Rating: 
Summary: Pop WW 2 for people who do not study WW2
Review: Superficial account of WW2 in the air. Not up to Ambrose's usual standards.Try Steve Birdsall's "Log of the Liberators" (1973) if you want to read the real stuff. I guess Steve Ambrose should stay on the ground.
Rating: 
Summary: George McGovern and the Airwar over Nazi Germany
Review: Stephen Ambrose educated me about something I hadn't known. Former 1972 democratic presidential candidate, George McGovern, was the pilot of B-24 Liberator bombers in the second world war. The book is largely about McGovern and his experiences learning to fly, joining the Army Airforce, and his subsequent bombing missions over the Third Reich from 1944-45. Most people who remember McGovern think of him as a pacifist who opposed the Vietnam War. This is the other side of McGovern that probably few people suspect exists. Ambrose's book reminds me a bit of some of Studs Terkel's books. He largely obtains a narrative from McGovern and a few other people interviewed for the book and tells the story through their eyes. If narrative history is not for you, I would recommend you skip this book. This is not a book that deals with the "why's" or other complicated questions of history. Its history seen through the eyes of a flyer in his early twenties who was called upon by his nation to drop bombs on enemy targets in hopes of halting the German war machine. Its not particularly essential reading (many families have their own war stories) but it is interesting. Few people in generations since really understand the responsibility that World War II dumped on so many young Americans in their late teens and early twenties. For example, I found the stories about the difficulties involved in flying a B-24 to be amazing. Only in the last few pages of the book, does Ambrose deal generally with the affects of the bombing campaign on Germany. His conclusion was that to the extent the campaign concentrated on the petroleum industry and railroads that it was a success that helped tremendously in shortening the war. Other aspects of the campaign such as attacking ball bearing plants and German industry generally were surprisingly unsuccessful and the Germans found ways to keep up production. This is a good book for those preferring a personalized narrative account of experiences in the war. Mark
Rating: 
Summary: Just awful...
Review: Anyone who is interested in air warfare should avoid this book. It's clearly just thrown together to take advantage of Ambrose's popularity, and is not any where close to serious. In Colorado Springs last week Ambrose refered to the B-24 as "stubby winged" -- in fact, the B-24 had a very long wing (though slender). It seemed Ambrose had never even looked closely at a picture. For a good review of another of Amobrose's books, check the Atlantic Monthly about June 2001.
Rating: 
Summary: ALL THEY DID WAS SAVE THE WORLD
Review: As an author with my debut novel in its initial release, I found Stephen Ambrose's THE WILD BLUE fascinating. My father was a member of the Army Air Corps, but Ambrose's book is not my late father's story. Dad fought his war in the South Pacific. THE WILD BLUE deals with the air war in Europe. Reading Ambrose's take on George McGovern and his heroic air crew, I now understand my father's dedication to that man's presidential campaign. The book also deals with other aircrews as well as the airplane itself. It is a marvelously researched work about many marvelous war heroes. They all deserved this terrific book. All they did was save the world.
Rating:
Summary: A great story, but the book is tepid
Review: I do not in any way want to diminish the actual bravery or skill of the personnel depicted in this book. But, as a book, this was disappointing. Ambrose's other WWII books are generally better, as books about WWII. If you want a serious look at the bomber war, go elsewhere. Finally, if you want a "popular" work on the "feel" of the bomber war, the video/DVD "Memphis Belle" (despite some Hollywoodization) is more moving. And, if you just want to read something good by Ambrose, try "Undaunted Courage" or his book on D-Day. Summary: This is OK, but reads like a series of longish magazine articles stitched together. So -- the 3-star rating is "average" for an average book. For young teens interested in WWII, I would rate this higher; it is a good, quick read; my 11-year-old loved it.
Rating:
Summary: Underwhelming
Review: Not on par with many of his past efforts. Book is mostly driven by Ambrose's adulation of former Presidential candidate George McGovern. Very little technical detail to rival other works such as "D Day." The continuity is poor and reads more like a flight log(the reviewer states from experence,as a former combat pilot.) He praises McGovern for his efforts as a B-24 pilot flying dangerous missions over very dangerous places. Ambrose, very cavalierly,excuses his protest of American men doing the same thing, with the same sense of duty, over the skies of Vietnam. He offers no explanation for this duplicity.
Rating:
Summary: Simply Fantastic!!
Review: Stephan Ambrose has written something that verges upon legend. His accounting of the B-24, and George McGovern's time while assigned to the 455th is really a study in history. It also shows the tenacity with which he strives to include every detail. The B-24 is the "lost sheep" of airpower in WWII. Everyone seems to be fascinated with the B-17, primarily because of the press it received. Also at the top of the list is the B-29, primarily because of the atomic bombs. However, the role that was played by the B-24 was, in fact, much larger, and amassed more scope. It just had the poor luck not to be identified as an icon. One of the most important air raids in WWII was the raids on the Ploesti oilfields. B-24's handled this raid brilliantly. However, as history would have it, this one small fact has often been overlooked. Ask a handful of people today which bomber was used in this raid, and a large majority will not be able to tell you. In his telling of the B-24, Stephan Ambrose has gone all-out. His descriptive tone of narration is exquisite, making you feel that you are actually in every inch of the aircraft. His in-depth look at the more famous raids puts you right there with the crew . . . so much that you can almost feel the shock wave from the flak, and hear the sounds of the cannon rounds as they whiz by. All-in-all, this book is one for the ages. Finally, as the Tuskeegee Airmen book (and movie) did for those brave flyers, this book has finally given credit where it has been long overdue. The B-24 was aptly named "The Liberator", and it truly lived up to its name - liberating Europe and the world.
Rating: 
Summary: Ambrose is World War II's Bruce Catton
Review: In terms of scholarly research and analysis, Bruce Catton's The Civil War has long been surpassed,yet people still read it in great numbers. Why? Because Catton's account isn't pure scientific history, it's a book that tells us something about ourselves. It tells us where we come from, what we've been through, and where we're going. More importantly, it tells us something about the people we are and the people we want to become. While I was reading this book, it struck me that Stephen Ambrose is doing the same thing for World War II. He's preserving their heritage (and ours), showing us where we've been as a country, and about the kind of people we want to be. We've got a great legacy, and Steve Ambrose is reminding us of it. We need to, especially at a time when veterans are dying in such great numbers. What Catton did for the 1860's, Ambrose is doing for the 1940's. However, I do want to add a word of criticism about this book. It's obvious that Ambrose idolizes the veterans (and so do I), and at their best his books show their heroism.They remind us that we too can be heroes like these guys! At their worst, he borders on panegyric. Sometimes when I was reading this book, I felt like Ambrose was trying to initiate the cause for George McGovern's canonization. His depiction of McGovern was a little wooden, I thought, which I suppose is a problem when you write biographies of living people. Nonetheless, I highly recommend this book. Ambrose keeps your attention from start to end, just we've come to expect from him. Good work, Steve!
Rating:
Summary: Making the Right Decisions
Review: Review Summary: The Wild Blue is a five-star book from each of several perspectives. First, you will learn about how the United States went from having few aviation resources to fielding a larger air force than that of all the other nations combined in World War II. The complexities and careful thinking through of what needed to be done are most impressive. Second, you will learn about the role that strategic bombing played in the European theater of operations during that war. Third, you will learn what it was like to become a B-24 pilot, from the day a man volunteered to the day he returned home to the United States. Fourth, you will experience combat conditions against German fighters and flak in a lumbering, sluggish bomber in extremely difficult conditions. Fifth, you will find out how such a war-time experience changes a person's view of themselves and others. Sixth, you will also learn about the formative influences of war on one of the most prominent American peace advocates, former senator George McGovern. If you are like me, you will never see the war in Europe in quite the same way again after you read The Wild Blue. Review: My father served on the ground in England as part of the famous Eighth Air Force in World War II. My father-in-law was a navigation instructor for bomber pilots during World War II. Although both men are proud of their service, they only tell the positive side of the air war in Europe. During rare moments over the years, they have alluded to some of the more personal and challenging sides of those years. My mother shares hints of some recurring nightmares from what other wives have told her at Air Force reunions. Although Professor Ambrose's account is not as dark as the worst that I have heard, his lively and thorough narrative helped me to fill in many spaces where I lacked understanding of what these men had shared with me. For example, my dad had told me that the Fifteenth Air Force often had it worse than the Eighth late in the war. Since The Wild Blue focuses on the Fifteenth, I was able to understand what he was describing for me. I look forward to sharing this book with both my father and father-in-law and hearing what their reactions are to the material here. Very few books have ever helped me to understand these important men in my life as much as this one did. I have always been impressed by former senator McGovern's commitment to peace and humanitarian concerns. I knew that he had been a bomber pilot in World War II, but little else about his war-time service. The book contains many interesting insights into his character that added to my admiration, and increased my understanding of the stands he has taken. As he characterized his experience of being a pilot, 'I literally exhausted every resource of mind and body and spirit that I had.' You will find these revelations more interesting if you read about them yourself, but I encourage you to pay close attention to stories about bombs dropped inadvertently. Professor Ambrose has used accounts from many different people to capture the full dimension of the air war. I learned so much that I find it hard to believe that the book was so brief. Normally, I wouldn't learn this much from a book of 1000 pages. The mechanism of primarily following former senator McGovern's squadron was a good way to capture the grit of the small details while using them to illustrate the important, larger picture. Each perspective enhances the other. The book also contains some excellent black-and-white photographs that usefully elaborate on the written materials. I liked the way that Professor Ambrose took on the moral issues involved in the bombing. The civilian deaths were enormous from these raids, even though civilians were not the targets. Briefings described the important cultural sites in each area, and ordered the bombers to avoid them. Some bombing raids went near the death camps, but did not target them. At various times, the rate of lost crews approached suicidal levels. How much risk was it fair to ask these brave crews to take? Without imposing his own answers, he provides lots of room for your own thoughts on these and other important ethical issues. I was powerfully moved by imagining myself in the various cramped positions in a B-24 over enemy territory, being exposed to danger and observing serious losses of my friends all around. Although I have seen many movies and television shows on this subject, The Wild Blue took my understanding of this experience to a much different and more personal level. After you have finished learning from this outstanding book, I suggest that you think about ways that your most private experiences can be captured and shared with your children and grandchildren . . . so that the important lessons will be available to all those who need them in the future. Learn from the challenges of the past to overcome the hurdles of the future.
Rating:
Summary: Real, Respected, and Riveting
Review: In the aptly titled 'The Wild Blue', Stephen Ambrose brings us the dramatic true story of the brave men who flew B-24s deep into enemy territory during WWII, dropping bombs that would eventually help win the war. The book is preciously detailed (though not overly so), and paints as realistic a picture as possible of the real men who flew such dangerous missions.
The pacing of 'The Wild Blue' is crisp, without seeming rushed, and engages the reader from beginning to end. Different crews of the B-24 bombers are depicted in the book, with much focus being given to George McGovern's group. We gain a greater depth and understanding of the courageous men who fought for freedom in WWII, and much respect was gained for them by this reader. While history books usually do a fine job presenting *facts*, it is really nice when a historian researches and brings us the stories of the *people* involved in helping shape and mold the history that we are indebted to. Ambrose also deftly includes exploits of the Tuskeegee Airmen's missions concerning the B-24 air raids. It was nice to see this segment included. It flowed quite well with the rest of the narrative, and made for a very complete tome. There is much to praise about 'The Wild Blue', and not really anything to quibble over. I found it an engrossing, insightful, often times exciting read, and have no reservations in recommending it.
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