When author John Meurs was a nine-year-old schoolboy living in Nazi-occupied Holland; an American B-17 bomber crashed behind his house near the village of Apeldoorn. The date was Sunday; November 26; 1944. Meurs always wanted to know more about what happened in the air on that Thanksgiving Sunday. So; more than sixty years later he started researching the B-17. He quickly found that the bomber was part of the 8th Air Force Air Combat Command. Meurs findings intrigued him and after discovering many interesting facts; Meurs focused his research on the 34 heavy bombers of the Mighty Eighth that were lost that day. He collected the personal stories of veterans who lived through it; families of veterans lost; and witnesses of the crashes. These first-hand recollections; captured in this book; provide a compelling and terrifying account of the reality of war. Thanks to the noble men of the Mighty Eighth who would not be home for Christmas in 1944 and their comrades in arms; many people the world over now live in peace and freedom.
#6922818 in Books 2008-01-15Format: ImportOriginal language:English .94 x 9.13 x 6.46l; .0 #File Name: 1932033734264 pages
Review
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful. A failed attempt to rehabilitate NapoleonBy K. LongEnglish-speaking readers have probably seen Napoleon presented as either a megalomaniac conqueror or at best an enlightened despot at home who loved war too much. This book tries to draw a new Napoleon: a man of peace and democracy forced into war by reactionary monarchists.Which was the real Napoleon? I have no idea (and no axe to grind one way or the other) but the authors certainly failed to make their case for rehabilitation of Napoleon. They make bold assertions without evidence; rely heavily on Napoleon's own self-justifying interviews at St. Helena; and supply not a single reference. Not one. How can I take seriously a radical reinterpretation of a major historical figure without some documentary evidence?The authors' bias makes this at times downright irritating read. If you're a hard-core fan of the period; by all means read it for the out-of-the-mainstream perspective; but be prepared to put the book down in disgust every few pages. If your interest is more casual; start with Esdaille's _The Wars of Napoleon_.
