I enjoyed the story of Doolittle and his raid on Japan. Many of the men's stories have been told in the past and have made fabulous books and movies. However, Bernard chose a different route with his book. The Shangri-la Raiders is about a fictional crew that was part of the raid. I would have enjoyed the book much more had it been about the real heroes. I also found the romance to be superfluous, actually detracting from the story of the raid. Thank you #NetGalley for allowing me to give my honest and voluntary opinion of #WhenHerosFlewTheShangrilaRaiders

Colonel Jimmie Doolittle and a squadron of sixteen, B25 Mitchell bombers took off from the deck of the USS Hornet to bomb the Japanese mainland in WW II. The first plane off the flight deck was Doolittle himself!

The training was done at numerous bases in the United States and then actual carrier training was done at Pensacola, Florida. The crews were selected from among the best B25 bomber crews in the Army Air Force.
After the bombing of Tokyo and other Japanese cities, the planes flew to mainland China, as they had no way of getting back to the USS Hornet. The worry was that the planes would not be able to get to China after the bombing run. All of the crews were volunteers who knew that they may need to ditch in the ocean!

After bailing out over mainland China, the crews were frantically searched for by the Japanese. They were considered war criminals and would surely be executed upon capture.

The assistance of the Chinese people who were being brutalized by the Japanese military was at great personal risk. The crews escape back to U.S. held lines included hiding in the jungles of central China and getting aide along the way from the Chinese people who hated the Japanese. The story is a compelling read and heartwarming in the execution of the tale. 5 stars - CE Williams

Compelling, suspenseful and full of action, this war book is one to put on your must-read list for 2021!

Thank you to NetGalley & Severn River Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This is a great book! The writing was great, the telling of the story was excellent and I grew to care about every character. The descriptions of the flights, the jumps, the pain, the rice paddies, all of it, was some of the best I’ve ever read, there is one in particular that just took my breath away. I will definitely be reading the other two books in this series.
I always love true stories and especially when the author ends the book with letting us know how the characters lived by telling us the “rest of the story”. These men and “woman” were true heroes and I thank them for their service and sacrifices for our county. This one will go into my best war books read list. Highly recommend.
I was so excited to receive an ARC of this book from Severn River Publishing along with NetGalley for my unbiased review. I highly recommend and it comes in with 5 stars!!

An truly inspirational book about the mission and subsequent escape by one of the crews who participated on the Doolittle raid over Tokyo. The story was compelling and suspenseful. I literally could not stop reading this book! A great must read for history fans!

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.