Featuring first-hand accounts from veteran pilots; rare archival photographs and expert analysis; this volume brings to life the vicious dogfights that took place between the Bf 109 and the Yak as they vied for mastery of the frozen skies of the Eastern Front.Step into the cockpit of the Luftwaffe's Bf 109 and the Red Air Force's Yaks 1-7; two fighters which were involved in some of the largest; fiercest aerial battles in history. The Iconic Messerschmitt fighter and its combat hardened pilots administered a fearful drubbing to the Yaks in the beginning of the war. Some of the highest scoring aces in history benefitted from the Bf 109's technical superiority over the overweight and underpowered Yak 1; racking up incredible successes against their poorly trained and equipped adversaries. And yet; as the Soviets accumulated combat experience; their tactics improved; as did their mounts in the upgraded Yak 1B and gradually; the Red Force eroded the Jagdwaffe's dominance of the skies in the eastern front; though with the 109G they would never lose qualitative superiority.
#743194 in Books Wilma Dykeman 2016-09-06Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.50 x .25 x 5.50l; .0 #File Name: 1469629143208 pagesFamily of Earth A Southern Mountain Childhood
Review
0 of 2 people found the following review helpful. LOVELY YET LIMITED SCOPEBy Josephine EnsignWhile I enjoyed reading this memoir; I found it to be very limited in scope. Dykeman focuses on her early childhood and her relationship with the land on which she was raised. I loved her dream-like and child-eye reveries on nature; but I wanted more about the people of the mountains where she grew up. The few times she delves into these descriptions were the strongest points of the book. I was highly skeptical of her alleged memories from when she was an infant.0 of 4 people found the following review helpful. One StarBy APNot my style.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. The Dykemans truly were a Family of EarthBy HR DubyIn the academic world; there are scores of “found†manuscripts; everything from newly-discovered poems of Emily Dickinson to letters written between star-crossed literary lovers to mathematical formulae scribbled on the margins of a cocktail napkin. However; the academic world would not exist without such serendipitous discoveries that add to the length and breadth of the knowledge of a particular subject. The literary world is certainly much richer for the discovery of Wilma Dykeman’s long-forgotten manuscript for Family of Earth: A Southern Mountain Childhood. Family of Earth was discovered after Dykeman’s death in 2006 by her son; James Stokely III; who edited the manuscript; choosing to keep it as intact as possible.This modest volume contains within its pages the beautiful juxtaposition of romance and realism wherein Wilma Dykeman (1920-2006) describes the world of her childhood from birth until the sudden death of her father just after she turned fourteen. It is difficult to believe in the age of Snapchat and text messaging that a young woman in her early twenties had such an innate sense of self and of her place in the natural world. And; while I had some difficulty believing that Dykeman could actually remember her infancy with the level of detail with which she writes; her writing is; at turns; poignant and poetic and she leaves her reader with a deeper understanding of what it was like to grow up in the mountains of North Carolina during the Depression era. And; so; my disbelief was easily suspended.Wilma Dykeman has contributed greatly to the tapestry of Southern literature; both fiction and non-fiction. As Robert Morgan states in the foreword to Family of Earth; Dykeman “served as an ambassador of history and literature to countless communities; and she was an enthusiastic champion of contemporary writers†(p. xvii). Her love of the natural world is obvious throughout Family of Earth and the memoir gives the reader fascinating insight into Dykeman; herself. In many ways; the book is a fine example of American Transcendentalism because Dykeman truly believes in the inherent goodness of people and nature and many of her previously-published works are greatly informed by that belief.It was; honestly; difficult to write a review that does justice to this book. I feel that any writing that I might do about it pales in comparison to the words that Dykeman has bled out onto the page. Anyone who has interest in the history of North Carolina; of the southern mountains; of how families who knew how to live off the land survived the Depression; or in Wilma Dykeman’s life will appreciate this book and it would make a worthy addition to the local history collection in any public library in the Appalachian region.
