This is great stuff all... I might just have to get...... all of them! When time/money allows, of course!
I will put in another vote for Stephen Bungay's book. Very thorough - although I admit I do not have too much to compare with. I recall it being different in content than Fighter Boys, and so they complement each other. I do have to say that I found Bungay to be cynical and arrogant to the point of rudeness, callousness and insult in points. I recall one part where he had just presented the enthusiasm of a young german pilot through a letter/diary, and summarily said he needn't have worried about the Luftwaffe "winning" so much since he died a couple of days later. I personally don't think hindsight gives you the right to be "smug" about these deaths, but your mileage may vary.
I recently read Michael Korda's "With Wings Like Eagles" and found it very shallow, repetitive, overly pretentious/grandiloquent with gigantic convoluted sentences - making it a somewhat good read for an overview. I tend to get lost when books go too deep into detail at each point. This one lets you keep the overview.
I also read "A Question of Honor: The Kosciuszko Squadron" by Lynne Olson and Stanley Cloud. It's a strange book - the first half is about the Polish airforce and the Kosciuszko Squadron in particular, about the attack on Poland, the pilots' adventure to England, subsequent training and eventually being allowed into combat, becoming the highest scoring squadron for the BoB. The other half is about the history of Poland, before and during the war - hence not about flying at all, except occasional glimpses of the pilots' reaction to different events. It is very, very clear that the authors are quite biased, and that the book is not objective. Sometimes I felt it so strongly that I even had doubts about the veracity of some claims, but do not know enough to ascertain it myself. That being said, I will not hesitate to recommend this to anyone - it provides an amazing view of international politics as they regarded Poland, and of the horrors that the Polish people was forced to endure at the hands of Axis and Allies alike. I was in tears through most of it, but I'm a big cry-baby. It is a story that should not be forgotten. I would also be extremely interested in hearing other opinions on this book.
Thanks for all the great recommendations
06-05-2011, 10:01 PM
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