Tailspin

By: John Armbruster

Narrated by: Brandon Pollock

World War II tail gunner Gene Moran fell four miles through the sky without a parachute and lived. Captured by the Germans, he survived a harrowing eighteen months as a prisoner of war, including a six-hundred-mile death march in 1945 across Central Europe.

When Gene returned home, he kept those memories locked up for nearly seventy years. His nine children knew little of their dad's war story. But when John, a young history teacher, learns of Gene's amazing fall, he's desperate to learn more. Finally, Gene agrees.

So begins a series of "Thursdays with Gene" interviews. Gene, nearing his ninetieth birthday, recounts incredible tales. But John has no idea what wounds he's reopening. Gene's nightmares and grief return. But both men persevere, bonded by their close and growing friendship.

As the interviews go on, John faces an ordeal of his own. His wife is fighting brain cancer. What will happen to his wife and his two young children? John must continue uncovering Gene's story of survival as he himself confronts the greatest trial of his life.

Tailspin is more than a war story. It's a story of two men's separate journeys confronting trauma and loss. It's a story of resilience and hope.

©2022 John Armbruster (P)2022 Tantor

Outstanding! Must read for any WW2 buff

One of the best if not the best. it's a tear jerker though. be prepared with tissue.

Great book

a glimpse of German POW camps and the brutality. A snap shot of the greatest generation! Tough. Raw courage. Unique survival of a fall to earth.

A story that needed to be told 

I was born and raised in the area that the person this book is about was from. I personally know of this family, and know several of the Moran children.  I had no idea this great story was a part of the Moran family’s history! I am so glad this book was recommended to me! I enjoyed listening to Mr Morans amazing story and happy that his extraordinary experiences and accomplishments from the WWII ERA have been recognized shared and now are appreciated by many!! It is a treasure from a time that is now lost to the past as most all of the great soldiers of that time are gone. If you appreciate real life accounts from this era you will love this book! Highly recommended!! Thank you to Mr Armbruster for writing this book so that others can learn and appreciate the sacrifices made by the great men and veterans of WWII !!

Triumph, Tragedy, History

Although I often rate the books I listen to, I don't usually take the time to write a review. This book is so well done that I just felt the need to say so. It's really two stories in one. It's about a tailgunner who falls four miles inside the severed tail of his B-17 over Germany and survives, and it's about the author's own life, getting to know this tailgunner, winning his trust--and then dealing with a tragedy in his own life. No spoilers here. Read the book!

There is one minor downside: The narrator is really pretty good, but he definitely did not do his homework to try to get pronunciations right. As a couple of examples, he pronounces "commandant" in a way that rhymes with "commandment", and he pronounces "archivist" with a "ch" sound as in "chair", rather than the "k" sound that is used in both American and British diction. He also consistently mispronounces some Wisconsin place names, most notably Viroqua (at least he's consistent!) It's pronounced vr-OW-kwuh. I guess these aren't big things, but they are somewhat annoying, and it seems to me that a narrator should take the time to look these words up and get them correct. (It's just lucky he didn't have to pronounce Oconomowoc!)

As I said, read (or listen to) the book! You will not be disappointed.

Incredible story

Moved me to tears. Excellent book of survival during and after WWII. I learned a lot about that part of history.

piece of history

a somber tale of triumph, pain, and grit. thankful these accounts weren't lost to time.

Must Read

This book is well written and riveting. Mr. Moran's story is beautifully and respectfully told. It touched my heart. I will be reading this again.

It felt so real, because it's truly based on real life.

I feel like I knew Gene after listening to this story! From his beginnings, to his depths of despair and courage to overcome it all. I actually feel a sense of connection and grief for this very real person. thank you for giving me the experience to truly hear what WW2 was like for this man. 10/10 have already recommended this book to mu friends

A tremendous story. Well written

John Ambruster did a great job integrating his life story and the family of Eugene Moran.

Strength encourage

To imagine that this is just one story of the war. To imagine that thousands of young men went to battle and lived this life. What a wonderful story and I feel special to have been given the chance to understand what one soldier went through. To all of you, thank you for your service.