Rating: 
Summary: Major Disappointment
Review: This book was short on the history of 15th Air Force and long on George McGovern's experience as a B24 pilot in Italy. George M. flew his first mission Nov. 11,1944 and completed the then required 35 missions. Not one word was written of the crews who flew their missions 1943 and early 1944 and had to fly 50.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Story, Sloppy writing
Review: This story of B-24 pilots--George McGovern in particular--is riveting. The only problems? Ambrose's godawful writing (and all-too ardent flag-waving), the publisher's complete lack of editing and proofreading, and a narrative sometimes marred by Ambrose's lack of depth in the subject. The latter is painfully clear when Ambrose tries to explain what bomber operations were all about, how the aircraft worked, and so on. Once he steps out of the way and lets the story of McGovern's service in Italy come out, the book earns its keep. But like flying a Liberator, Ambrose has to "horse the yoke" around a lot to keep this baby in the air. --Robert Luhn
Rating: 
Summary: Been There. Done That
Review: I will leave the literary criticism to others, but THE WILD BLUE faithfully tells the story of my experience. I was a member of the 301st Bomb Group, 5th Wing (B-17s),15th Air Force. I flew my "50th mission," 30th sortie, on December 26, 1944. I feel that I can speak with some authority when I say that this book gets it right-our naivete, our training, the food, the plight of the Italians, the fact that we were often scared, and the fact that we did what we were trained to do. All of my combat experience was in B-17s. I have considerable experience in B-24s also, a frightening Air craft. Major Onan A. Hill, Navigator, USAFRes Ret
Rating:
Summary: This book is a lightweight. Very disappointing.
Review: This book reads like "People Magazine Covers WWII" It's the first book I've read by Ambrose and the first book I've read about WWII. It is written at a 6-th grade level with a 4-th grade vocabulary. The book is repetitive and simplistic. I would expect to find a book like this in the personal library of a Ronald Reagan or George W. Bush because it's such an easy read and is so simple and transparent. I would recommend this book to 6-th grade history students and adults who don't like to read books written for thinking adults. If you have a grandfather who isn't all there, this would be a good Christmas present for him becaue it won't challenge him.
Rating:
Summary: Great story telling.
Review: Instead of buying this book, I downloaded it (online) for tape playback. I have read a number of Ambrose's books and I always find him interesting; he is a great story teller, but a rather mediocre writer. Well, the story of the B24s (and particularly of Senator George McGovern and his crew) is wonderful, and having it read to me during my commute was great. (Ambrose does the intro, an excellent reader does the book itself). I think I've found a great way to enjoy the rest of Stephen Ambrose's books!
Rating:
Summary: Comes up wanting
Review: The largest problem with this book for me is that I have read other Stephen E. Ambrose books - and was expecting the level of intensity found in D-Day and Citizen soldiers. I was also looking for more information about the B-24. Though the interviews with George McGovern and the cast of others in the book was interesting, to include the background on how they fought and lived while in Italy, I still feel the book lacks something. Again, if you haven't read one of his books, this is a good place to start...
Rating:
Summary: Poor and Unfocused Disappointment
Review: Ambrose's effort tries to be too many things and fails at all of them. First he tries to meet the subtitle ("... The Men and Boys ...") by describing the backgrounds of those who served, but his narrative lacks the emotional impact of Brokaw's "Greatest Generation". Next he tries to tell George McGovern's story, based on personal interviews. His setup -- before McGovern actually entered service -- starts well and gives good personal insights into McGovern's pre-service thoughts and introspections. But Ambrose fails to deliver on this premise, and reduces McGovern's service record to dry facts about each mission without any of the introspection this topic cries out for. Finally, the book tries to be a wartime record of the 455th Bomber Group, but the narrative is too dry, and the strategic and tactical analysis of this fine Group's contribution to the war effort is nearly non-existent. Numerous typos in the book were also distracting. For example, page 206 states that one mission dropped 200,035 "tons" of bombs in a single day. That's more than the entire 15th Air Force dropped during 1944. Given Ambrose's past efforts, this book was a huge disappointment. There are many fine books out there about the role of B-24 Liberators in WWII. Get one of those; don't bother with this one.
Rating:
Summary: Good, but not Ambrose's best work.
Review: After having read Band of Brothers, I came to expect more action from Ambrose's accounts of WWII. I find that he spends too much time on the training aspect of these AAF men, which proves to be much drier than the telling of the E Company's training in Band of Brothers. I think that Mr. Ambrose should have told more about the actual battles that these planes flew through than the selection and training of these brave men.
Rating:
Summary: George McGovern's War; A Brief History of the Bomber War
Review: Those hoping for the story of the sub-title "The Men and Boys Who Flew the B-24s Over Germany", will come away disappointed. This story primarily tells the story, and it is a good one, of one pilot, his upbringing, training and combat experience during WWII. That pilot is George McGovern, a long time friend of Ambrose. The 2 men have known each other for decades, and for a while, in the 1980s and perhaps early 1990s, both taught at the University of New Orleans, McGovern lecturing on Political Science, Ambrose on History. This history is too much from the pilot's perspective, with all too little input from the enlisted men. McGovern started flying combat missions with the 15th Air Force in late 1944, from Army Air Forces (AAF) bases in Italy. By this point, the war had been won, and air supremacy had been achieved. If you're interesested in finding out about bombers undergoing heavy attacks from fierce German fighter resistance, you won't find it in this book. This book works well as a history of McGovern during the war. The man who was against the Vietnam War, and the bombing in North Vietnam flew 35 combat missions, the maximum limit allowed by the AAF. Yet even here, Ambrose doesn't follow-up. McGovern relates the story of how a live bomb failed to drop on the target, getting hung up in the plane. Landing with a live bomb would have been suicidal, so the crew worked to get rid of it. It finally got loose, and landed onto a peaceful Austrian farm house. When McGovern got back on the ground, he was greeted with the news that his wife had given birth to a baby girl. Ambrose doesn't address the obvious question as to how this incident might have shaped McGovern's later political views, despite McGovern's statement that the incident had haunted him. This should have been addressed. This book is incomplete. That Ambrose tells a history of the oft-forgotten B-24 is to be lauded. But, ironically, although Ambrose discusses how the B-24 has been forgotten, his book gives short shrift to this important plane, ignoring the B-24s flying from England as part of the 8th Air Force, and concentrating so heavily on one perspective, pilot George McGovern. McGovern served ably and well, and others have contributed to this book as well. But the story of the air war is incomplete. It's as if Ambrose has only told the story of a single rifle squad of Easy Company. This book is of value to read, but it should have been much more that it ends up being. Too many stories are left untold, most especially the terror of the bombing war of 1943 - early 1944. This is *A* story of the bomber war. *THE* story of the bomber war has yet to be told, at least by Ambrose.
Rating:
Summary: Needs different title otherwise it is an excellent book
Review: The title of the book is miss-leading because it focuses on George McGovern and his crew. Otherwise it is an excellent book on what was involved in training to fly, fly, and enter combat in a B-24. Typical Ambrose, good easy read.
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