“The memoir of . . . an American pilot flying with the famous French Flying Corps’ American Layfayette Escadrille and provides a unique personal insight.”—Firetrench In 1915 James Roger McConnell enlisted as a US volunteer in the French Flying Corps. He was part of a remarkable band of American volunteers which were formed into the famous Lafayette Escadrille, which was then based at Verdun. This book brings his personal account of the war, Flying for France, to a new generation of readers. His memoirs produce an amazing insight into the early aerial battles and trace the evolution of aerial warfare as the rickety aircraft of 1915 rapidly evolved into the purpose-built fighters of 1917. Casualties among the American Escadrille were very high and McConnell’s own luck finally ran out when he was ambushed by two German fighters and was killed in action in March 1917. His gripping and detailed memoir of the war is his lasting memorial; his honest account of the everyday life of a pilot in the Great War is matched only by Sagittarius Rising. However, his dramatic description of the battlefield of Verdun viewed from above is one of the classic descriptions of any wartime memoir and is unmatched by any other Great War writer. “Resurrects an important part of the first-person literature of the Lafayette Escadrille. A long-lost gem.”—Over the Front “The memoir and letters give a surprising amount of detail about the pilot’s life and tactics employed. McConnell’s story is certainly an interesting one and this is a short and easily digestible introduction to the life of a First World War pilot.”—WW1 Geek

From bailouts to belly landings, flaming cockpits to lurching carrier decks, here are the heoic tales of pilots from all backgrounds, united by a desire to fight their country's enemy to the finish. Drawn from a small corner of Tennessee, these men flew in all theatres of combat, in every front-line fighter aircraft. They soared to victory in the air--and fled from capture on the ground. This is a memorable anthhology of combat tales with great appeal both for veterans and historians.

A gripping, literary recollection of a pilot's experiences during WWII.

In this riveting narrative, Jack R. Myers recounts his experiences as a B-17 bombardier during World War II. Commissioned a second lieutenant in 1944 at age twenty, Myers began flying missions with the 2nd Bomb Group, U.S. Fifteenth Air Force. He learned firsthand the exhilaration—and terror—of being shot at and missed. Based in Italy, the Fifteenth Air Force flew strategic bombing raids over southern Germany, Austria, Hungary, Rumania, and Czechoslovakia. Less celebrated than the Eighth Air Force, which flew out of England, the Fifteenth, nevertheless, was pivotal in dismantling the German industrial complex. Myers offers an insider’s view of these missions over southern and central Europe. The reader goes with him into the highly exposed Plexiglas nose of the Flying Fortress, flying with him through the flak-filled skies of Europe and peering with him through his Norden bombsight at Axis targets. On average, a heavy-bomber crewman survived only sixteen bombing missions. Myers survived his allotted thirty-five missions before being honorably discharged in 1945.

Abridqement of the author's Seven pillars of wisdom. Illustrated lining-papers. Includes index.

The railways were intrinsic to fighting the First World War, whether at home or abroad. On the Western Front and beyond trains ferried men and supplies to and from the front on a staggering scale, ensuring that the war machine functioned without pause. Back in Britain, the railway network shipped millions of tonnes of war material from the factories to the ports, becoming the lifeblood of the war effort. Great War Railwaymen details this incredible achievement, exploring not only the vast infrastructure, but also those who operated it. Despite the importance of the railways, many of those involved in the industry went off to fight in the mud and trenches, on the world's oceans, or in the skies above war torn Europe. Between them, they were awarded 2500 Military medals, 44 Distinguished Conduct Medals, 27 Military Crosses and 6 Victoria Crosses. This is their story. Meticulously researched and lovingly produced, Jeremy Higgins narrates the fascinating stories of over a thousand of these men, vividly capturing their wartime experiences and pressing home the vital importance of the railways, and those that ran them, to the Allied victory in the First World War.

From the moment Germany ignited World War II, life changed radically for young Elisabeth, her family, and other residents of Wurzburg. When a fire-bombing near the war's end destroyed most of the city, earlier hardships turned into a desperate struggle for survival as the family took shelter in a cabin outside of town. Through it all, Elisabeth found moments of humor and compassion, from a bungled midnight attempt to milk a neighbor's goat and a Russian POW risking his life to save her family to communion dresses sewn from the only material on hand--a dead soldier's parachute--and the baker who rewarded Elisabeth's mother's confession about stealing a loaf of his bread by giving her another. Together, the stories captured in this memoir provide a gripping picture of everyday life in a world gone up in flames.