Originally posted by GtoRA2
Good choice Straffo, it is a GREAT book, my copy has been read so many times it is close to falling apart.
LOL they are right to , Bodie is a crotchety old guy, I send him an email telling him how much I loved the book and we exchanged emails for a few weeks. Interesting man, tad easy to offend though lol.
The way to handle Warren is to yell at him... a lot. He can be a genuine pain in the keister at times. Trust me, I co-wrote a series of articles with him a few years ago.
It finally got to the point that I stopped working with him to avoid the pissing contests.
Don't get me wrong, Warren is a national treasure. No one I have met can approach him on American aviation knowledge. He has well over 100,000 original photos and negatives, many of which he took himself. He's well into his 80s now (82 or 83), and as busy as ever. He's beaten cancer twice and is as feisty as hell. I'd rather neuter a bobcat in a phone booth than listen to his temper tantrums tho....
Warren lives in western North Carolina, near the border with Georgia, on a lake in a big house, which he shares with his dog. His wife passed some years ago, and Warren still mourns for her.
He drives a Jaguar XK-8, a sedan and a pickup. His vision has been giving him trouble and he only has one truly functional eye. But that doesn't even slow him, much less stop him. He has a strict work ethic and will be writing as long as he can breathe.
Bodie is his own publisher (Widewing Publications). He does his own layouts and design (assisted by Bob Boyd, his graphic artist). He's a very talented man, with more ambition than guys 1/4 his age. About two years ago he picked up another co-writer and they produced at least two books together. If I know Warren, the co-writer does most of the first-draft writing, with Warren editing, providing the photos (which is 50% of the books) and writes the captions, which are often hundreds of words long.
Yeah, he's easy to offend, but I think it's because he's a bit insecure since his wife died. Don't let his gruff manner fool you, he's a softy at heart and generous almost to a fault. If he likes you, he'll do almost anything for you. If he doesn't like you, there will be no mistaking it.
Buy his books, they're worth every penny. In fact, his P-47 book is selling used for 4 times it's publication price. You can great deals on used Bodie books at Alibris.com, but finding the P-47 book is difficult, and expensive.
My regards,
Widewing (now you know where I borrowed the name)
