Rating: 
Summary: It's a good book
Review: It's a good book with lots of information. It is an easy read because it looks alot like a fictional story. I highly recomend this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Not the best
Review: The first half of the book was good, it told the story of where the flyers came from and I did find the personal stories very interesting. But the second half, the wartime stories are not well told, and I found myself skipping a chapter or two. This book is not Ambrose's best.
Rating:
Summary: Not as good as Band of Brothers
Review: I enjoyed the history and real-life accounts of the flak (AA artillary) pilots and crews had to deal with, but felt a little flat when I was done. The some stories seemed abbreviated and simply mentioned as an afterthought. The ending seemed abrupt with some of the story not fully told.
Rating: 
Summary: Dud
Review: This is a PR piece for McGovern. Had to force myself to read it. Then I find out some of the writing was plagerized, I really wish I hadn't.
Rating:
Summary: Not quite his best but still a good read for Ambrose fans
Review: I just recived this book four days ago and finished it two days ago I just simply could not put it down. As far as attracting the reader and holding him/her in Ambrose pulls another rabbit out of his hat, as the book is interesting and has much good information. However some things could be fleshed out a little more and it did seem unusally choppy and rushed for a work by Ambrose. I also would have liked to have seen a bit more about other B-24 crews as well. Still every good American should read this book so as not to forget what McGovern and all of the other young men, many of whom gave their lives accomplished, the downfall of Nazi Germany. We owe the Individuals whom fought that terrible war a debt which can never be repaid.
Rating: 
Summary: Wild Blue????????????????
Review: If you like Ambrose's style, you may like this book. It is a rambling, loose collection of anecdotes and interview notes, that ultimately comes across flat and uninspired. The book seems like it was prepared and researched in a rushed manner. If you want a 'quickie' read that does not require much thinking, this is it. If you want anything close to a substantive history of the 15th AF or the B-24, look elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: The Wild Blue
Review: My objection to the book is not in Ambrose use of the scholarly work of another. My objection centers on the publisher's sloppy editing of this work.
Rating:
Summary: Good, though it appears shoddy in some parts
Review: By now, the ruckus around THE WILD BLUE and Stephen Ambrose is still swirling...Instead of that, someone who edited this book should be brought into question. Mr ambrose has an inpressive body of work, and when this slim volume[for him] came out in the summer, I gave it a try.The utter herosim of these young men[all in their early 20's] to fly these B24's under appalling circumstances is vividly brought forthj, though it seems that Mr ambrose does concentrate too much on George McGovern's heroics.What does come forth is the basic decency of Mcgovern, how deeply he cared for the welfare of his men, and how periolous these missions were{McGovern flew the maximum allowed,no catch22 here]...when I finsihed this book, I though of people like GEORGE WILl and others who have made a career of castigating McGovern{to the degree that Mcgovern name is an epithet for some of these"people"}. Then I looked up{on the web} and saw that NONE of these men served combat time, though all were draftable age during the war. Makes me wonder...either way, a fine book, second rate ambrose, though a fine tale of ordianry men asked to be extraordinary.
Rating:
Summary: Important subject matter; TERRIBLE writing
Review: Having read the Nixon biographical trilogy, which was amazing, I thought I'd explore some of Ambrose's other works. As a lover of American history, I started with "The Wild Blue." I was completely disappointed. The book reads like it was written in an afternoon. While the research that went into it was exhaustive (extensive interviews with veterans, personal letters and correspondence, etc.), it was very poorly synthesized. The sentences are short, choppy, and annoyingly repetitive. To be honest, I read this book AFTER Ambrose's plagiarism controversy broke, so perhaps I am a bit biased. Plagiarism or not, the writing was awful, which is shocking because of my own personal experiences with Ambrose's works as well as his reputation for excellent historical writing. It is a shame that this book was written so poorly, because its subject matter is so important, especially to patriotic Americans like myself who have nothing but the highest respect for our veterans of all our wars.
Rating:
Summary: Thumbs Up with a small "but"
Review: Loved it because it brought me that much closer to understanding what my late father went through: he piloted (and survived) a B-24 (Fairy Belle II)in the 577th BS, 392nd BG out of Wendling, England (June - November '44). The book is rich with details on the selection process, training, preparation, and actual battles. Intense and educational. But in many ways, this is an anthology of the war experiences of George S. McGovern, straying from that theme only with anecdotal references to other squadron members and GSM's friends, so the focus is a bit narrow in that regard. GSM flew in the 15th AF out of Italy and the book is almost entirely focused on the 15th AF and very little mention is made of the more ubiquitous 8th. But that's a rather small complaint. Overall, this is an easy read, without flowery prose or metaphor. In some parts, it reads like Ambrose simply decided to do a narrative version of the abbreviated flight logs. That content though, is sufficiently stimulating to give an intimate overview of what a horrific and difficult job it was to fly these sometimes desperate missions over Germany. Thanks, Dad. Thanks, guys.
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