Luck of the Draw

My Story of the Air War in Europe

By: Frank Murphy, Chloe Melas, Elizabeth Murphy

Narrated by: Elizabeth Murphy, Jonas Moore, Chloe Melas

This audiobook is read by Jonas Moore, who stars as Captain Frank Murphy in the upcoming streaming series from Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, Masters of the Air. It also includes a foreword written and read by Elizabeth Murphy and CNN's Chloe Melas, daughter and granddaughter of Frank Murphy, respectively.

“In the pursuit of authenticity, of accurate history and undeniable courage, no words matter more than, ‘I was there.’ Read Luck of the Draw and the life of Frank Murphy and ponder this: how did those boys do such things?”—Tom Hanks

The epic true story of an American hero who flew during WWII, soon to be featured in the upcoming Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks TV Series, Masters of the Air.

Beginning on August 17, 1942, American heavy bomber crews of the Eighth Air Force took off for combat in the hostile skies over occupied Europe. The final price was staggering. 4,300 B-17s and B-24s failed to return; nearly 21,000 men were taken prisoner or interned in a neutral country, and a further 17,650 made the ultimate sacrifice.

Luck of the Draw is more than a war story. It’s the incredible, inspiring story of Frank Murphy, one of the few survivors from the 100th Bombardment Group, who cheated death for months in a German POW camp after being shot out of his B-17 Flying Fortress.

Now with a new foreword written by his granddaughter Chloe Melas of CNN, and daughter Elizabeth Murphy.

“A gripping, inspirational account of incredible bravery, resilience, and sheer will to survive. A truly extraordinary story!”—General David Petraeus, U.S. Army (Ret.)

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press.

©2023 Frank Murphy, Chloe Melas, Elizabeth Murphy (P)2023 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“In the pursuit of authenticity, of accurate history and undeniable courage, no words matter more than, ‘I was there.’ Read Luck of the Draw and the life of Frank Murphy and ponder this: how did those boys do such things?”—Tom Hanks

"Murphy describes some of the bloodiest air battles of the war as only a person who was actually there can. Luck of the Draw is a riveting and often harrowing must-read for anyone interested in military aviation, the second world war, or just plain real-life adventure."—John Orloff, writer, HBO’s Band of Brothers and Apple+'s Masters of the Air

"Originally published in 2001, this finely wrought memoir captures the fortitude and resilience of the 'greatest generation'...Students of military history will appreciate Murphy’s detailed accounts of the Army Air Corp’s training program and a B-17 navigator’s responsibilities, while more casual readers will savor Murphy’s heartfelt tributes to comrades in arms. The result is a winning WWII story."—Publishers Weekly

Great story and good narration

I enjoyed the essence of this story and the experience of the air war over Europe. I had no issues with the narration and thought he did well.

love it

An honor to listen to Frank’s story. He gave great due credit to the men of the 8th Air Force in his account.

I felt I was with them

If you enjoy WWII history you will enjoy this story of brave flight crews of the B-17.

Great accounts from entry into the air corps to POW in Germany.

This was a great read/listen. Great story of the horrors of war and the trials a POW has to go through.

The details.

I loved the entire audio book. The whole story kept me wanting to hear more.