomb had just wiped out an entire family gathered for their midday meal. It was a moment, McGovern told the interviewer, that helped teach him about the "savage enterprise" of war that he has regretted ever since. When the report aired on television, a farmer called the station to say that it was his farm that was hit, and he wanted to absolve McGovern's conscience. As it turns out, the farmer had seen the plane approaching and rushed his wife and children to safety. What's more, so deeply did he despise Hitler that he was happy to sacrifice his property on behalf of the Allied effort. For McGovern, the call yielded "enormous release and gratification." As he later told Ambrose, "It seemed to just wipe the slate clean." McGovern's memory of those events serves as a fitting conclusion to Ambrose's new book, which unilaterally celebrates the young men who flew America's strategic bombers during the European air war. In recent years, Americans have been engaged in a heady romance with "the greatest generation." This rediscovery of the men who foughtin World War II has been fueled in no small part by Ambrose's prodigious labors. In a remarkable string of vivid histories—most notably, Band of Brothers, Citizen Soldiers and D-Day—Ambrose has done more than anyone else to remind us of the heroic struggles American soldiers endured during World War II and of the valiant cause for which they fought. "I want young people in America...to understand that freedom doesn't come free," he has said. "The blessings they've got by being Americans were paid for. And I want them to know who paid and how and what they did." Telling the story of the U.S.' creation of an enormous air force and its massive campaign of strategic bombing—an unprecedented feat of technological innovation, industrial production and military organization—Ambrose chooses to focus not on top-ranking officials but on the young men who manned the planes. Though the book draws from the recollections of many bombardiers, navigators and gunners, it centers mainly on the fresh, young men of the Fifteenth Air Force; men such as George McGovern, a twenty-two-year-old pilot from South Dakota. Like Ambrose's previous books, this is a work of unapologetic, patriotic history. He patiently describes the grueling training that the American airmen underwent and the terrifying missions they endured. He emphasizes the fact that dropping bombs was neither a safe nor a simple task and documents the airmen's memories of flying into black clouds of lethal flak, of seeing their friends and colleagues blown from the sky and of watching countless deadly mishaps and miscalculations. By its very nature, the air war tended to be faceless and abstract, and the tasks these men performed were intensely frightening. And while the book rarely has the gripping drama of Ambrose's earlier works on paratroopers and infantrymen, the author nevertheless makes sure to reiterate that to be a crew member of a B-24 required not just great skill and extraordinary stamina but profound courage. By focusing so closely on the young men who flew the planes, however, Ambrose downplays issues that are less given to the bold colors and strong emotions he seems to prefer. Honing in on the Fifteenth Air Force that flew out of Southern Italy, he need not address the far uglier air war in the Pacific, where American actions didn't always seem so virtuous. Similarly, by focusing on the young men at the bottom of the chain of command and on American forces in particular, Ambrose avoids the larger questions that other historians and military thinkers have raised: Just how effective was the Allies' campaign of strategic bombing? Did it really impair the German war effort? And to what extent did the official preference for attacking only military targets prevent American planes from engaging in the terror bombing of civilian populations? As the anecdote about McGovern's recollection of the war suggests, Ambrose isn't interested in the careful parsing of difficult issues, but rather in unabashed hero worship and nostalgia for a day when the line between good and evil seemed clearer. "McGovern, his crew and all the airmen had spent the war years not in vain," Ambrose concludes, "but in doing good work. Along with all the peoples of the Allied nations, they saved Western civilization." — Sean McCann (Excerpted Review)

Library Journal

A distinguished author whose recent works include Band of Brothers and Citizen Soldiers, which also focus on World War II, Ambrose prefers to tell history from the average soldier's point of view. This book follows that formula. Ironically, the main character in this war book is George McGovern, who flew 35 combat missions and won the Distinguished Flying Cross but would later become a dovish Democratic candidate for president in 1972. The book follows the training of the 22-year-old McGovern and his friends through their deployment into Italy in 1944-45. Those who made it through the demanding and often dangerous training courses would have to face the even more perilous routine of flying a B24 bomber into the heavily defended skies over Germany. Many B24 flight crews never returned. The mental fatigue of flying so many stressful missions was almost as bad as the physical danger. With books like this, Ambrose has certainly struck a popular chord. The World War II generation is thinning daily, and everyone's story should be told including McGovern's. Ambrose's narrative flows smoothly, even as he manages to cover each man's story. Recommended for public and academic libraries and subject specialists. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 4/15/01.] Mark Ellis, Albany State Univ., GA Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

AudioFile

Preceded by woodwinds, Stephen Ambrose personally reads the introduction and epilogue to his abridged audiobook about bomber crews in WWII. Primary attention is focused on the flights of Lt. George McGovern, who later became a senator and presidential candidate. With meaningful expression, reader Jeffrey DeMunn creates a believable and empathetic treatment of these touching, patriotic stories of the Army Air Corps in Europe. He seems interested in every word, and his captivation impacts us, as well. The combination of story and teller offers audiophiles a memorable examination of the psychological dynamics of men in aerial combat. J.A.H. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews