Bert Stiles (1920-1944) was an American author of short stories who was killed in action during World War II while serving as a fighter pilot in the US Army Air Forces.His mother commemorated his memory by having his book published in 1947 in England (Lindsay Drummond Ltd.), with its first U.S. publication in 1952 (W.W. Norton & Company). Entitled Serenade to the Big Bird, the book achieved cult status among aviation enthusiasts for its honest depictions of bomber ...

After completing a tour of duty (thirty-five missions) in B-17s, Bert Stiles transferred to a fighter squadron. Just four months later he was killed in action on an escort mission to Hanover, Germany, on November 26, 1944, at the age of 23. Serenade to the Big Bird achieved cult status among aviation enthusiasts for its honest depictions of bomber combat and also won favorable literary reviews for its spare, Hemingway-style prose and its anti-war sensitivity.

After completing a tour of duty (thirty-five missions) in B-17s, Bert Stiles transferred to a fighter squadron. Just four months later he was killed in action on an escort mission to Hanover, Germany, on November 26, 1944. Stiles' book was written in the period between his two tours. Serenade to the Big Bird portrays the tragedy of war, and specifically the loss to the world of a fine, sensitive, talented writer who had only a short time to prove his merit. He died at twenty-three.

Second lieutenant Dick Curtis arrived in Italy in May 1944–twenty years old and part of a shipment of P-51 Mustang fighter pilots so desperately needed that they were rushed into combat with less than thirty hours of flight time in their new high-performance aircraft.Six of the twelve pilots assigned to the 52nd Fighter Group were shot down in the first two weeks. By his ninth mission, Curtis was the only one still flying. A maverick, he barely escaped court-martial with his high-f...

Back from the Middle East, fighter pilot Hawk Hunter begins a campaign to reclaim America from Soviet occupation.The Soviet sneak attack crippled America, breaking the United States into an array of warring factions ruled by dictators, thugs, and thieves. In the western territories, democracy has survived—thanks to the efforts of Major Hawk Hunter, the greatest fighter pilot of his time, and the Pacific American Air Corps. After narrowly stopping a Soviet ground in...

**A classic from the New York Times bestselling author of The Things They Carried"One of the best, most disturbing, and most powerful books about the shame that was / is Vietnam."—Minneapolis Star and Tribune**Before writing his award-winning Going After Cacciato, Tim O'Brien gave us this intensely personal account of his year as a foot soldier in Vietnam. The author takes us with him to experience combat from behind an infantryman...

A WW II EXPERIENCE OF AIR FORCE P.O.W.s IN GERMANY Like many WWII veterans, Richard Matheis had not discussed the details of his WWII flying experiences with either family or friends. All wanted more details as everyone was intrigued about this amazing part of his life. Following a great deal of cajoling by children and grandchildren--little by little a timeline of his very personal memories began to seep out. Pictures are included.

Between April and July 1944, Truman Smith Flew thirty-five bombing missions over France and Germany. He was only twenty years old. Although barely adults, Smith and his peers worried about cramming a lifetime’s worth of experience into every free night, each knowing he probably would not survive the next bombing mission. Written with blunt honesty, wry humor, and insight, The Wrong Stuff is Smith’s gripping memoir of that time. In a new preface, the author comments with equal hone...

Hailed as one of the finest books to emerge from the Vietnam War, If I Die in a Combat Zone is a fascinating insight into the lives of the soldiers caught in the conflict.First published in 1973, this intensely personal novel about one foot soldier’s tour of duty in Vietnam established Tim O’Brien’s reputation as the outstanding chronicler of the Vietnam experience for a generation of Americans.From basic training to the front line and back again, he takes the reader on an ...

The Vietnam War journal of Patrick Seamus Flaherty is now available in paperback, with an exciting repackaging! Determined to do his duty for his country, Patrick Seamus Flaherty joins the Marines right after graduation to fight in the Vietnam War. But Southeast Asia is a far cry from Patrick's hometown of Boston, and as soon as he arrives, he realizes that he's made a terrible mistake.Confronted with oppressive heat, dense jungles, and an enemy that is everywhere, Patrick is overwhelmed b...

The real-life companion to the literary classic—written and illustrated by the daughter of the 340th Bomb Group's commander, Catch-22's Col. Cathcart.After the publication of his bestselling novel Catch-22, Joseph Heller usually chose to deny that any of his richly drawn characters were based on his actual war mates. However, to those who served with Heller in the 340th Bomb Group, the novel's characters were indeed recognizable—the hard-drinking,...

SPITFIRE WINGMAN is the whole-life memoir of USAF Col. Jim Haun, who flew nearly every US military aircraft from 1939 to 1965, including fighters, bombers, giant cargo ships, and the T-33 jet trainer. He flew Spitfires over England and France, commanded a squadron through the Berlin Airlift, was CO of th Presidential Air Fleet in Washington D.C., and became Chief Pilot of the Military Air Transport Service. As the memoir of an aerobatic master born to fling his body through cloudbanks, Spi...