Shot Down

The True Story of Pilot Howard Snyder and the Crew of the B-17 Susan Ruth

By: Steve Snyder

Narrated by: Richard Rieman

Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's Summary

For the first time, the full and complete story of the B-17 Flying Fortress Susan Ruth is shared in unbelievable detail. Author Steve Snyder's story of his father, Lieutenant Howard Snyder, and the Susan Ruth crew, provides in-depth details about many aspects of World War II few understand or know about. This includes: separation for young families as men went off to war; training before heading to foreign soil; military combat operations; underground and resistance and what Lt. Snyder did when he joined it; and German atrocities toward captured crew and civilians.

©2014 Steve Snyder (P)2015 Steve Snyder

A Great Story Diminished by Audible

Any additional comments?

Story: The first person account of B-17 Flying Fortress Susan Ruth's Aircraft Commander, Lieutenant Howard Snyder. It is told through notes home and various diaries and other accounts and as such is not easy reading (or listening in this case) but is none the less compelling because of that. Anytime you are dealing with a real person and a real account of extraordinary events, I find it is usually worth the effort. This audio book did try my patience extremely and was no fault of the author or narrator. (See Performance Below)

Performance: Richard Rieman did a good job, albeit a little stiffly. The thing that almost ruined this audio book for me was that they would repeat ENTIRE paragraphs almost every chapter, so you would listen to the same thing over and over. It could be (I am speculating here and giving them the benefit of the doubt) that these sections were the block quote sections that started a given section, and as such if you were reading it, you would have just skimmed over it when you hit that section in the printed version. Not having the printed version, I do not know. But the effect was that it sounded like they had an audio intern doing the editing. AUDIBLE - You really should listen to your own finished products once in a while.

Overall: A very interesting and accurate 1st person account of life and death in the 8th Air Force in WWII. Very poor production caused whole passages to be repeated almost every chapter and almost caused me to stop listening. I'm glad I didn't because it really is a remarkable story of a bunch of remarkable people.


This audio book was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review.

Very informative

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

This was a very informative book regarding the USAAF during WWII and I think many people would benefit from the history provided. I was given many new things to think about as I listened.

Would you be willing to try another book from Steve Snyder? Why or why not?

While this book was informative it lacked the emotional strength I was expecting. Part of this could have been what Snyder was working with as he tried to remain as true to life as possible. There was obviously a lot of research that went into compiling this narrative and I would be interested in trying more historical stories from the author.

What about Richard Rieman’s performance did you like?

Rieman's voice was perfect for this type of historical book. It is just what I associate with WWII in my head, so it worked really well for this tale.

Do you think Shot Down needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

The story would have had more of an impact on me had it focused more around a handful of characters and less on the overall involvement of the USAAF in the war. That said, I think that some shorter books or maybe a short book compiling some of the letters from individual airmen on the Susan Ruth would help me appreciate the story more. It would be nice to have more information about the crew than was given in this book.

Any additional comments?

The quotes at the beginning of every chapter (which I assume are in the written version as well) were very destracting. Maybe that would work if reading the physical book, but for audio it really didn't work well.

Rieman's narration was really good. The only part that I didn't particularly like were the various voices used for the men and women quoted in the book.

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

Good For Details

Great B 17 details. Hard to like the main characters other than their service to their country. Very dry.

Experience both the life and death of WWII

I will preface this review by saying that I’ve generally avoided WWII stories upto this point. This was mostly because in high school every book related to WWII focused on just the battle portion and the misery and death in the trenches, which is something that needed to be learned, but I always wanted to know how people actually lived between battles (e.g. what did they do in their spare time to keep from being bored). There were descriptions of the bases, the English towns where the bases were located and generally the living conditions in WWII. I’d describe it as a book about both the life and death of WWII.

I took a chance on this book because I’m an aviation geek, and I’m happy I did because I got so much more from it than just aviation glee. Perhaps because it is written by a son about his dad, the story seemed more personal. I felt like I was going through the training, battle anticipation, moments of boredom between raids, and fear of having to bail out of a crippled aircraft right along with the crew. There is also what I would term a nice tribute to the people who lived in occupied Belgium and France who risked their own lives to rescue and provide aid. It felt like they found a way to fight back even if they were occupied. I also really appreciated that the author talked to German Luftwaffe pilot and put his recollections in the book. It’s nice to have a bit of the other side. I learned a whole lot about the war that I either had forgotten or hadn’t learned before, but not once did I feel like facts were being thrown at me. The author did an excellent job of weaving information between the personal stories and lettres, so you get education and emotion in this book.

As for the narrator, it took me a sec to settle into listening to him. This was mostly because I guess I had expected a ‘younger’ sounding voice to match the age that Howard Snyder would have been during this time. In the end though, I came to really enjoy the narrator’s voice. I started thinking of it more as someone who went through the war was recalling and sharing what life was like for them during that time; and for that the narrator’s voice was perfect and added to the book’s experience. Personal pre-expectations aside, the narrator had a pleasant voice to listen to for almost 9 hours of audiobook and the audio quality was clear.

In terms of audiobook format, there was one thing that I was a bit confused about as I listened, which I think in print might have made sense. There is quite a bit of repetition of certain passages throughout the book which (having never seen the print version) I theorize must be like when the chapter has an excerpt or highlight from its main body quoted in italics at the beginning. That sort of thing doesn’t translate well for me into audio because I stop and go “didn’t I just hear this? Did I accidentally hit the back 30 sec button?” Other than this, it was a really good book and enjoyable listen (which is why I didn’t deduct a star for the repetition issue like I normally would). Ok this review is turning into an essay and is longer than I thought it would be, so I'll end it by saying: I listened to this book for the planes, but if you have even a passing interest in: history, planes, air force /military life, or just a well written book; this would be worth your time.

"This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBlast dot com."

Great book!

One of the best historical looks St a WWII bomber and her crew. Very educational has my grandson exploring WWII, that is a big plus.

Required reading

Excellent historical narrative on evasion and escape. Superb story telling! Recommend that this work should be required reading for E-4 and below.

Great War Story of American Airmen

I read the Kindle version and it was a very good read. The story is incredible and includes some of the other people involved besides Howard Snyder as well as the Belgian people. I couldn't stop reading and enjoyed the whole book. I also listened to this book on audible. It was a great story to listen to. The narrator was great and the story was even more interesting the second time around.

Quite a listen

I liked this book a lot. Was wondering if there would be material enough in one crews story to fill an entire book, but my worries were unfounded. This is a very interesting read (well listen). I would recommend reading Masters of the air by Donald L. Miller before reading this because (appart from being fantastic) it give a lot of back story about the whole eight air force which makes Shot Down even more interesting.
Howard Snyder the pilot of the downed B-17 (the writers father) was a bit older than the other airmen, and old in this context is being in his late twenties, which made his reflections about the other airmen very interesting. HIs letters to his wife is a veritable gold mine for getting into the minds of the young boys that did the hard work in defeating the third reich. So for me this is a highly recommended book.

Great account of life in the 8th Air Force in Europe during WWII

This is the best book I have read on the 8 th Air Force in WWII. My dad was a B-17 pilot and his plan was shot up and crashed in Northern France, so I have a special interest. Steve really goes into detail about the crew and what they went through as well as giving a lot of the historical background as well. Anyone interested in WWII history should read this book.

Shot Down

Having finished the book Shot Down and listening to the Audiobook I have great respect for the airmen and crews that endured fighting, being shot down, escape and captivity during WWII and in fact any campaign.
The due diligence and time put into this story detailing the training, aircraft and subsequent bravery the crews muster to endeavor such missions is truly a labor of love and insight I have not enjoyed reading or listening to since Stephen Ambrose Band Of Brothers.
Steve Snyder brings life what it meant to be able to accomplish being a B-17 crew and surviving the worst fears they faced with every sortie, escape and capture.
I recommend this book and audiobook to any one that has an interest and has been in the military where every detail of your training and weapon is essential to survival.
God Bless All Our Military On Land, Sea, And Air.
Thank You Steve Snyder For Your Labor Of Love And Patriotism!

Extraordinary storytelling

Utterly gripping story. One of the most amazing war stories ever told or that I’ve ever heard.

shot down

If you've not read a book on the air war then this is a great start, if like me you have read many them some of the facts become I heard that before.... However when you actually start to peice the story of the plane and crew it becomes a tale of horror, daring and survival

A true account is always pleasurable

This book takes you into the lives of people who served in ww2 and doesn’t compromise anything that isn’t fact. I’d gladly recommend this to anyone with an interest in the 8th airforce fantastically written a pleasure to read and pays homage to Steve’s farther who piloted the Susan Ruth

Boring

if this is your first book about B17s try another one. this one is limited and boring.
Very little detail and boring delivery