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World War II
Discuss WWII and the era directly before and after the war from 1935-1949.
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REVIEW
Masters of the Air
Jessie_C
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Posted: Monday, March 12, 2012 - 11:13 AM UTC
Bill Cross reviews Donald Miller's Masters of the Air, a history of the US Army's 8th Air Force bombing campaign against Germany.

Link to Item

If you have comments or questions please post them here.

Thanks!
Siderius
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Posted: Tuesday, March 13, 2012 - 08:05 AM UTC
I agree! This was a GREAT book to read. I read it about four years ago and was particularly interested in the discussions about the flight surgeons and how they kept the guys going in the air and on the ground.

It is a well written book on the bombing by the United States 8th air force of Germany, one of the best I've read since I could read. ha ha (I'm 45)

I recommend it highly to anyone interested in adding to their knowledge of the air war in Europe. Russell
lampie
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Posted: Tuesday, March 13, 2012 - 09:20 AM UTC
OK, I have a question.

Is this a re-release of Millers previous book "Eighth Air Force, The American Bomber Crews in Britain"?

All the photos in the review can be found in the earlier book with exactly the same captions.

If, and I suspect this may well be the case, this is the same book with a different title then it's a VERY misleading ploy by the publishers.
if I had been browsing Ebay/Amazon etc and seen it advertised I would have bought it straight away, and it's only through reading Bills review that I believe the two books to be the same.

It really is an excellent book though.

EDIT.
It IS the same book with a different title.

From an Amazon review.

Quoted Text


Well, what can I say, after reading Donald Millers fantastic 600+ page book titled "Eighth Air Force" (the American Bomber Crews in Britain), I couldnt wait to recieve this other book, again by Donald Miller, "Masters of the Air". What a dissapointment, its the same damm book, albeit a different title, same chapter headings, same photographs, same text etc; etc,
I felt cheated. Both books have the same year of publication but are sold under different titles.



Very unimpressed!!!

Nige
Jessie_C
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Posted: Tuesday, March 13, 2012 - 11:06 AM UTC
It looks as though the two titles have different publishers. Eighth Air Force, The American Bomber Crews in Britain was published by Aurum Press Ltd in the UK, while Masters of the Air was published by Simon & Schuseter in North America.

It's not uncommon for books to be published this way, and it's only in these days of retailers without borders that we notice it.
bill_c
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Posted: Friday, March 16, 2012 - 08:06 AM UTC
Nigel, I'm sorry that you were under the impression this was another book. Jessica is correct though, that publishers often contract for a title in their territory, and either sell the rights to other publishers abroad or allow the writer's agent to make the foreign sales. In any case, I hope this matter would not deter someone from ordering the book, as it THE BEST BOOK on the subject as far as I can tell, and one of the better non-fiction titles on the war. The only other books that compares in that way are Clay Blair's books on subs (Silent Victory: The US Submarine War Against Japan and Hitler's U-Boat War).
Siderius
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Posted: Friday, March 16, 2012 - 08:26 AM UTC
I agree Bill, it is one of the best books I've ever read on the subject of the American bombing of Germany during WW2. I have been reading books on the subject for my entire life and have found few to match the comprehensive nature of this title. Russell
lampie
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Posted: Friday, March 16, 2012 - 08:37 AM UTC
Hi all.
It may be common practice but it can be very misleading, as the Amazon review shows.

That said, it is without a doubt a fabulous book and one that I have read from cover to cover a few times. ( Whatever it's called nowdays )

Perhaps it would be worthwhile noting in the review that it's available under a different title from another publisher?

Nige
Jessie_C
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Posted: Friday, March 16, 2012 - 08:51 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Perhaps it would be worthwhile noting in the review that it's available under a different title from another publisher?



Done.
lampie
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Posted: Friday, March 16, 2012 - 09:08 AM UTC

Quoted Text


Quoted Text

Perhaps it would be worthwhile noting in the review that it's available under a different title from another publisher?



Done.



Awesome
bill_c
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Posted: Friday, March 16, 2012 - 09:44 AM UTC
Thanks, Jessica, for adding that detail.

Appreciate the perspective, Russell.

What I like about the book is the sense it gave me of how the war evolved, both strategically and tactically. We tend to think that the Eighth Air Force just sorta went over and won the war, never getting a full grasp of how things changed, whether shifting targets to making use of the fighters that were available. All-in-all, it's one of those books you carry around inside for awhile wishing it hadn't ended.

Over on another forum, there was a bit of a row about Arthur "Bomber" Harris when I referred to him as a "nut," saying he didn't corner the market on nuttiness because Curtis LeMay went a bit over the edge later in his career, eventually running as the VP candidate on white supremacist George Wallace's presidential bid in 1968. Clueless politically, he was dismayed to find out people thought him a bigot, too, even though he had worked to end the military's policies of discrimination.
lampie
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Posted: Friday, March 16, 2012 - 10:00 AM UTC
Am I correct in thinking that the character Major T.J "King" Kong, who rides the nuclear bomb down at the end of Dr Strangelove was based on "Bombs Away LeMay"?

Nige

EDIT.
Apparently it was the character General Jack D Ripper
robtmelvin
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Posted: Thursday, March 22, 2012 - 05:29 AM UTC
I read this book about a year ago and it is one of the best, unvarnished looks at the air war over Europe I've ever read. As the reviewer stated, movies and TV shows like "12 O'Clock High" made we wish I'd been in a Fort over Europe, reading this book made me thank God that had not been my fate. It does an excellent job of depicting the savage mental and physical toll flying those missions over Germany and occupied France took on the young, and I do stress young, men who flew them. There are also anecdotes of nearly unbelievable courage reported by the authors. This is a must read for anybody interested in the air war over Europe and particularly the strategic daylight bombing campaign. I recommend it without hesitation.

Bob
bill_c
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Posted: Monday, April 30, 2012 - 04:01 AM UTC
In light of Revell's announcement of a newly-tooled B-17F "Memphis Belle" and the release of the "Flying Fortress. B17 - Luftkrieg über Europa" ("Flying Fortress B17 - War in the Air over Europe") DVD, this book is even more apt for anyone interested in the theater, including fighter junkies.
bill_c
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Posted: Tuesday, August 08, 2017 - 07:55 PM UTC
Bump.
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