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Type of bind: Mass Market Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 940
EAN num: 9780345476364
ISBN number: 0345476360
Label: Presidio Press
Manufacturer: Presidio Press
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 352
Printing Date: June 28, 2005
Publishing house: Presidio Press
Release Date: June 28, 2005
Sale Popularity Level: 436901
Studio: Presidio Press
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
Second lieutenant Dick Curtis arrived in Italy in May 1944–twenty years old and part of a shipment of P-51 Mustang fighter pilots so desperately needed that they were rushed into combat with less than thirty hours of flight time in their new high-performance aircraft.
Six of the twelve pilots assigned to the 52nd Fighter Group were shot down in the very first two weeks. By his ninth mission, Curtis was the only one still flying. A maverick, he barely escaped court-martial with his high-flying antics. Escorting bombers sent to pound heavily defended oil fields was risky enough, but strafing the enemy supply lines, ports, and airfields was even more dangerous. Curtis may chalk up his sucess to dumb luck, but these missions took exceptional skill and courage. This hair-raising account captures the air war in all its split-second terror and adrenaline-pumping action.
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Rated by buyers 
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This was not an easy read. The writer is so proud of his status as a maverick, that it invades the whole book, and makes one wonder why he wrote it at all. Compared to the Red Badge of Courage, or All Quiet on the Western Front, Saving Private Ryan, etc. it is an almost silly endeavor to describe his experiences as a P51 pilot. He should have been court marshalled.
Rated by buyers 
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I am a big fan of this book. The author was a human guinea pig who was sent to a front line fighter group with minimal training, as the government wanted to see how little training pilots could receive and still be effective and survive. This is not the usual account of a figher pilot, who normally tells you exactly how good he was. He candidly informs you how unprepared he was. The title says it all. I am also glad to hear about a unit and theater of war that is not often written about or published. The Eighth Airforce and the Fifteenth Airforce were partners that worked together to keep the enemy off balance. Together they did much to finish Nazi Germany. The Mighty Eighth is well covered in many books, especially a handful of groups. You could fit all that is written on the fifteenth on a short shelf. I found the author engaging and humorous. He also helps you see the ugly side of war, even though he flies the "glamorous" P-51 Mustang.
Rated by buyers -
The author served in the same fighter squadron as the man that I was later named after, who like many others gave the ultimate sacrifice. I found this book very enlightening, because it is not just a recount of the military strategy and the tactics of air battles, but a broad description of the culture, technology, training and hardships of a very young man doing his patriotic duty with honor. Mr Curtis reveals some of the reckless and foolish things that he and others did, and the lucky and un-lucky pilots that he served with. His colorful descriptions of the pilot's life in P-51 Mustangs and in Italy paint an vivid picture. The long-distance love story with his one-and-only Myrt adds another dimension.
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This is a well-written book with all the fears, mishaps and accomplishments of the young men who gave so much for us to be free!
Rated by buyers -
This is a wonderful account of the truth of a mustang. The plane was a danger as much as a wonderful fighter. The story is also great of a life and time most people have forgotten.
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