"Fighting Hitler's Jets: The Extraordinary Story of the American Airmen Who Beat the Luftwaffe and Defeated Nazi Germany", by Robert F. Dorr

[CJE]

Originally Posted by Richard T. Eger

Dear Nick,
"Fighting Hitler's Secret Jets: The Extraordinary Story of the American Aces Who Beat the Luftwaffe Eagles and Defeated Nazi Germany"

"Extraordinary" looks a bit weak. Why not "hair-rising"?

☺

[John Beaman]

Originally Posted by CJE

"Extraordinary" looks a bit weak. Why not "hair-rising"?

☺

CJE, I am not exactly sure what you are trying to say here, but, "hair-raising" means really scary in English. I am not sure that would be appropriate for a title like this.

[Nick Beale]

Originally Posted by John Beaman

CJE, I am not exactly sure what you are trying to say here, but, "hair-raising" means really scary in English. I am not sure that would be appropriate for a title like this.

I think it needs "shocking" and "heartwarming" in there, just to cover every possible base.

[AndreasB]

Sales would no doubt improve if it were called "Fighting Hitler's SS Jets : The Extraordinary Story of the American Airmen Who Beat the Luftwaffe's von Rommel Command and Defeated von Goering's Nazi Germany".

Or sumfink. But in any case, if it's about the 3rd Reich you have to namedrop the SS and Rommel. Goering is optional. Adding a 'von' makes it sound more evil.

All the best

Andreas

[edwest]

Superlatives in titles is the new big thing. I think there are some foot soldiers, tank men and others that would take umbrage, but here, "American Airmen" defeated All Things Nazi... or something.



Ed

[AndreasB]

Originally Posted by edwest

Superlatives in titles is the new big thing. I think there are some foot soldiers, tank men and others that would take umbrage, but here, "American Airmen" defeated All Things Nazi... or something.



Ed

Wasn't it more like 'American Airmen' defeated all things?

As the old joke goes:

When the Luftwaffe comes, Tommy ducks
When the RAF comes, Jerry ducks
When the US AAF comes, everyone ducks.

All the best

Andreas

[Richard T. Eger]

Dear All,

Okay, okay, we've had our fun. Just to show that a book series we all respect, i.e., the 4-volume Me 262 set by Smith & Creek, was also guilty of flagrant chapter titles, I give you the ones from Volume Two:

"This Aircraft is Simply Wonderful"
Me 262 Variants
"The Crucial Factor"
"My God, What was that?"
"In Accordance with the Führer's Orders"

Of the 5, only "Me 262 Variants" actually described plainly what the chapter was all about. You were on your own as to whatever the other chapters were about.

Dorr's book title is clearly flamboyant and undermines any hint that the book can be taken as a serious work. And that, in a nutshell, is the issue as we all do take our favorite subject matter rather seriously. I may end up buying it, not because I expect anything great, but simply because I have a pretty complete collection of Me 262 related books, some of which are even likely lower in self respect.

Regards,
Richard

[Nick Beale]

Originally Posted by Richard T. Eger

Dear All,
Just to show that a book series we all respect, i.e., the 4-volume Me 262 set by Smith & Creek, was also guilty of flagrant chapter titles
Richard

Actually, if you look back, the use of quotations as chapter headings has been one of their "signatures" back as far as 1982's Jet Planes of the Third Reich. Lesser authors such as myself have borrowed the technique since.

[Richard T. Eger]

Dear Nick,

I happen to disagree with this approach. A table of contents should be a guide as to where to find what. Use of snappy quotations doesn't do that. These are more amenable to works of fiction, not historical books where, not only should the table of contents provide a ready guide, but also help to use the book as a reference.

Chapter notes also add to the value of a book as a reference. These allow for double checking the author's interpretation of documents and whether these are primary sources or published works, which means a further layer between the book and the original documentation.

As a point of reference, take a look at the depth of investigation I went through to try to resolve the question raised in WOTBC, Number Seven, page 2, top caption as to its claim that the Me 262 mid/rear fuselages seen in the photo were manufactured near the airfield at Mühldorf. Lacking any further input from Jerry Crandall, I believe I have provided sufficient historical documentation to dismiss this claim. And, as I pointed out, even some of the historical documentation, itself, was misleading, at best. Getting to the truth of a claim is not necessarily an easy task.

The resulting problem lends itself to the game of telephone, one author quoting another quoting another, sometimes not even acknowledging the source. If lucky, one can go back to the source of it all and see if it is reliable. All it takes is a bad assumption or interpretation on the part of the author and the whole game of telephone begins.

Regards,
Richard

PS. After posting this the first time, I got to thinking that I sounded like a know-it-all. Gag, I'm far from it. Decades of collecting and understanding and I'm still learning. New evidence surfaces and I have to readjust my thinking. It definitely keeps me interested. I very much appreciate that I can come to my fellow researchers for information that I lack. You all have been immensely helpful.

[Nick Beale]

Originally Posted by Richard T. Eger

Dear Nick,

I happen to disagree with this approach. A table of contents should be a guide as to where to find what.

Depends what the author's aiming at, don't you think? You perhaps incline more to plumbing the depths of the manufacturing process, I'm most interested in what the resulting machines were used for and the people who used them.