A Real Good War

by Sam Halpert, Byron Kennedy (Editor)

Historic fiction, this novel follows a B-17 crew through WWII. It depicts their humor, despair, fear and courage while flying mission after mission, their friendships brutally "scrubbed" by mounting casualties. You'll taste the terror of flying each mission through heavy black barrages of flak and flame, bearing wounded or dead buddies. Praised for its "gutsy realism," its "stoic humor and crusty humanity," this book transports the reader into the very belly of the Flying Fortress, as its bombs rain on Nazi Germany and its young crew learns the real meaning of war.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, World War II, War

276 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Kevin Archard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thirty five missions over occupied Europe as a navigator in a B 17, Halpert gives the no holds barred version of a bomber crew watching as time after time their friends go down in flames or fail to return. The big question is always present...when will it be our turn. Well written, if a little blunt at times.

[Leonard · Rating 4 out of 5]

A real, real good book about crewmen about heavy bombers over Atlantic flight facing no nav aids, etc. They were the unlucky ones who faced 35 missions before rotating home. Their group didn't use the crew idea, they filled in where needed. Other groups used the crew idea, crews stayed together through the missions. Written by a guy who lived it.

[Alfredo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Si no me dicen que es ficción, no me entero. Muy entretenida y sorprendentemente conmovedora historia de un tripulante de B-17. Imposible no recordar a veces el Memphis Belle, pero esto claramente no es material Disney.

[Alison J Anderson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh dear, I know it’s a debut novel for a 77 year old but the American slang text, chatter and constant short sentences drove me potty. It would probably be a fun film but it’s a goddamnawful book (example of new words the author made up throughout 🫣🫤

[Eric_W · Rating 4 out of 5]

Halpert was a B-17 navigator who flew thirty-five missions out of England over Germany. Navigators, for some unfathomable reason, had a desk that was only a few inches off the floor, which meant they spent most of their time on their knees during the flights. Halpert vividly describes his "dread" -- he, too, used the word to describe how they felt about missions ( see my review of Bloody Skies A 15th Aaf B-17 Combat Crew How They Lived and Died-- and the intricate relationships of the crew members, who totally relied on each other to return safely.

There were always accidents: bombs that fell on top of the plane below (McGuire has a photo of just such an incident), mid-air collisions between friends while trying to form up before crossing the Channel, and horrifying crashes while trying to lift overloaded planes into the air. Any engine failure on takeoff inevitably resulted in a massive conflagration.

I suspect many of the incidents recounted by Halpert in the novel probably really took place. For example, one of the planes reported a stow-away. The bundled him into some blankets and found an extra oxygen bottle, but the man, a clerk, decked out in his Class A uniform, waited until they reached a high altitude and stepped out of the plane through the waist gunner's opening -- without a parachute. They later learned one of his close friends had been killed on a mission.

Given the extraordinarily high casualty rate among aircrews, the only analogy that springs to mind is soldiers in World War I climbing out of their trenches into the face of enemy machine guns to recapture a few square yards of mud.

There has to be a better way.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book accomplishes something that I haven’t found in any of the many memoirs about the WWII bombing campaigns that I’ve read has managed to do. In this fictional account of a B-17 navigator, the author has managed to capture the chaos and terror of the air war over Europe, drawing the reader into the narrator’s fear viscerally. By the end of the book, the reader should have a far better appreciation for the physical and mental toll paid by the young men who flew straight and level into the face of concentrated enemy fire to ensure that their bomb load was dropped on target. The losses endured by the US Army Air Forces were staggering, and yet the crews continued to fly, day after day, raining destruction upon the enemy.

Beginning with the formation of the crew during stateside training, and encompassing their deployment to England in a shiny new B-17, their attachment as replacements to the 91st Bombardment Group and following the unnamed navigator to the end of his tour, we see the camaraderie and conflict that arise when a random group of young men are thrust together and confront their mortality. From the nervous energy as they await their first mission, to reckless abandon during their days off, it is impossible to escape the fact that life during war is cheap and short.

This book doesn’t pull any punches, portraying the violence of war in brutally graphic terms. The fear and anger of the bomber crews is authentic and powerful, and in this, the author does justice to the memories of the brave young men who flew these missions. Rather than romanticize or glorify the role they played, Halpert shows us the gritty reality they faced mission after mission. And the truth, as ugly as it is, is the best monument to their efforts.