Aces High Bulletin Board

General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: xxIENAxx on August 24, 2014, 05:57:08 PM

Title: Book suggestions
Post by: xxIENAxx 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


IENA
Title: Re: Book suggestions
Post by: Badger85 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
Title: Re: Book suggestions
Post by: guncrasher on August 24, 2014, 06:08:42 PM
look at victoria's secret books.  pretty sure you can find something there :).



semp
Title: Re: Book suggestions
Post by: Vraciu 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.
Title: Re: Book suggestions
Post by: wpeters 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.
Title: Re: Book suggestions
Post by: Changeup on August 24, 2014, 06:37:53 PM
Grizz vs m00t:  Late 1944 Lethality in a Bf109-K4
Title: Re: Book suggestions
Post by: Obie303 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. 

Obie
Title: Re: Book suggestions
Post by: Flench 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 .
Title: Re: Book suggestions
Post by: Vraciu 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.
Title: Re: Book suggestions
Post by: 10thmd on August 24, 2014, 07:47:44 PM
Schnaufer: Ace of Diamonds was a good read.
Title: Re: Book suggestions
Post by: pangea 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
Title: Re: Book suggestions
Post by: Ack-Ack on August 25, 2014, 12:48:41 PM
The Blond Knight of Germany is another good one.

ack-ack
Title: Re: Book suggestions
Post by: Lusche 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

Title: Re: Book suggestions
Post by: xxIENAxx on August 25, 2014, 03:24:19 PM
Thank you guys.  :salute





IENA
Title: Re: Book suggestions
Post by: Brooke 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!
Title: Re: Book suggestions
Post by: Devil 505 on August 25, 2014, 04:07:41 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


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

Yes. All three of these are must reads.
Title: Re: Book suggestions
Post by: MrGeezer on August 25, 2014, 04:16:49 PM
I realize it's WWI...but.

"The Day The Red Baron Died"  By Dale Titler.   

Read about the pilot that all the WWII pilots dreamed to be like....and he was the one that took "Boelke's Dicta" and added to it when he ran the Jagdgeschwader.
Title: Re: Book suggestions
Post by: Hetzer7 on August 25, 2014, 04:41:44 PM
(http://www.bookloveroxford.co.uk/sites/default/files/aviation1%20052.jpg)

:lol
Title: Re: Book suggestions
Post by: 230G on August 25, 2014, 07:51:01 PM
  If you like reads about WW2 air combat, then these three books:

  First and foremost: I Flew for the Fuhrer (http://"http://www.amazon.com/I-FLEW-FOR-THE-FUHRER/dp/1848326483")

  I found this book at the RAF Museum in London about 15 years ago. I've ben a WW2 aircraft buff for 40+ years and it's hands-down the best I've ever read. Written from a first hand, very personal level.
 
   Next, take your pick: Aces Against Germany and Aces Against Japan.
Title: Re: Book suggestions
Post by: pipz on August 25, 2014, 08:17:59 PM
Horrido! Fighter aces of the Luftwaffe.  :aok

http://www.amazon.com/Horrido-Fighter-Luftwaffe-Toliver-Constable/dp/B002NEAETS/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1409015746&sr=8-3&keywords=Horrido+fighter+aces+of+the+luftwaffe
Title: Re: Book suggestions
Post by: Guppy35 on August 25, 2014, 08:23:29 PM
Visit the Schiffer books website and go through the Luftwaffe section.  181 books to choose from.  I like the unit histories myself :)

http://www.schifferbooks.com/military-catalog-959/military-aviation-history-693/aviation-german-luftwaffe-ww-ii-715/?zenid=886d91a4f8ec872487cfdce99b6b2ae1

Or you could go to Eagle Editions and do the same thing

http://www.eagle-editions.com/library-of-eagles.html
Title: Re: Book suggestions
Post by: MiloMorai on August 25, 2014, 09:32:35 PM
Did I miss someone mentioning Lipfert's bio book?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/War-Diary-Hauptmann-Helmut-Lipfert/dp/0887404464
Title: Re: Book suggestions
Post by: Flench on August 26, 2014, 02:43:31 AM
WOW ! ok where do I start , lol .
Title: Re: Book suggestions
Post by: Ratsy on August 26, 2014, 07:57:07 AM
Surprised at the pan of Amadio's book on Rall.

Having met Rall briefly back in the 90's, I got a sense that he was less about war stories and more about character.  His force of will in conversation was almost a physical thing.  Because of that, I think Amadio simply wrote the book that Rall demanded - less operations and more about his life and family.

I liked Knocke, Rudel, and Galland books.

Thanks for the tips on the other titles.  Adding to read list.

 :salute
Title: Re: Book suggestions
Post by: USCH on August 26, 2014, 08:03:12 PM
Blond Knight of Germany, the autobiography of Eric Hartman. By to toliver and constable and By Colin  d Heaton and anne-marie  Lewis. The star of Africa. The story of Hans Marseille. The 2 best 109 pilots I can think of..
And great reads..
Title: Re: Book suggestions
Post by: branch37 on August 26, 2014, 08:25:53 PM
A Higher Call or Messerschmitts over Sicily by Steinhoff are both excellent.
Title: Re: Book suggestions
Post by: shotgunneeley on August 26, 2014, 10:02:20 PM
I'm currently reading Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. They're making a movie based on it, shaping up to be a good one.

Others I've read:

1) the Bomber Boys by Travis L. Ayres
2) the Faustball Tunnel by John Hammond Moore
3) Four Came Home by Carroll V. Glines (autographed by Robert Hite)
4) a Higher Call by Adam Makos
5) to Kingdom Come by Robert J. Mrazek
6) Masters of the Air by Donald L. Miller
7) Night of the Intruders by Ian McLachlan
8) Spitfires Over Malta by Paul Lovell (dang near was able to get this one autographed as well, but he was out on "holiday" when my sister picked this up for me while visiting Dover Castle in England).
9) the Victors by Stephen Ambrose
10) the War in the Air edited by Gavin Lyall

Edit: oh yeah, and American Sniper by Chris Kyle

My next read will be Leading with Honor by Lee Ellis (autographed at an ACF convention in Savannah, GA)
Title: Re: Book suggestions
Post by: Obie303 on August 28, 2014, 06:53:34 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 .

I enjoyed this book so much, I joined the Corp and asked for that MOS.
Title: Re: Book suggestions
Post by: Flench on August 28, 2014, 08:45:26 PM
I enjoyed this book so much, I joined the Corp and asked for that MOS.
Yeah , it's a killer book . I mite have to read it again . Been a long time .
Title: Re: Book suggestions
Post by: Getback on August 29, 2014, 06:50:25 AM
I don't have any suggestions but wow, 23 years is great! Congratulations!
Title: Re: Book suggestions
Post by: Flench on August 29, 2014, 06:53:46 AM
I enjoyed this book so much, I joined the Corp and asked for that MOS.
I can not remember who the writer was do you ?
Title: Re: Book suggestions
Post by: Obie303 on August 29, 2014, 09:23:50 PM
I can not remember who the writer was do you ?

John Clark.  I think the book it read "Johnny Clark". 
Title: Re: Book suggestions
Post by: Flench on August 30, 2014, 03:22:12 PM
John Clark.  I think the book it read "Johnny Clark". 
Cool , Thanks <S>