Just like “Damn Lucky” which I read and enjoyed in early 2022, “Luck of the Draw” is also a thrilling and raw true story of the heroes of the sky in WWII. I truly learned a lot from this book and was fully engaged in Frank’s personal story.

As a current Army officer, I was thrilled to be accepted for an advance copy of this. Thank you so much to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the ALC!

Frank Murphy, a boy from Georgia, was always interested in flying. He began working on his pilot's license before WWII broke out. He ended up in the Air Force where, much to his dismay, he learned he didn't qualify to be a pilot because of his poor vision. He excelled at math though and so was tapped to be a navigator on a bomber crew. Murphy was stationed in England where the Eighth Air Force bomber crews flew repeated missions to Europe.

Nearing the end of his rotation, Frank's B-17 was shot down and he spent the rest of the war in a German POW camp. He was grateful though because not all of his crew survived that mission. Murphy ended up being separated from the rest of his surviving crew members in the camp.

The story of what he and the other POWs survived is a powerful tale of courage and the will to survive. The audiobook is read by Jonas Moore who will star in the upcoming TV series about Captain Murphy, Master of the Air. Not to be missed by anyone interested in the heroism of those who served.

Reminds me of Unbroken, except he is a prisoner in Germany and not Japan. This book kept my interest throughout and I would recommend it to anyone. Looking forward to seeing the show.

Very inspiring story. The narration is very well done, and Murthy’s account of his time in combat is very well articulated. Very enjoyable listen. I’m glad he has had the opportunity to share his story with the world,

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for accepting my request to audibly read and review Luck of the Draw.

Narrated by: Elizabeth Murphy; Jonas Moore
Published: 02/28/23

Not for everyone. It is not a novel. This is nonfiction history and reads like an academic textbook. I had the audiobook. The narration could not help me, with respect to the war, from being bored. There were more times than not, where I felt like a telephone book and/or index was being read to me.

In my opinion, good narration is another dimension to the writing. The narration is another character where I get lost. Unlike here, I was in a lecture hall forcing myself to be attentive. I believe, I may have done better with a Chris Lutkin or Simon Vance -- they are both older and engaging.

As for the history, it feels documented, researched and well-written from a textbook standard.

This just wasn't for me. I would gift this to a smart person, and particularly one whose interest may be outside WW II. I would rate this 2.5 stars. I rounded up because I might have gotten more from this without the audio.

An extremely strong non fiction narrative of the mighty 100th heavy bomb group! Well written, very informative and highly recommended!

Luck of the Draw by Frank Murphy listen incredible and informative book. They were raider of this book really drew me in and kept me engrossed in the information.

I feel this pic was not just a memoir but a glimpse into what life was like before during and after the war. I loved his detailed accounts about some of the history of flight and aviation as well as his depictions of what he went through in a pow camp.

I remember my own research into the history of the war come across his name several times and to read his account of what happened was truly amazing. I stand in awe of him and his entire generation.

I encourage anyone to pick up a copy of this book in print form or audiobook as I believe it is a glimpse into the life of a soldier and his family. Covers not only what happens during the warm but after.

4 stars

A well researched & touching memoir by a US Army Air Force veteran of WWII. This reissued edition contains additional photographs & appendices.

[What I liked:]

•I was excited to read this book since my grandfather was a mechanic in the USAAF in WWII, was stationed at a base in Florida, and helped navigate a plane to St. Louis when he came home for leave, but other than that I don’t know much about his time in the military. It was great to hear the details of Frank’s training as a plane navigator in Florida and out west, what the conditions and culture were like on base, etc. I recommended this book to my mother for the same reasons.

•Early aviation is fascinating to me just because of all the difficulties pilots and crews used to face that we take for granted now, like computer navigation tools, pressurized oxygen and temperature controlled cabins, etc. It was very interesting to learn about how Frank did his job as a navigator using the same tools that Renaissance seafarers used, about flying formations & how bombing strategy changed over the course of the war, and what it was like to be in the plane during a bombing mission. Knowing the details of what he and other service people sacrificed was very moving.

•When I started reading this book, I had no idea that Frank spent time as a POW in Stalag Luft III! The Great Escape is one of my favorite movies so I’ve read other accounts about that camp and their escape efforts, but it was a nice surprise to get to hear Frank’s narrative of his time there.

•Some years after the war, Frank tracked down the German farm family that witnessed him plane being shot down and gave him first aid immediately after. With their help & other research, he was able to reconstruct a time line of the crash after he had parachuted out of the plane, and what likely happened to his crew members that tragically did not survive. This was also a very touching part of the story.


[What I didn’t like as much:]

•The first few chapters of the memoir are about Frank’s family, his childhood and school years, etc., so the parts about aviation and the war don’t start right away. I enjoyed these chapters and don’t think they detract from the book at all, but if another reader wants to cut to the chase it’s possible to skip the background chapters.

CW: POW human rights abuses, combat deaths

[I received an ARC ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you for the book!]

I loved this firsthand account of WWII. It gave me new insights into the thoughts and history of air war. I appreciated his honesty and that he was upfront with how this is from his memory, so some things might not be completely accurate. I didn't love it as an audiobook because it was a little hard to understand the maneuvers as someone unfamiliar with this subject, and I missed out on the images he talked about at the end. Definitely worth a read though, and I'm definitely going to watch out for a copy!

I love memoirs, and I love learning about WWII. What do you get when you combine these two loves? Frank Murphy's history book, Luck Of The Draw: My Story Of The Air War In Europe.

I am shocked and amazed at the amount of research that went into writing this book; although I know others shared information with Murphy, this help wouldn’t have made it any easier to get the published memoir I read, out of Murphy’s words in his leather-bound notebook. Murphy shares his beginnings in the military, and how he went from being a navigator in the 100th 8th Air Force's Bomb Group to a prisoner of war when his B-17 aircraft was taken down. This book brought me another side to WWII than I have previously read, and I know Murphy's courageous war efforts, along with those efforts from others, will forever remain in my mind.

Reading and listening to the letters Murphy sent home to his Mum had me on the verge of tears countless times. How could mothers have sent their young sons off to war the way they did? The thought easily breaks my heart in such a guttural way. Day after day these men, (boys really), fought with all they had; Murphy said it was the love and camaraderie for his crew-mates that kept him moving forward, putting himself in harm’s way daily – something so unimaginable, but was simply what was done.

I learned an incredible amount while reading this history book, but the following information specifically stands out to me: Aircrafts were named by their American bomber crews (names like Bastard’s Bungalow and Mugwump and Aw-R-Go). A milk-run is a mission without event. Flak (from the German word Fliegerabwehrkannonen) is antiaircraft fire from the enemy shot at aircraft. When a book can combine history and facts, share heart and soul, all while teaching me something? I think that’s a book that lessons should focus around in schools.

At first the younger age of the audiobook narrator bothered me, as I was wanting an older voice speaking for Murphy - but in the end I think the choice was perfect. There were a few times I suspected or noted the hint of an accent, but this too ended up working for me. I would recommend the audiobook, except if you're wanting the footnotes, the many appendixes and bibliography - as none of this additional information is shared in the audio version.

Luck Of The Draw: My Story Of The Air War In Europe is for anyone that has loved historical fiction like The Nightingale and The Diamond Eye and has wanted to learn more, for anyone generally wanting to learn more about WWII, for anyone interested in aircraft and/or for anyone looking to dip their toe into the history book genre.

(The heroic stories from Murphy and his 8th Air Force’s 100th Bomb Group will be portrayed in forthcoming "Masters Of The Air," an Apple TV series from Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks. Murphy's book was first published in 2001, but I read the re-released 2023 version.)

I know I will be buying this book for my non-fiction shelf, will be referencing it when needed, and will teach Adalynn from it when she’s older.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for the complimentary copies to read, listen to and review.

While I usually don’t read this type of book I found it quite interesting. My husband is the one in the family with a love of WWII stories but I saw this and gave it a try. I found the story easy to follow and kept my interest. The narration of the audiobook was wonderful.

First and foremost I want to say a huge THANK YOU to all those that have fought for our freedoms and right and to all those serving today.. THANK YOU to all the families that have sacrificed so much over the years to allow us to stay free and safe. Now as far as the book. Wow, I have been reading so many books and watching so many things on the war and history that this book just kind of hit me with the thought that " Hogans Heros really did happen. I know by reading this book that it wasn't as nice obviously as the tv show portrayed but I haven't ready anything that talks about the stalags so I was just surprised. Thanks for sharing your story with us and I can;'t imagine how hard it was to go thrrough it again as you wrote it all down.

Luck of the Draw is the story of Frank Murphy who was taken as a POW during WW2. It talks about his life and how he got to where he was.
The story was interesting but very slow. I found myself struggling to pay attention to the story.
The narrator was on but was very monotone. For an audio book it was not very engaging. I very much enjoy learning about history and WW2, but this just did not hold my interest well.

Good book & good audiobook! Narrator, Jonas Moore, was perfect for the audiobook version. First part of the book was a little slow but it picked up. Definitely worth a read/listen & amazing bravery by the 8th….really still wondering how any of them survived! Thankful to have received a ARC from NetGalley & Macmillan Audio!

Do you like audio books?

I’ve really been listening to more audio books lately. I’ve found they’re nice to listen to early in the morning before my family wakes up – or on the days I have to go into the office and commute.

This book is the true story of an American hero, Frank Murphy, who flew during WWII and became a prisoner of war. Frank was a heavy bomber and flew in the Eighth Air Force over hostile skies over Europe. When his plane went down, he was among 21,000 men who were taken prisoner or interned, of those 21,000, 17,650 made the ultimate sacrifice.

I really appreciated the foreword of this one written by his granddaughter and his daughter. It really helped add to the realness of the story.

This book had so many things going for it that I just absolutely enjoyed! The narrator, WWII, biography, POW, pilot, just so many things. This book was so personal and real. I really enjoyed listening to the story of Franks life, and I learned quite a few things about the war, and airplanes in general. I really enjoyed learning more about the planes and the history of them. Frank was so lucky to have survived the war and to have led such an amazing life, and leave a great legacy.

The narrator on this one was perfect! He just nailed the vibe of the book on the head.

Make sure to grab your copy February 28th.

Thank you to the publisher, MacMillan Audio, St Martins Griffin, @StMartinsPress, @MacMillanAudio, Netgalley, @netgalley, and the author, for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is so interesting. I seriously can not imagine what these men went through. The beginning takes a bit to get into, but once you're in the book, you want to know what happened. I love how this book is written. I've never really read a book where it's about the actual crew of the planes that were involved in the war. I recommend this book if you are interested in any information about the Second World War. It is very interesting.

The book was good. I wouldn't say amazing. There were parts in there that may have seemed like they needed to be in there but confused me. The confusing parts were important to the author but otherwise probably needed to be left. Those confusing parts just felt like it was dragging on before getting less confusing.

narrative, memoir, memories, biography, prisoners-of-war, air-war, airman, WW2, us-army, bombing, Germany, POW camps, military-history, historical-figures, historical-places-events, historical-research, history-and-culture, military-aviation-history*****

Nov 12, 2022 Meticulously documented and yet very personal.
Very detailed info on air raids of the European war perfect for Air Force personnel past and present.
As a civilian, while I felt outclassed in much of the narrative and the extensive appendices, the years in the Stalag were personalized and moving. It's a book well worth diving into again and again.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from St. Martin's Press/St. Martin's Griffin via NetGalley. Thank you
Jan 06, 2023 I was very fortunate to receive a temporary audio copy from Macmillan Audio via NetGalley. This was a great improvement for me. Jonas Moore is an excellent voice actor and greatly added to the interpretation of all parts of the journal.

"The epic true story of an American hero who flew during WWII, soon to be featured in the upcoming Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks TV Series, Masters of the Air."

Frank Murphy’s memoir covers his life through his time as a navigator on a B-17 Flying Fortress in the 100th Bombardment Group. The 100th was in the thick of the Allies bombing of Germany and took heavy casualties. Mr. Murphy recounts his complete war experience from basic training to flying over the deadly European Skies. He tells of his harrowing mission where his plane was shot down and his life in a German POW camp. This book is a new edition with a new forward from Mr. Murphy’s granddaughter.

Mr. Murphy does an excellent job retelling his war years. There are all sorts of stories from the funny things that happened to the terrifying mission he flew over Europe. He has a way of making you feel like you there while the events take place. Mr. Murphy does a good job of not overdramatizing the events for the sake of the story, but to really dig deep and give you a good sense of what was happening. He recounts his thoughts, including his fears, and how he and the rest of the man reacted to the events during the World War II.

I listened to the audio version of this book, and felt that it was very easy to listen. The narrator had good pacing and enunciation.

Overall this is an excellent memoir from one of the brave servicemen who served during World War II. I have read a number off memoirs from World War II servicemen, and this one is definitely in the top half. It provides great insight into the war. Thank you to @netgalley @macmillanaudio for a free ARC for an honest review of this book