Author Topic: Book suggestions  (Read 1408 times)

Offline xxIENAxx

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Book suggestions
« on: August 24, 2014, 05:57:08 PM »
Hey guys, i need your help.
The 24th has been my Anniversary (23 years) and because (also this past year), i have been such a great and wonderful husband  ;), my wife would like to give me a present. Well, this time i wish some books about German Aces and/or the Bf 109. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance. :salute


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Offline Badger85

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Re: Book suggestions
« Reply #1 on: August 24, 2014, 06:08:03 PM »
A Higher Call: An Incredible True Story of Combat and Chivalry in the War-Torn Skies of World War II by Adam Makos
http://www.amazon.com/Higher-Call-Incredible-Chivalry-War-Torn/dp/0425255735
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Offline guncrasher

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Re: Book suggestions
« Reply #2 on: August 24, 2014, 06:08:42 PM »
look at victoria's secret books.  pretty sure you can find something there :).



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Offline Vraciu

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Re: Book suggestions
« Reply #3 on: August 24, 2014, 06:24:17 PM »
STUKA PILOT.

No contest.

Second only to SAMURAI! as the greatest book from "the other side" of the conflict.
« Last Edit: August 24, 2014, 06:39:29 PM by Vraciu »
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Offline wpeters

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Re: Book suggestions
« Reply #4 on: August 24, 2014, 06:36:04 PM »
A Higher Call: An Incredible True Story of Combat and Chivalry in the War-Torn Skies of World War II by Adam Makos
http://www.amazon.com/Higher-Call-Incredible-Chivalry-War-Torn/dp/0425255735
This a great one.

But my favorite one this year is Unbroken..
 
here is the movie trailer   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrjJbl7kRrI

About a Olympic runner who becomes a bombider and durning a mission crashes into the sea. Set the world record for time survived at sea only to be captured by the japs.

On a May afternoon in 1943, an Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean and disappeared, leaving only a spray of debris and a slick of oil, gasoline, and blood. Then, on the ocean surface, a face appeared. It was that of a young lieutenant, the plane’s bombardier, who was struggling to a life raft and pulling himself aboard. So began one of the most extraordinary odysseys of the Second World War.

The lieutenant’s name was Louis Zamperini. In boyhood, he’d been a cunning and incorrigible delinquent, breaking into houses, brawling, and fleeing his home to ride the rails. As a teenager, he had channeled his defiance into running, discovering a prodigious talent that had carried him to the Berlin Olympics and within sight of the four-minute mile. But when war had come, the athlete had become an airman, embarking on a journey that led to his doomed flight, a tiny raft, and a drift into the unknown.

Ahead of Zamperini lay thousands of miles of open ocean, leaping sharks, a foundering raft, thirst and starvation, enemy aircraft, and, beyond, a trial even greater. Driven to the limits of endurance, Zamperini would answer desperation with ingenuity; suffering with hope, resolve, and humor; brutality with rebellion. His fate, whether triumph or tragedy, would be suspended on the fraying wire of his will.

In her long-awaited new book, Laura Hillenbrand writes with the same rich and vivid narrative voice she displayed in Seabiscuit. Telling an unforgettable story of a man’s journey into extremity, Unbroken is a testament to the resilience of the human mind, body, and spirit.
« Last Edit: August 24, 2014, 06:39:27 PM by wpeters »
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Offline Changeup

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Re: Book suggestions
« Reply #5 on: August 24, 2014, 06:37:53 PM »
Grizz vs m00t:  Late 1944 Lethality in a Bf109-K4
"Such is the nature of war.  By protecting others, you save yourself."

"Those who are skilled in combat do not become angered.  Those who are skilled at winning do not become afraid.  Thus, the wise win before the fight, while the ignorant fight to win." - Morihei Ueshiba

Offline Obie303

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Re: Book suggestions
« Reply #6 on: August 24, 2014, 06:54:46 PM »
A couple books about German aces;

The German Aces Speak: World War II Through the Eyes of Four of the Luftwaffe's Most Important Commanders  By Colin Heaton

Gunther Rall: A Memoir, Luftwaffe Ace & NATO General  By Jill Amadio

A Higher Call: An Incredible True Story of Combat and Chivalry in the War-Torn Skies of World War II  By Adam Makos

The last one was by far the best. 

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Offline Flench

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Re: Book suggestions
« Reply #7 on: August 24, 2014, 07:19:42 PM »
GUNS UP . It's about a machine gunner in Vietnam . Very good read . I know it's not what your looking for but you should check it out .
« Last Edit: August 24, 2014, 07:21:46 PM by Flench »
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Offline Vraciu

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Re: Book suggestions
« Reply #8 on: August 24, 2014, 07:21:21 PM »
A couple books about German aces;

The German Aces Speak: World War II Through the Eyes of Four of the Luftwaffe's Most Important Commanders  By Colin Heaton

Gunther Rall: A Memoir, Luftwaffe Ace & NATO General  By Jill Amadio

A Higher Call: An Incredible True Story of Combat and Chivalry in the War-Torn Skies of World War II  By Adam Makos

The last one was by far the best. 

Obie

That book by Amadio was horrible.  She has no idea what flying is like.

Sorry.
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Offline 10thmd

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Re: Book suggestions
« Reply #9 on: August 24, 2014, 07:47:44 PM »
Schnaufer: Ace of Diamonds was a good read.
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Offline pangea

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Re: Book suggestions
« Reply #10 on: August 25, 2014, 11:21:32 AM »
That book by Amadio was horrible.  She has no idea what flying is like.

Sorry.

Agreed.  The Gunther Rall book was not very well written.  The other two are very good though.  Here's another one to consider:

The Star of Africa: The Story of Hans Marseille by Colin D. Heaton

Offline Ack-Ack

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Re: Book suggestions
« Reply #11 on: August 25, 2014, 12:48:41 PM »
The Blond Knight of Germany is another good one.

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Offline Lusche

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Re: Book suggestions
« Reply #12 on: August 25, 2014, 01:07:31 PM »
If you want to buy something beyond the standard "noble heroes of the air" stuff, try two books by Johannes Steinhoff himself:

Messerschmitts Over Sicily: Diary of a Luftwaffe Fighter Commander

From a review:
"War in the air: no knights in shining armour
Great book! Not only did Steinhoff write a lucid account of the desperate struggle of a shrinking air force against overwhelming odds, he also proves to be a engrossing writer who is able to convey the increasingly cynical thoughts of the fighter pilots and to bring home the pressure of the daily missions with an almost statistical certainty of death or captivity in the end.
(...)
Steinhoff shows how the fighter pilot is always alone in his battle, no-one at his side and how this grates at the nerves. Not fear, but anxiety is the word he uses for this state of mind."



The Final Hours: A German Jet Pilot Plots Against Goering

« Last Edit: August 25, 2014, 01:32:27 PM by Lusche »
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Offline xxIENAxx

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Re: Book suggestions
« Reply #13 on: August 25, 2014, 03:24:19 PM »
Thank you guys.  :salute





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Offline Brooke

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Re: Book suggestions
« Reply #14 on: August 25, 2014, 03:46:36 PM »
Ones that I like from German perspective with much 109 action described therein:

The First and the Last, by Galland
JG26:  Top Guns of the Luftwaffe, by Caldwell

Also, congratulations on your 23rd anniversary -- <S> to you and your wife!