Not the best
|
This is not so good as Band of Brothers - unlike that book, he hasn't selected a unit whose wartime 'career' was so riddled with drama and incident. Although the book contains several compelling stories and anecdotes, many missions are merely mentioned in passing purely because nothing much happened on them. Given also the fact that the USAAF only entered the war relatively late, you are deprived of much of a sense of developing narrative - the war seems to be over for them not long after it starts.
The author would've done better to search for a more suitable crew to write about - a British one preferably, because then you would've got a sense of the whole war in the air as it developed. Stephen Ambrose was unlikely to attempt this however because, as in Band of Brothers, it is possible to detect a distinctly anti-British stance on his part. In the latter book the Brits are portrayed as 'boring' and occasionally incompetent, and in the present book they are cowardly and even 'murderous' for choosing night bombing instead of the brave, honourable Americans who bombed in daylight. Yawn!
|
|
Thumbs up from me
|
|
Mixed reviews here but I enjoyed this book. Having read a few of Ambrose's other books I found this just as accessible and engaging. It was also interesting to read more about the all but forgotten war in Italy.
|
|
50-50
|
I have to say I agree with N Fords comments.
This book is split into two. The first half is all about building the characters but it never seemed to have held my attention. I really wasn't at all interested in what they had done before training etc which is not normal for me as I like to digest this information.
The second half, the action, is better but you have to play catch up with the characters. The deeper you get into the book the better it gets.
This was my for Stephen Ambrose book and I was so dissapointed. Nothing really prompts me to want to read another.
|
|
An important book for WW2 historians.
|
|
This is a relevant study of some of the men and missions of the AAF. An invaluable text to any WW2 historians. Well worth a read if you are interested in anything remotely to do with the Air Force or have a wider interest in the history of teh Second World War. If not, well it may not be for you.
|
|
|
Left wanting something more
|
I have read Ambrose's D-Day, Pegasus Bridge, Band of Brothers and have the Band of Brothers DVD box set.
Wild Blue is similar in style to his other books insofar as it's written from the perspective of `how the US won the war'. This is the tale of principally one man plus comrades training in the US and flying on missions from Italy during the closing months of the war with barely a mention of any other Allied country's involvement. Compared to his other books the central characters are too isolated from the bigger picture and although Ambrose made some attempt at conveying the danger I couldn't help feeling these particular bomber crews had it easy compared to many others involved in the fighting (which isn't to say it wasn't hell when they were flying through flak). Too many missions were aborted due to clouds, the flight crews not on missions had plenty of time to relax and arriving near the end of the war means the book is almost half way through before the crew even get into combat. I did not feel as drawn into the lives of the characters as the other books. Ambrose writes with his usual perspectives eg that an airman must be a wonderful demi-god simply if he was a college athlete, everyone was a good time joe and how great various US politicians were etc that means nothing to the average non-American.
So from the above did I hate the book? No, I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I find myself disappointed compared to the other books. Was it rushed in research and completion, or was it for that particular crew at that time in that theatre there was little more to say? Ambrose is an All-American Patriot and writes only about the Americans at war, which can be distracting to anyone that thinks some other countries contributed something to the war effort, but a non-British perspective broadens the mind and raises questions to investigate and prove right or wrong, and it IS right every Allied country should feel proud of their involvement to varying degrees. America recovered very quickly from the war with the people having the best lifestyle in the world during the 1950's (compare to rationing and the slow recovery in the UK et al) and that tells us what the US did contribute to the war effort: huge resources and manpower which it clearly could afford (by 1941 Britain was broke). I wouldn't recommend this as a taster for the best of Ambrose's work but I wouldn't discount it. I now want to compare and contrast this history with British bomber command so it was still educational and thought-provoking. Ambrose at his best is an exceptional talent and I will be reading Citizen Soldiers sometime soon, but next on the list is Jon Latimer's Burma: the Forgotten War... after Wild Blue I want something with a bit more meat to it. If Band of Brothers was 10/10 this for me was 8/10.
|
|
|
United States | 
United Kingdom | 
Canada