Wings of Love and War: A Novel of Adventure, Romance and Courage

Submitted by Jim Greenwald on July 22, 2013 - 11:55

Book Information:
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MWSA Review

WINGS OF LOVE AND WAR is a fictionalized biography of the author’s older brother, fiction being used to fill in gaps in his history. It is also the story of America in the 1930s and 1940s. It is the story of a young man with potential, a young man who liked fast cars, “hot rods,” and girls. It is the story of a young man who easily fell in love. It is the story of a young man with a bright future—a future interrupted by WWII. It is the story of Bobby, one of the thousands of young men who helped win WWII, and the many that died doing so.

WINGS is an enthralling story of American life before and during WWII, a vivid descriptions of the times and moral standards. Bobby was by some standards a little wild. Well, so was I at his age. Bobby had several loves, and these complicated his life.

WINGS is the story of a crew in the 8th Air Force based in England, conducting daylight bombing raids on Nazi occupied lands and Germany. A realistic picture of what a B-17 missions we like, with lots of facts and antidotes. The author also touches on a hot topic of today: civilian causalities or the modern term, collateral damage.

Reviewed by: Lee Boyland (2014)

Author's Summary

The shattering attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941 unified America as an entire generation was caught up in patriotic fervor. Millions of young men volunteered for the Military, ready to fight not only the Japanese, but also Hitler’s Germany. This is the story of Bobby, one of those men. Born in Southern California during the Roaring Twenties and growing up in the Great Depression, he comes of age in war. It is also about those whose lives, in touching his, generate all the elements of the classics: Ambition, Adventure, Love, Betrayal, Desperation, Courage, and Tragedy. In the adventure of a lifetime, he is thrust into the cauldron of war. Intensive training is followed by the harrowing experiences of deadly missions over Nazi Germany. Despite the demands of his duties, romance flourishes in wartime London, where he finds the woman of his dreams. A nighttime bombing raid on his base threatens the B-17s and the personnel of his 390th Bombardment Group. He is then caught up in the events that follow, creating a gripping picture of the crescendo of the air war that crippled much of Germany’s industry, leading to the final defeat of the Nazi war machine.

Author(s) Mentioned:

Taylor, Patrick E.

Reviewer:

Boyland, Lee

Work Type:

Book Reviews

Tags:

Air Force