This Paperback Book item from NAL Trade was reviewed on 30-Jul-2008.
Search ISBN:0451205944 offer from Abebooks or used books from Alibris. The Man Who Flew the Memphis Belle: Memoir of a WWII Bomber Pilot Reference Book. Classifications : Military & Spies Professionals & Academics Biographies & Memoirs Subjects Books General Military Leaders & Notable People Biographies & Memoirs Subjects Books Aviation Military History Subjects Books . Click the following link to view the cover of The Man Who Flew the Memphis Belle: Memoir of a WWII Bomber Pilot. Related topics: Military & Spies. Subjects. Books. General. Military. Subjects. Books. Aviation. Military. History. requestid: 2bc5847f-01d5-4108-b1b3-91469a0e4e9d
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1) Paperback Book The Man Who Flew the Memphis Belle: Memoir of a WWII Bomber Pilot by NAL Trade. Bob Morgan was a friend of mine. His lovely wife urged him for years to write a book, yet he always seemed to sluff it off. At speaking engagements, he always pointed out that he was no hero, giving full credit to the other members of his crew, and the many other crews that flew the skies of Europe. Very typical of his generation, and traits that later ones seem to have lost. The crew of the Memphis Belle was thrust into fame by accident, circumstance, chance, or whatever fate chose, much like the flag raisers of Iwo Jima. It forever changed their lives to some extent. Bob almost waited too long to write this, and he couldn´t have found a better co-author than award winning Ron Powers. Bob wasn´t your average pilot in the air, there was this unruly side of him that was able to express itself somewhat before the bond tours, but certainly was turned loose afterwards. I remember once when he came by to see me and handed me a picture of him flying a B-17 at Oshkosh when he was well into his 70´s. He´d run the plane down the runway in front of the crowd, then turned it on it´s side, leaving the wing tip only slightly off the ground. Some things never changed. The book would be a great read just for his WWII and war bond experiences, but Bob was a unique individual, no actually a complex individual, and much to my surprise, he held nothing back in his book. Perhaps this is why he waited so late in life to do it, but I´m glad he did. This is probably the most honest and personal WWII memoir that you will ever read, and nothing was held back. The complexity and struggles of Bob as a man would have made this a fascinating book had he never sat at the controls of the Memphis Belle. But he did, and as a result, you get the unique insight into a very unique, and complex man, and this is the treat that you will come away with in this book, long after the story of the Memphis Belle.¤ 2) Paperback Book The Man Who Flew the Memphis Belle: Memoir of a WWII Bomber Pilot by NAL Trade. For those who may not know: In the early days of World War II the United States had no long range fighters capable of protecting our bombers all the way to their European targets. Even so, and unlike the British who flew only night bombing raids which were much safer but largely ineffective, the American fliers were tasked to continue flying higher precision yet much more dangerous daylight missions. As a consequence, the attrition rate for American bombers and their crews was grimly and almost unacceptably high. To bolster morale, a policy was initiated such that any bomber crewman completing twenty-five missions without being shot down and captured or killed would be relieved of duty and returned to the United States. The "Memphis Belle" was the first bomber to successfully achieve that milestone.
Having heard about the Memphis Belle for most of my life, I was curious to read the real story of that famed B-17 and its equally famous 25th mission, particularly from the standpoint of the bomber´s pilot. I wasn´t disappointed. In fact, the story went far beyond that bomber and its mission and was much more interesting. For through the eyes of the book´s author you could almost sense what it was like to experience his life and times and know what it was REALLY like to actually pilot a B-17 into combat. . . Ignore the German fighters. Don´t drift. Ignore the flack. Don´t let your mind wander. Keep your eyes fixed straight ahead. Keep your plane in formation. Try to relax. Don´t let your wings touch. Bomber pilots apparently had a very narrow view of the war.
The remarkable thing to me about the book, however, was that Robert Morgan wrote it quite late in his life. To me, that broadened his perspective, lending much more insight to the story. In fact, I don´t think a young Captain Morgan could have written a book with such clarity, honesty, perspective and sensitivity. Bottom line: This is a very good book and not just from a historical point of view.
¤ 3) Paperback Book The Man Who Flew the Memphis Belle: Memoir of a WWII Bomber Pilot by NAL Trade. This is a grand story of a B-17 Flying Fortress in the 8th Air Corps early days bombing France and Germany in WW II. More than that, it is the autobiography of one of the most interesting men I have ever encountered. The MEMPHIS BELLE was one of the first planes and crews to complete 25 missions and come home to thank Americans for their home front efforts.¤ 4) Paperback Book The Man Who Flew the Memphis Belle: Memoir of a WWII Bomber Pilot by NAL Trade. Leaving aside the question of historical accuracy (this has been touched on ably by another reviewer) except for one comment - I was a little unconvinced by Morgan´s soliloquy´s on WW II grand strategy, such as his explanations of how the war in Russia was fought, and other things that he as a 23-25 year old bomber pilot would have known little about and perhaps cared even less. These parts of the book come across as forced. Having said that, however, I have no doubt Morgan felt them necessary to put the overall story into context, and they do that well. This makes the book perfect for youngsters or those with no understanding of the larger picture of WW II history, and thus provide this with a broader appeal. But the meat of the story is Morgan himself. This is not "just" a story of a WW II bomber pilot, this is a wonderfully told story of Bob Morgan, the man, and a blushingly honest discussion of his many demons - his relationship with his departed mother, his father and siblings, his girlfriends, fiancees and wives, his crew (many of whom were fast friends), his superiors, and a terrific look at how he grew up, trained for war, matured as a commander, lived as a returning veteran, and overcame the evils of a pampered upbringing, and learned the value of hard work. The details about his tour with the 8th Bomber Command were especially interesting, and his revelations about the WW II documentary about his aircraft will answer many questions for ardent Memphis Belle fans who always wondered how much of the 1943 documentary was real (apparently, not much), and also records what Morgan thought of the 1990 film with Matthew Modine (apparently, not much). His tour in B-29s is also well discussed. This is very much a terrific human interest story which just happens to take place in flak-filled skies. It´s certainly more Twelve O´Clock High, with its introspection, than it is Monte Merrick´s Memphis Belle, with its cartoon heroics. Colonel Morgan is to be commended for his bravery in baring his soul to the rest of us, for trying to make sense of his life in a way that we can all learn, for admitting to the hurt he has caused others, and allowing us to relate to his own hurts. He was a courageous man at 23 - he had to be - but now, of his own accord, I think he is even braver in his 80s for writing this thoroughly inspirational book.¤ 5) Paperback Book The Man Who Flew the Memphis Belle: Memoir of a WWII Bomber Pilot by NAL Trade. I bought TMWFTMB on the strength of the glowing--make that gushing--reviews on this site. Was I ever disappointed!!! There can be no doubt that, despite his protests to the contrary, Bob Morgan is an American hero in every sense of the term. The man flew 51 combat missions in World War II. Those of us born since the war owe him a debt that can never be repaid! That said, TMWFTMB is riddled with errors! FDR´s Secretary of War was Henry Stimson, not Harold Stimson. Curtis LeMay headed the Strategic Air Command, not the Strategic Defense Command. The prototype for the P-51 Mustang was not a Curtiss NA-73, it was a North American NA-73. On a B-29 the bombardier was not "down in the bomb bay," he was in the nose. The superchargers on a B-17 were not under the fuselage, they were under the nacelles (the part of the wing where the engines are mounted). Dana Andrews did not play an ex-pilot in "The Best Years of Our Lives," he played an ex-bombardier. Aviation history has been my passion since childhood but I´ve never heard of an aircraft called a "Schmitt 110." Perhaps Col. Morgan meant a Messerschmitt 110. The list goes on. After a while I only kept reading to see what gaff would turn up next. Lighten up, you say. Little mistakes like these (how many did you catch?) don´t matter. I disagree. The generation that fought and won World War II will, sadly, soon be gone. (We will not see their like again!) It will then fall to a handful of historians (myself included) to pass on the stories of their courage and sacrifice. A flop like this makes it all the more difficult to do that accurately. I don´t place one iota of blame on Col. Morgan for any of this. He is now well into his eighties and can be forgiven for a goof here and there. What I want to know is where was the co-author? Where were the editors and the fact-checkers? They were asleep at the wheel or don´t know the first thing about World War II aerial operations or American life in the forties. Col. Morgan deserved to have his story well told. His supporting cast failed him miserably.¤ 6) Paperback Book The Man Who Flew the Memphis Belle: Memoir of a WWII Bomber Pilot by NAL Trade. Many who saw the 1990 Hollywood movie Memphis Belle think they know the story. But the real story had nothing to do with the movie-and it is told for the first time here, by the pilot who lived it. An emotionally moving tale, and a heartbreaking love story, this is an unforgettable memoir of a man who was born into a life of ease-and tested in the hardship of war.
"Bring[s] a new perspective to World War II literature. Written in a chatty style that is easy and exciting to read, this book is recommended." (Library Journal)
"A book that needed to be written while the best man to write it still could." (Booklist)¤ Page Updated: Robert N. Goolsby, 27-Aug-2008, 04512059449780451205940, 550-600-440-520-626-36B-8 
The Man Who Flew the Memphis Belle: Memoir of a WWII Bomber Pilot, Book, Image © NAL Trade
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