Pacific Skies
American Flyers in World War II
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Prime members: New to Audible?Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pacific Skies
Buy for $19.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Al Kessel
About this listen
From 1941 to 1945 the skies over the Pacific Ocean afforded the broadest arena for battle and the fiercest action of air combat during World War II. It was in the air above the Pacific that America's involvement in the war began. It was in these skies that air power launched from carriers became a new form of engagement and where the war ultimately ended with kamikaze attacks and with atomic bombs dropped over Japan.
Throughout the conflict American flyers felt a compelling call to supplement the official news and military reports. In vivid accounts written soon after combat and in reflective memoirs recorded in the years after peace came, both pilots and crew members detailed their stories of the action that occurred in the embattled skies. Their first-person testimonies describe a style of warfare invented at the moment of need and at a time when the outcome was anything but certain.
Gathering more than a hundred personal narratives from Americans and from Japanese, Pacific Skies recounts a history of air combat in the Pacific theater. 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 book about experiencing and remembering, Pacific Skies also is a story of unique perspectives on the war.
Jerome Klinkowitz, a professor of English at the University of Northern Iowa, is the author of forty books, including such World War II titles as Their Finest Hours, Yanks over Europe, and With Tigers over China.
The book is published by the University Press of Mississippi.
©2004 University Press of Mississippi (P)2015 Redwood AudiobooksListeners also enjoyed...
-
The Bomber Mafia
- A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War
- By: Malcolm Gladwell
- Narrated by: Malcolm Gladwell
- Length: 5 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 9,068
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 7,791
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 7,742
Malcolm Gladwell, author of New York Times best sellers including Talking to Strangers and host of the podcast Revisionist History, uses original interviews, archival footage, and his trademark insight to weave together the stories of a Dutch genius and his homemade computer, a band of brothers in Central Alabama, a British psychopath, and pyromaniacal chemists at Harvard. As listeners hear these stories unfurl, Gladwell examines one of the greatest moral challenges in modern American history.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Listen to the same story on his podcast for free
- By Dustin on 04-28-21
By: Malcolm Gladwell
-
Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941-1942
- By: Ian W. Toll
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 22 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 3,960
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 3,534
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 3,519
On the first Sunday in December 1941, an armada of Japanese warplanes appeared suddenly over Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and devastated the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Six months later, in a sea fight north of the tiny atoll of Midway, four Japanese aircraft carriers were sent into the abyss. Pacific Crucible tells the epic tale of these first searing months of the Pacific war, when the U.S. Navy shook off the worst defeat in American military history and seized the strategic initiative.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Astonishingly good.
- By Mike From Mesa on 09-01-12
By: Ian W. Toll
-
Wade McClusky and the Battle of Midway
- By: David Rigby
- Narrated by: David Stifel
- Length: 11 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 96
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 83
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 83
The story of the man who won the battle of Midway and avenged Pearl Harbor for the United States. During the Battle of Midway in June 1942, US Navy dive bomber pilot Wade McClusky proved himself to be one of the greatest pilots and combat leaders in American history, but his story has never been told - until now.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
This biographer is obsessed
- By J. S. Harbour on 05-17-20
By: David Rigby
-
Race of Aces
- WWII's Elite Airmen and the Epic Battle to Become the Master of the Sky
- By: John R. Bruning
- Narrated by: Brian Troxell
- Length: 16 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,423
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,265
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1,260
In 1942, America's deadliest fighter pilot, or "ace of aces" - the legendary Eddie Rickenbacker - offered a bottle of bourbon to the first US fighter pilot to break his record of 26 enemy planes shot down. Seizing on the challenge to motivate his men, General George Kenney promoted what they would come to call the "race of aces" as a way of boosting the spirits of his war-weary command.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Boring, confusing storyline, some technical details wrong
- By ATM on 04-09-20
By: John R. Bruning
-
Shattered Sword
- The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway
- By: Jonathan Parshall, Anthony Tully
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 24 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,029
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,747
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,735
Many consider the Battle of Midway to have turned the tide of the Pacific War. It is without question one of the most famous battles in history. Now, for the first time since Gordon W. Prange's best-selling Miracle at Midway, Jonathan Parshall and Anthony Tully offer a new interpretation of this great naval engagement. Shattered Sword makes extensive use of Japanese primary sources. It also corrects the many errors of Mitsuo Fuchida's Midway: The Battle That Doomed Japan It thus forces a major, potentially controversial reevaluation of the great battle.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Shattered Myths - These authors got it right?
- By Ol'BlueEyes on 05-13-19
By: Jonathan Parshall, and others
-
War's End
- An Eyewitness Account of America's Last Atomic Mission
- By: Maj. Gen. Charles W. Sweeney, James A. Antonucci - contributor, Marion K. Antonucci - contributor
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 39
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 34
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 34
On August 9, 1945, on the tiny island of Tinian in the South Pacific, a 25-year-old American Army Air Corps major named Charles W. Sweeney climbed aboard a B-29 Superfortress in command of his first combat mission, one devised specifically to bring a long and terrible war to a necessary conclusion.... The last military officer to command an atomic mission, Maj. Gen. Charles W. Sweeney has the unique distinction of having been an integral part of both the Hiroshima and the Nagasaki bombing runs.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
the history of the details.
- By Don on 10-23-24
By: Maj. Gen. Charles W. Sweeney, and others
-
The Bomber Mafia
- A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War
- By: Malcolm Gladwell
- Narrated by: Malcolm Gladwell
- Length: 5 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 9,068
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 7,791
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 7,742
Malcolm Gladwell, author of New York Times best sellers including Talking to Strangers and host of the podcast Revisionist History, uses original interviews, archival footage, and his trademark insight to weave together the stories of a Dutch genius and his homemade computer, a band of brothers in Central Alabama, a British psychopath, and pyromaniacal chemists at Harvard. As listeners hear these stories unfurl, Gladwell examines one of the greatest moral challenges in modern American history.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Listen to the same story on his podcast for free
- By Dustin on 04-28-21
By: Malcolm Gladwell
-
Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941-1942
- By: Ian W. Toll
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 22 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 3,960
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 3,534
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 3,519
On the first Sunday in December 1941, an armada of Japanese warplanes appeared suddenly over Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and devastated the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Six months later, in a sea fight north of the tiny atoll of Midway, four Japanese aircraft carriers were sent into the abyss. Pacific Crucible tells the epic tale of these first searing months of the Pacific war, when the U.S. Navy shook off the worst defeat in American military history and seized the strategic initiative.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Astonishingly good.
- By Mike From Mesa on 09-01-12
By: Ian W. Toll
-
Wade McClusky and the Battle of Midway
- By: David Rigby
- Narrated by: David Stifel
- Length: 11 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 96
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 83
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 83
The story of the man who won the battle of Midway and avenged Pearl Harbor for the United States. During the Battle of Midway in June 1942, US Navy dive bomber pilot Wade McClusky proved himself to be one of the greatest pilots and combat leaders in American history, but his story has never been told - until now.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
This biographer is obsessed
- By J. S. Harbour on 05-17-20
By: David Rigby
-
Race of Aces
- WWII's Elite Airmen and the Epic Battle to Become the Master of the Sky
- By: John R. Bruning
- Narrated by: Brian Troxell
- Length: 16 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,423
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,265
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1,260
In 1942, America's deadliest fighter pilot, or "ace of aces" - the legendary Eddie Rickenbacker - offered a bottle of bourbon to the first US fighter pilot to break his record of 26 enemy planes shot down. Seizing on the challenge to motivate his men, General George Kenney promoted what they would come to call the "race of aces" as a way of boosting the spirits of his war-weary command.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Boring, confusing storyline, some technical details wrong
- By ATM on 04-09-20
By: John R. Bruning
-
Shattered Sword
- The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway
- By: Jonathan Parshall, Anthony Tully
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 24 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,029
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,747
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,735
Many consider the Battle of Midway to have turned the tide of the Pacific War. It is without question one of the most famous battles in history. Now, for the first time since Gordon W. Prange's best-selling Miracle at Midway, Jonathan Parshall and Anthony Tully offer a new interpretation of this great naval engagement. Shattered Sword makes extensive use of Japanese primary sources. It also corrects the many errors of Mitsuo Fuchida's Midway: The Battle That Doomed Japan It thus forces a major, potentially controversial reevaluation of the great battle.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Shattered Myths - These authors got it right?
- By Ol'BlueEyes on 05-13-19
By: Jonathan Parshall, and others
-
War's End
- An Eyewitness Account of America's Last Atomic Mission
- By: Maj. Gen. Charles W. Sweeney, James A. Antonucci - contributor, Marion K. Antonucci - contributor
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 39
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 34
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 34
On August 9, 1945, on the tiny island of Tinian in the South Pacific, a 25-year-old American Army Air Corps major named Charles W. Sweeney climbed aboard a B-29 Superfortress in command of his first combat mission, one devised specifically to bring a long and terrible war to a necessary conclusion.... The last military officer to command an atomic mission, Maj. Gen. Charles W. Sweeney has the unique distinction of having been an integral part of both the Hiroshima and the Nagasaki bombing runs.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
the history of the details.
- By Don on 10-23-24
By: Maj. Gen. Charles W. Sweeney, and others
-
Spitfire
- Portrait of a Legend
- By: Leo McKinstry
- Narrated by: Peter Noble
- Length: 19 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 42
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 34
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 34
The gripping saga of the plane that carried Britain through the Second World War. In June 1940, the German army had brought the rest of Europe to its knees. 'Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this island or lose the war. If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be free and the life of the world will move forward into broad, sunlit uplands,' said Churchill. The future of Europe depended on Britain.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Fills in the gaps.
- By Glenn on 10-22-18
By: Leo McKinstry
-
The Last Zero Fighter
- By: Dan King
- Narrated by: Drew Bott
- Length: 12 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 44
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 40
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 40
Firsthand accounts from interviews conducted in Japan with five WWII Japanese Naval aviators. All are veterans of the pivotal battles of the Pacific War including; USS Panay, Nanking, Pearl Harbor, Wake Island, Rabaul, Port Darwin, Indian Ocean Raid, Ceylon, Midway, Guadalcanal, Marshall Islands, Tarawa, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, the kamikaze in the Philippines, the home defense and the dropping of the atomic bomb. Includes an introduction to the Japanese pilot training system for both officers and enlisted men.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Fascinating and humanizing story
- By courtney mckean on 07-03-23
By: Dan King
-
Forgotten Fifteenth
- The Daring Airmen Who Crippled Hitler's War Machine
- By: Barrett Tillman
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 9 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 440
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 391
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 386
November 1943 to May 1945. The US Army Air Forces waged an unprecedentedly dogged and violent campaign against Hitler's vital oil production and industrial plants on theThird Reich's southern flank. Flying from southern Italy, far from the limelight enjoyed by the Eighth Air Force in England, the Fifteenth Air Force engaged in high-risk missions spanning most of the European continent. The story of the Fifteenth Air Force deserves a prideful place in the annals of American gallantry.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Well written ...; felt like I was a door gunner.
- By David C. Miller on 12-08-21
By: Barrett Tillman
-
Jayhawk
- Love, Loss, Liberation and Terror over the Pacific
- By: Jay A. Stout, George L. Cooper
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 8 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 71
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 57
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 57
Born in the Philippines to an American father and a Filipina mother, George Cooper is one of the few surviving veteran pilots who saw action over such fearsome targets as Rabaul and Wewak. Not just another flag-waving story of air combat, Jayhawk describes the war as it really was - a conflict with far-reaching tentacles that gripped and tore at not only the combatants, but also their families, friends, and the way they lived their lives.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
An absolute must for any student of the Pacific Air War
- By Ginger on 10-07-20
By: Jay A. Stout, and others
-
Oswald Boelcke
- Germany’s First Fighter Ace and Father of Air Combat
- By: BGen R. G. Head
- Narrated by: David de Vries
- Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 29
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 21
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 21
With a total of 40 victories, Oswald Boelcke was Germany's first ace in World War I-and a century later he remains a towering figure in the history of air warfare, renowned for his character, inspirational leadership, organizational genius, development of air-to-air tactics, and impact on aerial doctrine. Paving the way for modern air forces across the world with his pioneering strategies, Boelcke had a dramatic effect on his contemporaries. The famed Red Baron's mentor, instructor, squadron commander, and friend, he exerted a tremendous influence upon the German air force.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Bravest of Pilots
- By J.Brock on 07-09-21
By: BGen R. G. Head
-
Lucky 666
- The Impossible Mission
- By: Bob Drury, Tom Clavin
- Narrated by: Jeremy Bobb
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 943
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 867
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 863
From the authors of the New York Times best-selling The Heart of Everything That Is and Halsey's Typhoon comes the dramatic untold story of a daredevil bomber pilot and his misfit crew who fly their lone B-17 into the teeth of the Japanese Empire in 1943, engage in the longest dogfight in history, and change the momentum of the war in the Pacific - but not without making the ultimate sacrifice.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A WWII Pacific Tale
- By A. L. DeWitt on 11-15-16
By: Bob Drury, and others
-
The Silver Waterfall
- How America Won the War in the Pacific at Midway
- By: Brendan Simms, Steven McGregor
- Narrated by: David DeVries
- Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 42
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 36
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 36
The Battle of Midway was, on paper, an improbable victory for the smaller, less experienced American navy and air force, so much so that it was quickly described as “a miracle.” This new history demonstrates that luck, let alone miracles, had little to do with it. In The Silver Waterfall, Brendan Simms and Steven McGregor show how the efforts of America’s peacetime navy combined with creative innovations made by designers and industrialists were largely responsible for the victory.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Read "The Silver Waterfall"
- By Tiffany Gemas on 06-17-22
By: Brendan Simms, and others
-
Inferno
- By: Joe Pappalardo
- Narrated by: Matt Godfrey
- Length: 11 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 41
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 39
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 39
Joe Pappalardo's Inferno tells the true story of the men who flew the deadliest missions of World War II, and an unlikely hero who received the Medal of Honor in the midst of the bloodiest military campaign in aviation history.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Interesting story of a not-so-heroic “hero”.
- By Bikeman476 on 08-09-22
By: Joe Pappalardo
-
Fighter Group
- The 352nd “Blue-Nosed Bastards” in World War II
- By: Lt. Col. Jay A. Stout
- Narrated by: Donald Corren
- Length: 17 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 458
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 415
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 413
Jay A. Stout breaks new ground in World War II history with this gripping account of one of the war’s most highly decorated American fighter groups. Stout combines the storytelling gifts and careful research for a seasoned historian with the combat experience of a former fighter pilot to tell the remarkable story of the 352nd Fighter Group. This isn’t just the story of a single fighter group; it’s the story of how the United States won the air war over Europe.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
This is a fantastic, through, in depth, and personal history of the 352nd fighter group.
- By S. H. Moore on 02-23-21
-
Dead Reckoning
- The Story of How Johnny Mitchell and His Fighter Pilots Took on Admiral Yamamoto and Avenged Pearl Harbor
- By: Dick Lehr
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 12 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 269
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 235
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 234
“AIR RAID, PEARL HARBOR. THIS IS NOT DRILL.” At 7:58 a.m. on December 7, 1941, an officer at the Ford Island Command Center frantically typed what would become one of the most famous radio dispatches in history as the Japanese navy launched a surprise aerial assault on the American navy stationed in Hawaii. In a little over two hours, the Japanese killed more than 2,400 Americans and propelled the US’s entry into World War II. Dead Reckoning is the story of the mission to avenge that devastating strike.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Half Soap Opera, target audience 20 something male
- By Donald L. Hogan on 03-20-21
By: Dick Lehr
-
Operation Chastise
- The RAF's Most Brilliant Attack of World War II
- By: Max Hastings
- Narrated by: Max Hastings, Peter Noble
- Length: 11 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 115
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 96
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 96
The attack on Nazi Germany’s dams on May 17, 1943, was one of the most remarkable feats in military history. The absurdly young men of the Royal Air Force’s 617 Squadron set forth in cold blood and darkness, without benefit of electronic aids, to fly lumbering heavy bombers straight and level towards a target at a height above the water less than the length of a bowling alley. Yet this story has never been told in full. Max Hastings takes us back to the May 1943 raid to reveal how the truth of that night is considerably different from the popularized account most people know.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Wish He Had Stuck to the Core Story
- By John on 06-22-20
By: Max Hastings
-
Dragon's Jaw
- An Epic Story of Courage and Tenacity in Vietnam
- By: Stephen Coonts, Barrett Tillman
- Narrated by: Dan Woren
- Length: 10 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 135
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 120
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 120
Every war has its "bridge" - Old North Bridge at Concord, Burnside's Bridge at Antietam, the railway bridge over Burma's River Kwai, the bridge over Germany's Rhine River at Remagen, and the bridges over Korea's Toko Ri. In Vietnam it was the bridge at Thanh Hoa, called Dragon's Jaw. For seven long years hundreds of young US airmen flew sortie after sortie against North Vietnam's formidable and strategically important bridge, dodging a heavy concentration of anti-aircraft fire and enemy MiG planes. Many American airmen were shot down, killed, or captured....
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
At some point the political commentary is exhausting
- By Tyler White on 06-07-19
By: Stephen Coonts, and others
Related to this topic
-
Wade McClusky and the Battle of Midway
- By: David Rigby
- Narrated by: David Stifel
- Length: 11 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 96
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 83
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 83
The story of the man who won the battle of Midway and avenged Pearl Harbor for the United States. During the Battle of Midway in June 1942, US Navy dive bomber pilot Wade McClusky proved himself to be one of the greatest pilots and combat leaders in American history, but his story has never been told - until now.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
This biographer is obsessed
- By J. S. Harbour on 05-17-20
By: David Rigby
-
The Silver Waterfall
- How America Won the War in the Pacific at Midway
- By: Brendan Simms, Steven McGregor
- Narrated by: David DeVries
- Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 42
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 36
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 36
The Battle of Midway was, on paper, an improbable victory for the smaller, less experienced American navy and air force, so much so that it was quickly described as “a miracle.” This new history demonstrates that luck, let alone miracles, had little to do with it. In The Silver Waterfall, Brendan Simms and Steven McGregor show how the efforts of America’s peacetime navy combined with creative innovations made by designers and industrialists were largely responsible for the victory.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Read "The Silver Waterfall"
- By Tiffany Gemas on 06-17-22
By: Brendan Simms, and others
-
Inferno
- By: Joe Pappalardo
- Narrated by: Matt Godfrey
- Length: 11 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 41
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 39
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 39
Joe Pappalardo's Inferno tells the true story of the men who flew the deadliest missions of World War II, and an unlikely hero who received the Medal of Honor in the midst of the bloodiest military campaign in aviation history.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Interesting story of a not-so-heroic “hero”.
- By Bikeman476 on 08-09-22
By: Joe Pappalardo
-
Fighter Group
- The 352nd “Blue-Nosed Bastards” in World War II
- By: Lt. Col. Jay A. Stout
- Narrated by: Donald Corren
- Length: 17 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 458
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 415
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 413
Jay A. Stout breaks new ground in World War II history with this gripping account of one of the war’s most highly decorated American fighter groups. Stout combines the storytelling gifts and careful research for a seasoned historian with the combat experience of a former fighter pilot to tell the remarkable story of the 352nd Fighter Group. This isn’t just the story of a single fighter group; it’s the story of how the United States won the air war over Europe.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
This is a fantastic, through, in depth, and personal history of the 352nd fighter group.
- By S. H. Moore on 02-23-21
-
Dead Reckoning
- The Story of How Johnny Mitchell and His Fighter Pilots Took on Admiral Yamamoto and Avenged Pearl Harbor
- By: Dick Lehr
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 12 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 269
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 235
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 234
“AIR RAID, PEARL HARBOR. THIS IS NOT DRILL.” At 7:58 a.m. on December 7, 1941, an officer at the Ford Island Command Center frantically typed what would become one of the most famous radio dispatches in history as the Japanese navy launched a surprise aerial assault on the American navy stationed in Hawaii. In a little over two hours, the Japanese killed more than 2,400 Americans and propelled the US’s entry into World War II. Dead Reckoning is the story of the mission to avenge that devastating strike.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Half Soap Opera, target audience 20 something male
- By Donald L. Hogan on 03-20-21
By: Dick Lehr
-
Operation Chastise
- The RAF's Most Brilliant Attack of World War II
- By: Max Hastings
- Narrated by: Max Hastings, Peter Noble
- Length: 11 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 115
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 96
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 96
The attack on Nazi Germany’s dams on May 17, 1943, was one of the most remarkable feats in military history. The absurdly young men of the Royal Air Force’s 617 Squadron set forth in cold blood and darkness, without benefit of electronic aids, to fly lumbering heavy bombers straight and level towards a target at a height above the water less than the length of a bowling alley. Yet this story has never been told in full. Max Hastings takes us back to the May 1943 raid to reveal how the truth of that night is considerably different from the popularized account most people know.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Wish He Had Stuck to the Core Story
- By John on 06-22-20
By: Max Hastings
-
Wade McClusky and the Battle of Midway
- By: David Rigby
- Narrated by: David Stifel
- Length: 11 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 96
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 83
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 83
The story of the man who won the battle of Midway and avenged Pearl Harbor for the United States. During the Battle of Midway in June 1942, US Navy dive bomber pilot Wade McClusky proved himself to be one of the greatest pilots and combat leaders in American history, but his story has never been told - until now.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
This biographer is obsessed
- By J. S. Harbour on 05-17-20
By: David Rigby
-
The Silver Waterfall
- How America Won the War in the Pacific at Midway
- By: Brendan Simms, Steven McGregor
- Narrated by: David DeVries
- Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 42
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 36
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 36
The Battle of Midway was, on paper, an improbable victory for the smaller, less experienced American navy and air force, so much so that it was quickly described as “a miracle.” This new history demonstrates that luck, let alone miracles, had little to do with it. In The Silver Waterfall, Brendan Simms and Steven McGregor show how the efforts of America’s peacetime navy combined with creative innovations made by designers and industrialists were largely responsible for the victory.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Read "The Silver Waterfall"
- By Tiffany Gemas on 06-17-22
By: Brendan Simms, and others
-
Inferno
- By: Joe Pappalardo
- Narrated by: Matt Godfrey
- Length: 11 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 41
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 39
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 39
Joe Pappalardo's Inferno tells the true story of the men who flew the deadliest missions of World War II, and an unlikely hero who received the Medal of Honor in the midst of the bloodiest military campaign in aviation history.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Interesting story of a not-so-heroic “hero”.
- By Bikeman476 on 08-09-22
By: Joe Pappalardo
-
Fighter Group
- The 352nd “Blue-Nosed Bastards” in World War II
- By: Lt. Col. Jay A. Stout
- Narrated by: Donald Corren
- Length: 17 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 458
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 415
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 413
Jay A. Stout breaks new ground in World War II history with this gripping account of one of the war’s most highly decorated American fighter groups. Stout combines the storytelling gifts and careful research for a seasoned historian with the combat experience of a former fighter pilot to tell the remarkable story of the 352nd Fighter Group. This isn’t just the story of a single fighter group; it’s the story of how the United States won the air war over Europe.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
This is a fantastic, through, in depth, and personal history of the 352nd fighter group.
- By S. H. Moore on 02-23-21
-
Dead Reckoning
- The Story of How Johnny Mitchell and His Fighter Pilots Took on Admiral Yamamoto and Avenged Pearl Harbor
- By: Dick Lehr
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 12 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 269
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 235
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 234
“AIR RAID, PEARL HARBOR. THIS IS NOT DRILL.” At 7:58 a.m. on December 7, 1941, an officer at the Ford Island Command Center frantically typed what would become one of the most famous radio dispatches in history as the Japanese navy launched a surprise aerial assault on the American navy stationed in Hawaii. In a little over two hours, the Japanese killed more than 2,400 Americans and propelled the US’s entry into World War II. Dead Reckoning is the story of the mission to avenge that devastating strike.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Half Soap Opera, target audience 20 something male
- By Donald L. Hogan on 03-20-21
By: Dick Lehr
-
Operation Chastise
- The RAF's Most Brilliant Attack of World War II
- By: Max Hastings
- Narrated by: Max Hastings, Peter Noble
- Length: 11 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 115
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 96
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 96
The attack on Nazi Germany’s dams on May 17, 1943, was one of the most remarkable feats in military history. The absurdly young men of the Royal Air Force’s 617 Squadron set forth in cold blood and darkness, without benefit of electronic aids, to fly lumbering heavy bombers straight and level towards a target at a height above the water less than the length of a bowling alley. Yet this story has never been told in full. Max Hastings takes us back to the May 1943 raid to reveal how the truth of that night is considerably different from the popularized account most people know.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Wish He Had Stuck to the Core Story
- By John on 06-22-20
By: Max Hastings
-
Race of Aces
- WWII's Elite Airmen and the Epic Battle to Become the Master of the Sky
- By: John R. Bruning
- Narrated by: Brian Troxell
- Length: 16 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,423
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,265
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1,260
In 1942, America's deadliest fighter pilot, or "ace of aces" - the legendary Eddie Rickenbacker - offered a bottle of bourbon to the first US fighter pilot to break his record of 26 enemy planes shot down. Seizing on the challenge to motivate his men, General George Kenney promoted what they would come to call the "race of aces" as a way of boosting the spirits of his war-weary command.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Boring, confusing storyline, some technical details wrong
- By ATM on 04-09-20
By: John R. Bruning
-
Dragon's Jaw
- An Epic Story of Courage and Tenacity in Vietnam
- By: Stephen Coonts, Barrett Tillman
- Narrated by: Dan Woren
- Length: 10 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 135
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 120
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 120
Every war has its "bridge" - Old North Bridge at Concord, Burnside's Bridge at Antietam, the railway bridge over Burma's River Kwai, the bridge over Germany's Rhine River at Remagen, and the bridges over Korea's Toko Ri. In Vietnam it was the bridge at Thanh Hoa, called Dragon's Jaw. For seven long years hundreds of young US airmen flew sortie after sortie against North Vietnam's formidable and strategically important bridge, dodging a heavy concentration of anti-aircraft fire and enemy MiG planes. Many American airmen were shot down, killed, or captured....
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
At some point the political commentary is exhausting
- By Tyler White on 06-07-19
By: Stephen Coonts, and others
-
Whirlwind
- The Air War Against Japan, 1942-1945
- By: Barrett Tillman
- Narrated by: Mel Foster
- Length: 11 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 133
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 80
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 84
Whirlwind is the only book to examine in depth the human drama behind the most important bombing campaign in history. While the air war against Nazi Germany has been covered in-depth by many books, Barrett Tillman, a renowned authority on military aircraft and the air war in the Pacific, is the first to tackle the air war against Japan. For decades, historians and politicians have debated whether or not Japan was on the verge of surrender in August 1945---before the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Good, but ultimately disappointing
- By Michael on 10-16-10
By: Barrett Tillman
-
The Last Zero Fighter
- By: Dan King
- Narrated by: Drew Bott
- Length: 12 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 44
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 40
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 40
Firsthand accounts from interviews conducted in Japan with five WWII Japanese Naval aviators. All are veterans of the pivotal battles of the Pacific War including; USS Panay, Nanking, Pearl Harbor, Wake Island, Rabaul, Port Darwin, Indian Ocean Raid, Ceylon, Midway, Guadalcanal, Marshall Islands, Tarawa, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, the kamikaze in the Philippines, the home defense and the dropping of the atomic bomb. Includes an introduction to the Japanese pilot training system for both officers and enlisted men.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Fascinating and humanizing story
- By courtney mckean on 07-03-23
By: Dan King
-
Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941-1942
- By: Ian W. Toll
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 22 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 3,960
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 3,534
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 3,519
On the first Sunday in December 1941, an armada of Japanese warplanes appeared suddenly over Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and devastated the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Six months later, in a sea fight north of the tiny atoll of Midway, four Japanese aircraft carriers were sent into the abyss. Pacific Crucible tells the epic tale of these first searing months of the Pacific war, when the U.S. Navy shook off the worst defeat in American military history and seized the strategic initiative.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Astonishingly good.
- By Mike From Mesa on 09-01-12
By: Ian W. Toll
-
I Will Run Wild
- The Pacific War from Pearl Harbor to Midway
- By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver
- Narrated by: Lance C Fuller
- Length: 12 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 91
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 80
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 80
In many popular histories of the Pacific War, the period from the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor to the US victory at Midway is often passed over because it is seen as a period of darkness. Indeed, it is easy to see the period as one of unmitigated disaster for the Allies, with the fall of the Philippines, Malaya, Burma and the Dutch East Indies and the wholesale retreat and humiliation at the hands of Japan throughout Southeast Asia.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Very informative
- By dexter on 09-20-20
-
The Men Who Killed the Luftwaffe
- The U.S. Army Air Forces Against Germany in World War II
- By: Jay A. Stout
- Narrated by: Paul Woodson
- Length: 15 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 470
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 428
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 421
In this dramatic story of World War II, Jay A. Stout describes how the US built an air force of 2.3 million men after starting with 45,000 and defeated the world's best air force. In order to defeat Germany in World War II, the Allies needed to destroy the Third Reich's industry and invade its territory, but before they could effectively do either, they had to defeat the Luftwaffe, whose state-of-the-art aircraft and experienced pilots protected German industry and would batter any attempted invasion.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A must read for WWII buffs
- By david on 07-27-17
By: Jay A. Stout
-
Oswald Boelcke
- Germany’s First Fighter Ace and Father of Air Combat
- By: BGen R. G. Head
- Narrated by: David de Vries
- Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 29
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 21
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 21
With a total of 40 victories, Oswald Boelcke was Germany's first ace in World War I-and a century later he remains a towering figure in the history of air warfare, renowned for his character, inspirational leadership, organizational genius, development of air-to-air tactics, and impact on aerial doctrine. Paving the way for modern air forces across the world with his pioneering strategies, Boelcke had a dramatic effect on his contemporaries. The famed Red Baron's mentor, instructor, squadron commander, and friend, he exerted a tremendous influence upon the German air force.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Bravest of Pilots
- By J.Brock on 07-09-21
By: BGen R. G. Head
-
MiG Alley
- The US Air Force in Korea, 1950-53
- By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver
- Narrated by: David de Vries
- Length: 14 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 314
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 251
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 250
Of the many myths that emerged following the end of the Korean War, the prevailing one in the West was that of the absolute supremacy of US Air Force pilots and aircraft over their Soviet-supplied opponents. The claims of the 10:1 victory-loss ratio achieved by the US Air Force fighter pilots flying the North American F-86 Sabre against their communist adversaries, amongst other such fabrications, went unchallenged until the end of the Cold War, when Soviet records of the conflict were finally opened. From that point onwards, a very different story began to emerge.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent
- By Lorne on 11-27-19
-
Unsung Eagles
- True Stories of America’s Citizen Airmen in the Skies of World War II
- By: Jay A. Stout
- Narrated by: Traber Burns
- Length: 11 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 545
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 481
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 481
The nearly half-million American air crewmen who served during World War II have almost disappeared. And so have their stories. Award-winning writer and former fighter pilot Jay A. Stout uses Unsung Eagles to save an exciting collection of those accounts from oblivion. These are not rehashed tales from the hoary icons of the war. Rather, they are stories from the masses of largely unrecognized men who - in the aggregate - actually won it.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A great look into what so many gave for & to us.
- By Duane on 08-02-21
By: Jay A. Stout
-
Miracle at Midway
- By: Gordon W. Prange, Donald M. Goldstein
- Narrated by: Qarie Marshall
- Length: 17 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 100
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 86
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 86
Six months after Pearl Harbor, the seemingly invincible Imperial Japanese Navy prepared a decisive blow against the United States. After sweeping through Asia and the South Pacific, Japan's military targeted the tiny atoll of Midway, an ideal launching pad for the invasion of Hawaii and beyond. But the United States Navy was waiting for them. Thanks to cutting-edge code-breaking technology, tactical daring, and a huge stroke of luck, the Americans under Admiral Chester W. Nimitz dealt the Japanese navy its first major defeat of the war.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Greatest Book on Midway Battle
- By WISDOC on 04-12-21
By: Gordon W. Prange, and others
-
Forgotten Fifteenth
- The Daring Airmen Who Crippled Hitler's War Machine
- By: Barrett Tillman
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 9 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 440
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 391
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 386
November 1943 to May 1945. The US Army Air Forces waged an unprecedentedly dogged and violent campaign against Hitler's vital oil production and industrial plants on theThird Reich's southern flank. Flying from southern Italy, far from the limelight enjoyed by the Eighth Air Force in England, the Fifteenth Air Force engaged in high-risk missions spanning most of the European continent. The story of the Fifteenth Air Force deserves a prideful place in the annals of American gallantry.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Well written ...; felt like I was a door gunner.
- By David C. Miller on 12-08-21
By: Barrett Tillman
What listeners say about Pacific Skies
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Kindle Customer
- 11-03-17
Interesting Take on the Pacific Air War
It's a shortened version of the air war in the Pacific, but is particularly useful in giving specific references
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall1 out of 5 stars
-
Performance1 out of 5 stars
-
Story1 out of 5 stars
- Kindle Customer
- 04-27-15
No Context
This is not a very good listening experience. There is no real context, just a few personal recollections. Waste of a credit/
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful