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timmens59's review against another edition
3.0
An interesting slice of the air war in the ETO. I enjoyed getting to know some of the incredible men who willingly boarded those planes mission after mission to face unimagined terror and horrors with no guarantees that their bombs would make a difference in altering the war. We're introduced to Arnold and Eaker and to Travis (as soon as I read his name I figured he would be related to Col. Travis, and indeed he was) and Mrazek shares with the reader the battle of egos and ambition that we see so often in the higher ranks. As the author built the story, I thought I was in store of a thorough examination of the Stuttgart mission, inside and out, but felt like I only got a small taste of it. Why did Travis make the decision to keep circling in hopes of the clouds clearing while his train was being decimated by 88s? I didn't get a clear reason why he would keep sounding that order, at least in my mind. Also, it seems like the mission's failure was covered up by Eaker, or attempted to be massaged into a success for the bullying Arnold, and to protect his own job. I don't know. I wanted to know more. When the planes turned toward England, we are right there with them as Mrazek describes the German fighters racing up from their bases to hit the unprotected train, by now, all spread out over France and some even turning toward Switzerland. The losses were horrific. From there, the book turns to a survivor's tale of the crews that were able to bail out and find refuge with the French underground. Some of this went a long way. For some reason Mrazek focused on one flier whose attempts to get back to England were thwarted again and again. It got a little one-note, although in real life I'm sure it was a harrowing experience and I don't mean to take anything away from what the flier went through. To sum up, good in spots, but I found myself skimming the on-the-ground adventures.
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