Pacific Skies: American Flyers in World War II

Jackson, Mississippi, Univ Pr of Mississippi, 2004., 2004. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. Octavo, hardcover, near fine in near fine silver irridiscent pictorial dj. Gathering more than a hundred personal narratives from Americans and from Japanese, author recounts a history of air combat in the Pacific theater. Included are the words of such famous aces and bomber pilots as Joe Foss, Pappy Boyington, Dick Bong, and Curtis Lemay, as well as the words of many rank-and-file airmen. Together their stories express fierce individualism and resourcefulness and convey the vast panorama of war that included the skies over Pearl Harbor, Wake, and Guadalcanal and missions from Saipan and Tinian. As Pacific Skies recounts the perilous lives of pilots in their own words, Jerome Klinkowitz weaves the individual stories into a gripping historical narrative that exposes the shades of truth and fiction that can become blurred over time. --a story of unique perspectives on the war. 283 pp. including index.