In the bestselling D-Day, Citizen Soldiers, and Band of Brothers, Stephen Ambrose portrayed in vivid detail the experiences of soldiers who fought ...
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reviews
Dec 03, 2010
Fantastic read! It is fascinating to read about different facets of the war that maybe don't get as much coverage as others, such as the European D-Day invasion, the African Campaign and maybe submarines. But until recently with "Pacific" bringing the story of the many horrific battles for little islands in the Pacific, and stories of air warfare does the entire 'team' effort come into play. This story about Senator Geo. McGovern and his crew flying from Italy into Nazi held territo
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Nov 18, 2010
Eli
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I'm a fan of Ambrose's work Band of Brothers and D-Day though not so much of this book. It didn't seem as well written as his other books. It was very interesting to find out that the waist gunner, Bill "Tex" Ashlock, was a part of McGovern's crew. As I was reading I had noticed Ashlock's name and saw his picture along with the rest of the crew. I recognized the name from somewhere. I showed the book to my dad, a devoted genealogist, who was surprised to find out that this "Tex"
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Oct 28, 2010
Markz
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The Wild Blue Review
*****
“An awesome story of some of the bravest pilots I have ever read about”
By: Mark Zocco
The Wild Blue is a fantastic example of a classic World War II biography. The pilots and soldiers in these book are without a doubt some of the bravest ones I have ever read about. The author, Stephen Ambrose, told this story of a B-24 crew with extreme precision and detail. Ambrose was also able to make this book a spiritual experience. He manages to do this by real More...
*****
“An awesome story of some of the bravest pilots I have ever read about”
By: Mark Zocco
The Wild Blue is a fantastic example of a classic World War II biography. The pilots and soldiers in these book are without a doubt some of the bravest ones I have ever read about. The author, Stephen Ambrose, told this story of a B-24 crew with extreme precision and detail. Ambrose was also able to make this book a spiritual experience. He manages to do this by real More...
Jul 26, 2009
Justin
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What makes war so horrible is what also makes it so vibrant. The inescapable human element again livens this book, to me the most straight-forward chapter of Ambrose's storied canon. It's simple--but with great tones of friendship & ease, likely resulting from the author's close relationship with the most central figure. The narrative is linear, but upon it pervades a solid, storyteller familiarity.
In yet another striking, humbling account of the '40's generation of sacrifice, t More...
In yet another striking, humbling account of the '40's generation of sacrifice, t More...
May 24, 2010
Amandalynn
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I listened to this on CD as I was painting the trim and LOVED it. It was over 4 probably close to 5 hours long but it never felt like that(I was able to finish it in one day). I enjoyed hearing about the B-24's in detail and there were some story's that brought me to tears. It really struck me how they were calling some of the pilots old and they were younger than I am now an I am certainly not old. Then I was just in awe of how much they did do and were responsible for at such young ages.
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Nov 15, 2009
Sean
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THE WILD BLUE:THE MEN AND BOYS WHO FLEW OVER GERMANY
For those who like to learn about WWII this is a great book. It describes many interviews from a lot of WWII pilots and crews. This book is more documentary than it is a novel. The way it described their missions is just beautiful because it describes the crew members feelings. If you enjoy reading books about WWII, this is a great one and I recommend reading it.
It has some parts were it is just not entertainin More...
For those who like to learn about WWII this is a great book. It describes many interviews from a lot of WWII pilots and crews. This book is more documentary than it is a novel. The way it described their missions is just beautiful because it describes the crew members feelings. If you enjoy reading books about WWII, this is a great one and I recommend reading it.
It has some parts were it is just not entertainin More...
Nov 05, 2011
Christopher
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My grandfather was a mid-waist gunner in a B-24 crew flying missions over Europe during 1945, so this book has been on my to-read list for a long time. I wish I had read it while he was still alive. Ambrose does a fantastic job of capturing the lives of the pilots and crews of the AAF in Italy and the terrifying hell of flying combat missions in a B-24.
At first, I had trouble with the name soup- the book primarily covers the experiences of George McGovern and his crew, but to provide dept More...
At first, I had trouble with the name soup- the book primarily covers the experiences of George McGovern and his crew, but to provide dept More...
Dec 06, 2008
Brendan
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There have been a lot of things written and a lot of movies and documentaries about the strategic bombing campaign in Europe in WWII. But this was the first book I've read that really addressed the "behind the scenes" aspects - the training, the overseas airbases, the miserable conditions on the planes.
However, you expect accounts of the bombing campaign to have riveting accounts of missions with constant attacks by the Luftwaffe. This book just didn't have that. It's no More...
However, you expect accounts of the bombing campaign to have riveting accounts of missions with constant attacks by the Luftwaffe. This book just didn't have that. It's no More...
Jun 11, 2011
Jimmie
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The Wild Blue: The Men and Boys Who Flew the B-24s Over Germany by Stephen E. Ambrose is controversial because some scholars point out Ambrose has lifted the work of other authors without placing said work inside "quotation" marks. That is a tragic error. Is it an error of omission or commission? I do not know. I do know it is ethically wrong. The book tells the story of former US Presidential candidate and US Senator George McGovern. It tells of McGovern's upbringing, his journey to c
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May 14, 2009
Raymond
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Nearly anyone who has an interest in World War II, especially America in World War II, knows of the late Stephen Ambrose. Eloquent historian. The thing that attracted me to, "The Wild Blue," was not its author, however. It was word that George McGovern is central to this account. I admire George McGovern. A great McGovern biography has not yet come. In some ways Ambrose comes close to revealing the "basic McGovern" with this account of a pilot/hero of a B-24 (35 combat missio
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Dec 27, 2009
'Aussie Rick'
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This book by Stephen Ambrose offers the reader an opportunity to learn about some of the men who flew the B-24 Liberator during WW2 from Italy. Most books cover the more glamorous B17 Flying Fortress flying missions against occupied Europe from bases in England. I confess that I have a love for the B-17 but always felt that I should try and find something about the B-24 which was still one of the mainstay bombers of the USAAF.
This book fits the bill and provides a decent overall snap More...
This book fits the bill and provides a decent overall snap More...
Apr 12, 2009
Felicity
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A well-focused little history. It gives a good overview of the B-24's significance and its contributions to the war in Europe, as well as a moving glimpse into the lives and stories of specific men and crews. The book centers on George McGovern, whose experiences as a bomber pilot were remarkable for a reader yet not unusual among his fellows. I emerged with respect and admiration for the man (as well as a wistful curiosity about what his presidency would have been like).
I've mostly More...
I've mostly More...
Jul 08, 2009
Jeff
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A really good book. It's starts out a bit slow but after the first few chapters, things really begin to get good. Ambrose does a fantastic job sucking you into the world of the WWII bomber pilots and keeping you there. All of the accounts are real; based off of journals, interviews, letters, etc. so there are never any parts of the book that are 'hard to buy' or that seem to be a romanticized re-telling of the past. It is simply the lives of the pilots; their struggles, fears, and hopes through
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Mar 21, 2010
Terry
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I loved it. Reads like a series of magazine I-Was-There articles. Ambrose has a knack only other writers can appreciate: He gets out of the way and tells the story. (OK, he is somewhat a patriotic product of his age, but that is understandable.)
But let's face it. If you really want to FEEL battle, look up two short essays:
1) Illumination Rounds, by Michael Herr
2) Okinawa: The Bloodiest Battle of All, by William Manchester
...here you will find some really heavy More...
But let's face it. If you really want to FEEL battle, look up two short essays:
1) Illumination Rounds, by Michael Herr
2) Okinawa: The Bloodiest Battle of All, by William Manchester
...here you will find some really heavy More...
Feb 01, 2011
Karl
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Excellent book. Good story about the strategic bombing in WWII. What's especially good is that it follows crew members from where they were at the beginning of the war thru to the end. What was interesting to me was that George McGovern signed up after Pearl Harbor, he wasn't called to training until early 1943, then trained thru 1943 into early 1944 and didn't start flying missions until late 1944, spending a year in the European Theatre. What I also found interesting is that German industrial
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Feb 03, 2009
J.A.
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I tend to wind up with highlighter all over my fingers when I read an Ambrose book. His books are chock full of great facts such as the brand name Cheerios derives from the city of Cerignola, or "land of cereals," in Italy. This is a book about the Fifteenth Air Force, which used Cerignola as its base of operations during the tail-end of combat in the European theater of World War II. I have a particular interest in the history of the B-24 because my grandfather flew in one as a bom
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Nov 25, 2011
Trudy
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For the most part, young 19 and 20 year olds were the pilots who flew the B-24's over Germany and other countries the last couple years of the war. Interesting to learn how these young men had their beginnings and where they came from. It is George McGovern's story and truly a compelling one. They tackled weather, what we would consider more than primitive conditions both on the ground and above and succeeded in finding targets and bringing huge aircraft back to base after their missions. Li
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Aug 23, 2010
Jennifer
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The title gives you some pretty good clues of what this book is about.
After reading this, my appreciation rose all the more for those who fought for freedom in World War II. It is always exciting to read about the heroes of that era.
I was going to give this book three stars as the writing is not stellar and sometimes there is just too many names and not enough facts to stick them in the mind; BUT the ending is absolutely amazing and that made me bump it up to four stars. More...
After reading this, my appreciation rose all the more for those who fought for freedom in World War II. It is always exciting to read about the heroes of that era.
I was going to give this book three stars as the writing is not stellar and sometimes there is just too many names and not enough facts to stick them in the mind; BUT the ending is absolutely amazing and that made me bump it up to four stars. More...
Mar 19, 2010
carl
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Even before the plagiarism suit was settled I thought this book was well padded with stats and other well known information about the air war. This book was whipped up for a quick profit.
I did like the personal stories and the insights on the the B-24, that's worth the reading. With great coincidence, after reading this I met Bob Cook the pilot mentioned in the crash and rescue, pg 186
if you're following along. Since then Bob and I have become friends and I've More...
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Sep 15, 2009
Tim
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When I was a teenager I, like many, put together plastic models of airplanes, onw of which was the B-24 Liberator. Unfortunately, that model was lost or tossed out many years ago. However, about ten or so years ago, in my "I'm reliving my adolescence" phase (which continues), I ordered a ProModeler (a line of model kits with a lot of detail and much research behind them) kit of the B-24 Liberator as well as one of a B-25 Mitchell. The cover art for the former depicted the bombing of th
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Jul 09, 2011
Beelster
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Excellent true story of George McGovern and several other B-24 crew members. It was tough to keep track of all the characters he introduces at the beginning of the book: would've been nice to start with the Dakota Queen's crew roster and then work up to it.
I lost an uncle to this conflict: He piloted the B-24 "Slightly Eager" and it was shot down over Austria. I never got to know him, but this book has helped. My thanks to Steven Ambrose and his son, and to the folks like McG More...
I lost an uncle to this conflict: He piloted the B-24 "Slightly Eager" and it was shot down over Austria. I never got to know him, but this book has helped. My thanks to Steven Ambrose and his son, and to the folks like McG More...
Sep 06, 2011
Linda
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This book was mistitled. It should have had the title THE GLORY DAYS OF GEORGE MCGOVERN. What a great and perfect guy George was, according to the author. I believe he was a war hero but this book was supposed to be about the men and boys that flew B-24's rather than a biography of George's war days. I think the author was trying to atone for McGovern's loss of the 72 presidential election.
None the less, I did learn a little more about this airplane and some of the others who crew More...
None the less, I did learn a little more about this airplane and some of the others who crew More...
Jan 23, 2012
Craig
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A very informative book about the origin, development and implementation of the strategic bombing campaign undertaken by the US heavy bombers during World War II. This book focuses primarily on the B-24 "Liberator" rather than the B-17 "Flying Fortress." The book centers upon the flying career of George McGovern, a 22 year old pilot of the B-24 bomber in November, 1944 when his crew was assigned to the European theater. He later became a US Senator during the 1960s and Pre
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Sep 30, 2010
Eric_W
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Note that I wrote this review before the plagarism controversy. See my review of Wings Over Morning
Ambrose became a widely popular popularizer of World War II history and he has managed to churn out several in the past few years that focus on the common soldier experience. Joseph Heller, author of Catch-22 and himself a bombardier on B-24s, told Ambrose, " never had a bad officer." Ambrose was startled to hear this from the creator of Major Major Major, Colonel Cathcart, a More...
Ambrose became a widely popular popularizer of World War II history and he has managed to churn out several in the past few years that focus on the common soldier experience. Joseph Heller, author of Catch-22 and himself a bombardier on B-24s, told Ambrose, " never had a bad officer." Ambrose was startled to hear this from the creator of Major Major Major, Colonel Cathcart, a More...
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Sep 25, 2008
I thought Wild Blue was a thrilling book with multiple stories of survival from the experiences of B-24 bomber crews in World War II. It gives us insight into what actually goes on up in the air during a war and how life and death is a very real problem umong the crew members. The stories start out with a little background to the story and the crews traing history and intresting details like that. The author uses excellent tone shifts, from exciting to horrific or relaxed to panic, to creat t
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Jun 20, 2008
Chadwick
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Stephen E. Ambrose is kind of the Ken Burns of WWII history--he is a popular historian with a dash of the sentimentalist, and an occasionally tedious excessive reverence for the men (mostly men, that is) who are his subjects. All of his characters run together, the texture of his interviewees reduced to a sort of Norman Rockwell, Greatest Generation mush. That being said, these men were heroes, they are fascinating because of their transcendence of their prewar lives into warriors capable of
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Dec 06, 2007
Silvana
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This is the second Ambrose's book I've read since Band of Brothers. It tells about the experiences of B-24 bomber crews in World War II; 741st Squadron, 455th Bomb Group, 15th Air Force, to be exact. The stories are from the beginning, i.e. the crews’ background, their vigorous training (the high requirements resulted in many “washouts”), the first mission, until when the war’s over.
Thus, it’s quite an extensive piece that offers lots of interesting details. If you love aircrafts (and More...
Thus, it’s quite an extensive piece that offers lots of interesting details. If you love aircrafts (and More...
Sep 18, 2007
Nathan
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Catch-22, by Joseph Heller, was the story of a bombardier during WWII. It is the funniest and possibly most profound book I've ever read, though that probably says more about me than it does about the book. The Wild Blue, by Joseph Heller, is the story of B-24 crew members during WWII. Although I like Ambrose's work, I read this book primarily because I wanted to know what poor Yossarian must have gone through in the parts Heller didn't tell me about. It was hard not to read this book with a dif
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Jul 29, 2009
Jake
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Whenever I go on a roadtrip I ask myself this question: "What Stephen Ambrose history books have I not tried yet?"
As a big fan of the movie Memphis Belle, I decided it would be a good idea to take in a non-fiction treatment of WWII bombers. And as he always does, Mr. Ambrose pulled me in with the real stories of the real men who undertook these perilous missions. It isn't all glamour and glory. But it's a story worth taking in.
As a big fan of the movie Memphis Belle, I decided it would be a good idea to take in a non-fiction treatment of WWII bombers. And as he always does, Mr. Ambrose pulled me in with the real stories of the real men who undertook these perilous missions. It isn't all glamour and glory. But it's a story worth taking in.
Mar 21, 2008
Kelley
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This is one of the weakest of Stephen Ambrose WWII books. It suffers from a lack of flow. With the ground action accounts, he is able to move the reader forward geographically. With the air war account, as with the air war itself, the story is repetitive: couldn't fly, it was rainy... flew today and dropped bombs... flew today and dropped bombs... flew today etc. By way of personal accounts he captures some of the terror the air crew encountered in the form of German fighters and thick Germa
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