Lucky 666

The Impossible Mission

De: Bob Drury, Tom Clavin

Narrado por: Jeremy Bobb

“A fast-paced, well-researched…irresistible” (USA TODAY) World War II aviation account of friendship, heroism, and sacrifice that reads like Unbroken meets The Dirty Dozen from the authors of the #1 New York Times bestselling The Heart of Everything That Is.

It’s 1942, just after the blow to Pearl Harbor and the Japanese invasion of the Philippines, and the United States is reeling. A group of raw US Army Airmen travels to the embattled American Air Base of Port Moresby at Papua, New Guinea. Their mission: to protect Australia, to disrupt the Japanese supply lines, and to fly perilous reconnaissance runs over the enemy-held strongholds. Among the men are pilot Captain Jay Zeamer and bombardier Sergeant Raymond Joseph “Joe” Sarnoski, a pair of swashbuckling screw-ups whose antics prevent them from being assigned to a regular bombing crew. Instead, they rebuild a broken-down B-17 bomber from spare parts and christen the plane Old 666.

One day in June 1943, a request is circulated: volunteers are needed for a reconnaissance flight into the heart of the Japanese empire. Zeamer and Sarnoski see it as a shot at redemption and cobble together a crew and depart in Old 666 under cover of darkness. Five hours later, dozens of Japanese Zeros riddle the plane with bullets. Bloody and half-conscious, Zeamer and Sarnoski keep the plane in the air, winning what will go down as the longest dogfight in history and maneuvering an emergency landing in the jungle. Only one of them will make it home alive.

With unprecedented access to the Old 666 crew’s family and letters, as well as newly released transcripts from the Imperial Air Force’s official accounts of the battle, Lucky 666 is perhaps the last untold “great war story” (Kirkus Reviews) from the war in the Pacific. It’s an unforgettable tale of friendship, bravery, and sacrifice—and “highly recommended for WWII and aviation history buffs alike” (BookPage).

Beautifully written and narrated.

One of the best audiobooks I have ever heard! Well worth the money and time.

a true mix of unbroken and inglorious bastards

Where does Lucky 666 rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

it ranks behind unbroken and a higher call but ahead of pacific air.

What other book might you compare Lucky 666 to and why?

i would compare it to a higher call while it touches a bit on unbroken because its not a knight in shining armor, but a bunch of no good bunch of hooligans who have the guts to overcome amazing odds.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

The author could not have done a better job.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I remember at the end of the mission where joe was breathing his final breaths while old 666 was striving to stay aloft!

Any additional comments?

Spoilers !!! i'm still laughing about the mission where they were ordered to bomb a geisha house and the higher ups were mad at them for bombing a oil refinery instead!!

Amazing Story

This is an amazing story of the heroism of a great team of men. Written in great detail, you can visualize the events as if you are sitting there with the men.

great story, but it drags a bit, but the ending is

Slow to start, lots of history and a great story. Great to learn about our unknown hero's.

The impressive way all facts were assembled and presented professionally.

Loved it and will always remember the members of Old 666. So proud to a member of the armed services.

A WWII Pacific Tale

Would you listen to Lucky 666 again? Why?

I will listen to this book again, mostly because it's narration of the aerial battles fought in the South Pacific is riveting. This is an excellent book to help understand what our underfunded and under equipped Pacific Forces faced during WWII.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Jay Zeamer, the pilot, was the most exciting character, although his bombardier was not far behind him. Learning his backstory made his accomplishments during WWII all the more heroic.

What about Jeremy Bobb’s performance did you like?

The narrator did a good job of capturing the excitement of the aerial gun battles as well as the pain of losing friends and fellow airmen.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The book both made me laugh and cry. There are moments when you realize that all that stood between the United States and tyranny were a few brave men willing to go up in broken-down bombers and take the fight to an enemy that was better equipped, better trained and motivated by a blind allegiance to a man they thought of as God. That we prevailed is a tribute to those fine airmen

Any additional comments?

If you have never worn the uniform, if you have never endured shared sacrifice, and experienced the espirit de corps that comes from military service, this is probably going to be an interesting yarn. But if you have lost friends, suffered at the hands of nature or this country's enemies, and otherwise experienced the life of a soldier, sailor, airman or marine, then you will find in this book the story of your brothers in arms, brave men who went up in cobbled-together aircraft, with barely enough training, and with little more than instinct to guide them, and defeated an enemy that demanded its soldiers fight to the death or be dishonored. You will feel a kinship with these men, and you will pass this book along to your sons and daughters so that they may know from whence this nation derived its statement that "freedom is not free."

Excellent

Excellent Story of The "Screw ups" that changed the fate of the war in the Pacific theater. Very detailed and precise.

Skip the prologue and go straight to chapter 1.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, it was interesting

What did you like best about this story?

It was interesting and I learned a lot about the B-17's capabilities.

Have you listened to any of Jeremy Bobb’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes, it was good.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The last 1/3

Any additional comments?

The beginning chapters spend too much time telling about the background of the participants. Once you get to the story, it becomes a lot more interesting. My only negative is that the author gets carried away describing colors an sounding like he is trying to fill space, not tell the story.

Engaging and thrilling

This was an excellent book. I was engaged the whole time, I have been studying WWII since I was a kid, and I learned things from this book that I never knew about the Pacific Theatre. Highly recommended.

An Incredible Story of Courage and Heroism

A story of incredible courage and heroism that has to be read and reread to fully comprehend and appreciate the true nature of WW2 in the Southwest Pacific in its early stages following the Pearl Harbor attack…