The Wild Blue

The Men and Boys Who Flew the B-24s Over Germany

By: Stephen E. Ambrose

Narrated by: Jeffrey DeMunn

Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

The very young men who flew the B24s over Germany in World War II against terrible odds were an exemplary band of brothers. In The Wild Blue, Stephen Ambrose recounts their extraordinary brand of heroism, skill, daring, and comradeship.

Ambrose describes how the Army Air Forces recruited, trained, and chose those few who would undertake the most demanding and dangerous jobs in the war. These are the boys - turned pilots, bombardiers, navigators, and gunners of the B24s - who suffered over 50 percent casualties.

Ambrose carries us along in the crowded, uncomfortable, and dangerous B24s as their crews fought to the death through thick, black, deadly flak to reach their targets and destroy the German war machine or else went down in flames. Twenty-two-year-old George McGovern, who was to become a United States senator and a presidential candidate, flew 35 combat missions (all the Army would allow) and won the Distinguished Flying Cross. We meet him and his mates, his co-pilot killed in action, and crews of other planes - many of whom did not come back.

As Band of Brothers and Citizen Soldiers portrayed the bravery and ultimate victory of the American soldier from Normandy on to Germany, The Wild Blue makes clear the contribution these young men of the Army Air Forces stationed in Italy made to the Allied victory.

©2001 Stephen E. Ambrose (P)2011 Simon & Schuster

Critic reviews

"Brilliant.... It is a terrific story." (Larry King, USA Today)

" The Wild Blue is right on target...[the book] finally gives those men of the 15th Air Force the tribute they so richly earned." ( The Dallas Morning News)

Action packed the story of how it really was.

What made the experience of listening to The Wild Blue the most enjoyable?

The first person accounts and the historic details of the time period

What did you like best about this story?

How it was told not in a novel type way but in a historic way

Which character – as performed by Jeffrey DeMunn – was your favorite?

since this is not a novel but a historic documentry there was no main character

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

yes and then listened to it again it was that factual I learned a lot from it.

Any additional comments?

although it mentiones George McGovern it is not just about him but about the whole 8th airforce good read if you like history

I loved it!

I love the format of first hand reports from the men that were there. This was very well written.

Great background and history...

What did you love best about The Wild Blue?

The things I liked best about The Wild Blue was that it portrayed both the B-24 as well as McGovern in a way that I had never heard about. The narration was good and crisp and it made for a great story.

The 15th Air Force: The Boys Who Got It Done

The 15th Air Force did some major heavy lifting during World War II. I always past by this book when it would come up on my “things I might like to listen to list” BUT for some reason this time I bought the book and listened to it. I am so happy I did. The 15th Air Force were the grunts that did a lot a smash mouth missions and never really got the glory like the other numbered Air Forces. The B-24 is a big lumbering slugger that takes a licking and keeps on ticking. Thank you to all the people who fought in World War II.

Very informative

What made the experience of listening to The Wild Blue the most enjoyable?

Enjoyed the story as I am a history buff of WWII. Unbelievable what these men went through.

Amazing

There's nothing like books by this author and the person who read it was very well I love these stories and always will

Outstanding work

From a very listenable narrator to an author who covered the subject thoroughly this was a pleasant experience from beginning to end

One of my favorites by Ambrose.

This is one of my favorite books by Stephen Ambrose. There is so much wonderful story here and it is less blood and guts than many books written about World War II. Fair warning: the end is a tearjerker.

I was less thrilled with the narrator who mispronounced names of a couple geographic places and people’s names. I hear this often when listening to books and always makes me cringe.

Closing the Ring

My father was in the 461st Bomb group at Ceragnola during this time. Filled in a lot of blanks for me and brought home to me an incident that he described to me. In one of his early missions, he missed his target and hit a church. He carried the guilt of that to his grave. I'm happy Mcgovern had that release, as my father laid in a home and we talked about it, he was bothered by it right to the end. Fortunately, he is at peace with our Lord and Savior.

Toatally fascinating

One of the best books about war and air combat. Puts you right there in the pilot's seat on many bomb runs.