Wings of Gold : The U.S. Naval Air Campaign in World War II

Rating:
Summary: A very interesting oral history collection
Review: Astor's book takes a look at the Pacific theater air campaigns of the Second World War from the perspectives of the U.S. Navy aviators who participated in them. The numerous interviews with aviators, and their comments on their experiences, their aircraft, and the war itself provide a level of human detail not found in many other works on the subject.

Readers looking for a grand overview of the war from a strategic perspective would be best served looking elsewhere, as these aspects are treated relatively briefly--Astor wishes his focus to remain squarely on the experiences of individual naval aviators. The first-hand accounts themselves are without fail well-presented, interesting, and informative.

The one serious critique of the book I have is that it could clearly have done with a more thorough editing before going to print. There are numerous instances throughout the book where aircraft models and designations are given incorrectly. This is for the most part a minor problem, but irritating nevertheless.

Rating:
Summary: Proper Editing Essential
Review: I am a serious student of World War Two and a Gerald Astor fan, however repeated errors in aircraft designations...(SPD instead of SBD) caused me to hesitate to finish this work. There is nothing more annoying than having to mentally correct poor editing.
The books content is very good and worth reading. I just would like to stress that whomever edits the final draft need to be sure that it is properly done.

Rating:
Summary: Falls Short of the Target
Review: I felt Gerald Astor's The Mighty Eighth was a gripping and well-told account of the evolution of the U.S. bomber war in Europe. His frequent use of personal narratives provided a vivid and intense history. I'm sorry to say that Wings of Gold falls short, although there are strong elements. I'm not as familiar with the air war in Europe as I am the Pacific, so that may be part of the reason I was less than engaged in Wings of Gold. The bomber campaign in Europe started on a shoestring, suffered appalling losses (partly due to misplaced pre-war concepts), eventually built up strength, was threatened by the new technology of German jets, and eventually became so dominant that Europe was decimated. There is a parallel to this in the Pacific carrier war. But this book does not develop the intensity that went with the struggle. The Japanese naval air force was as dreaded as the Luftwaffe, and inexperienced American pilots were badly out numbered and suffered from ineffective pre-war planning, particularly in aircraft. The development of carrier doctrine in the intense reality of combat is not as well told. The strength of this narrative is again the extensive use of oral history. We hear from great aviators such as Thatch, Feightner, Galer, O'Hare, Campbell and others. Their narrations are gripping and breathe life and fire. But when the author provides historical detail and strategy, it is consistently shallow, even for a general survey. The chapter on Midway is particularly disjointed and the frequent misidentification of aircraft types (along with references to Japanese U-boats!) is not only irritating, but suggests an unfamiliarity the author brings to events. Yes, Japanese pilots were less skilled later in the war and Americans had better aircraft, but that didn't make everything after the Marinas a duck shoot. A warship is never an easy target, and, when kamikazes entered the Japanese war effort, an almost paralyzing fear gripped the fleet. And just as there were targets in Europe that keep aircrews awake at night, the Pacific offered countless episodes when fliers launched from pitch-dark decks thinking this was a one way ticket. My disappointment is in the realization that this author has done better.