Doorknob Five Two

By: Fredric Arnold

Narrated by: Fredric Arnold, Dave Wright

Length: 10 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's Summary

Doorknob Five Two is the story of the coming of age of a young man, as seen against a backdrop of World War II. With unusual emotional power and artistic sensibility, Fredric Arnold renders an extraordinary account of his personal experiences as a fighter pilot in combat, recording events with the authenticity of an eye witness.

As the story unfolds, we accompany him in the cockpit of his fighter plane, sharing the beauty and wonder of flying, as he engages the enemy in aerial combat and is himself shot down. We live as he lived - exposed to the primitive emotions of sex and war, while bound to his ancient heritage and ever-present influence of his father.

A crash in the Sahara, rescue by nomadic tribesmen, capture by the Germans - we are firsthand observers to his terrifying escape and will to survive. There is nothing more intensely haunting than the truth. Nor is it merely a war memoir. Rather, it is a dramatic insight into the horror of war and a testament to the power of family love.

©1984 Lest We Forget the Mission, LLC (P)2020 Lest We Forget the Mission, LLC

Bio-fiction

As I progressed through this book I became upset that what I expected to be a straight forward biography regarding the WW2 experiences of a P-38 pilot was reading like fiction. I felt dupted and stopped about 2/3rds of the way through, and almost returned it. But some weeks later having nothing better to do I went ahead and finished it. It is an good, interesting read. The author's explanation at the end of the book that this was written and published soon after the war as a "biographical fiction" based loosely on his actual P-38 training and war experiences is exceptional and has settled my concerns. I am now glad that he shared his somewhat romanized wartime experiences with me.

For P-38 fans it's a must.

ok, you don't have to be a P-38 fan, but it's better.
This is a great read and worthy of 5 stars. I will say that at times it seemed like the author agreed to that most TERRIBLE of things, a abridgment of his work. No matter how it's done,
any author that agrees to such a thing, well it's like a movie that goes straight to DVD. So towards the end it seems a little disjointed. But hang in there, your time will be well spent.

Very intriguing & inspiring, well done Fred.

Quite an interesting story...very inspirational too. True appreciation for the work both back then amd until recently.

A true aviation classic.

Arnold’s impressionist style is reflective of his talant as an artist. Like an artist he seeks to say more about reality than simple facts and truths.
He aims to tells not only his own story but through creating a fictionalised account, he is able to evoke the experiences typical of thousands of airman of the WW2 period. This becomes all the more poignant considering his inspiration comes from those who did not survive. He deftly paints a picture putting the reader at the centre of a vivid, tragic and sensuous narrative. Arnold displays both humility and authenticity in equal measure making this a rare gem of aviation literature.