Member Reviews
The author covers all of the aces from World War Two, Allies and the Axis as well. Which was different than most books I have read. You also have pilots from the Pacific and from Europe which was good for most books only give one or the other, not both. You are given a short bio about each pilot and some of their accomplishments during battles in the air. I was surprised how some would survive the war but then pass in a crash during a test flight for a new plane. Overall a very good book.
A collection of short biographies of the many aces, both Allied and Axis, of WWII. I found the book to be interesting overall. This is not an in depth look at each Ace, just a brief recap of how and when they achieved their Ace status and what they did after the war if they survived. I was glad to see that after the first few chapters, the author stopped plugging his other books, which I found irritating and somewhat tacky.
Author Bill Yenne (https://www.billyenne.com) published the book “Aces: True Stories of Victory and Valor in the Skies of World War II” in 2020. Mr. Yenne has published more than three dozen novels and non-fiction books.
I categorize this book as ‘G’. The book comprehensively covers the top ace pilots in the Axis air forces as well as in the Allied air forces.
Only a few pages are dedicated to each pilot, but there are a large number of aces covered. The book looks at the major powers - the US, British, German, Russian, Italian, and Japanese. It also mentions those from the smaller countries who were top aces. The aces from Finland (The winter War) are included as well. There is even a small section covering Russian women who qualified as aces. The book contains many vintage photos of the pilots and their fighters.
I thought that the 8.5 hours I spent reading this 240-page WWII history were interesting. I had read of some of these pilots before, but this book included many I had not been aware of. It is surprising how many pilots qualified as an Ace (Generally, 5 planes confirmed shot down). I was amazed at the total number of planes some of these pilots had shot down. I like the cover art. I give this book a 4 out of 5.
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An excellent book on the various top fighter pilots from all countries in WW2. The stories were compelling and kept my interest. While some of the top aces are well known, the author also provided stories on some of the lesser known individuals as well. For air enthusiasts, this is a must read book.
Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.