Coming from John Bruning in January 2020 "Race of Aces"

[Edward]

Looking forward to this in January 2020 (only 3 months away) . I know that John Bruning collected a lot of primary source material for his new book and that he possesses an extensive knowledge of the history of the 9th Fighter Squadron, 49th FG (Johnson & Bong). However the marketing department at Hachette really should consider retiring expressions such as "untold story" and "epic" (but hey, they are trying to sell books). Seeing the phrase "selfless devotion" makes me think of the U.S. fighter pilot Lt. Col. Gratten "Grant" Mahony - four tours of combat in four theaters of war (Philippines, Java, Burma & China - 2 tours & back to the Philippines ~ 1941-1945).

Race of Aces: WWII's Elite Airmen and the Epic Battle to Become the Masters of the Sky
(Hachette Books - January 14, 2020)
by John R Bruning
320 pages
$29.00 - hardback
$14.99 - e-book

"The astonishing untold story of the WWII airmen who risked it all in the deadly race to become the greatest American fighter pilot.

In 1942, America’s deadliest fighter pilot, or “ace of aces”-the legendary Eddie Rickenbacker-offered a bottle of bourbon to the first U.S. fighter pilot to break his record of twenty-six enemy planes shot down. Seizing on the challenge to motivate his men, General George Kenney promoted what they would come to call the “race of aces” as a way of boosting the spirits of his war-weary command.

What developed was a wild three-year sprint for fame and glory, and the chance to be called America’s greatest fighter pilot. The story has never been told until now.

Based on new research and full of revelations, John Bruning’s brilliant, original book tells the story of how five American pilots contended for personal glory in the Pacific while leading Kenney’s resurgent air force against the most formidable enemy America ever faced.

The pilots - Richard Bong, Tommy McGuire, Neel Kearby, Charles MacDonald and Gerald Johnson - riveted the nation as they contended for Rickenbacker’s crown. As their scores mounted, they transformed themselves from farm boys and aspiring dentists into artists of the modern dogfight.

But as the race reached its climax, some of the pilots began to see how the spotlight warped their sense of duty. They emerged as leaders, beloved by their men as they chose selfless devotion over national accolades.

Teeming with action all across the vast Pacific theater, Race of Aces is a fascinating exploration of the boundary between honorable duty, personal glory, and the complex landscape of the human heart."

https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/ti...9780316508643/

[twocee]

"The astonishing untold story.....the deadly race to become the greatest American fighter pilot" is plainly wrong. All five named were Army pilots and so at the very least it should have read "greatest American Army fighter pilot".

[edwest2]

Among some publishers, there is a disconnect between marketing and reality. I am running across more examples of meaningless phrases, excessive adjectives and even a wrong approach to writing titles. I wonder if those in charge either want it this way or they are too young to understand the circumstances. Fortunately, such book descriptions, and titles, are still in the minority.


Ed

[Stig Jarlevik]

I find it a bit astonishing that a book like this can be written today, but what do I know of the US public?

What is strange though, is that only pilots in the Far East should qualify.
The central thesis in the book seems to be the bet made by Rickenbacker (a sort of take off point) and surely he cannot have made that bet and at the same time only make Army pilots in the Far East "his competitors"?

And why only five men? If there was a "race" surely every pilot in USA competed (if they wanted to) including the Navy, as George already have pointed out.

I amused myself to quickly check the date when the mentioned pilots passed the magic line (ie when they made their 27th accepted claim) and found the following (thanks Frank Olynyk)

Bong: 12 April 1944
McGuire: 12 Nov 1944
Macdonald: 15 Feb 1945
The other two never qualified at all

Checking other pilots who should also have been in the "race"
Robert Johnson: 8 May 1944
Francis Gabreski: 27 June 1944

David McCampbell (US Navy): 24 Oct1944

Since I will not personally buy a book like this, the only thing which actually interests me is if Bong ever got that bottle? Many Europeans don't like bourbon, but even though I can enjoy a single malt, no nose in the air for me, I can equally enjoy a US sour mash.... any day....

Cheers
Stig

[John R Bruning]

Gents,

Hello, I am the writer of "Race of Aces" and I'd be happy to answer any questions that y'all have.

Race is the culmination of thirty years worth of research that dates back to my first year in graduate school at the U of O. In 2010, while I was in Afghanistan, I was involved in a precautionary helicopter landing in the Hindu Kush. I made a bucket list of books I wanted to write if I made it out of that situation. Indestructible was the first of those, Race is the second.

The book centers on the race that developed in the SWPA, so while there are many mentions to the other aces the national media was writing about at the time--including Gabreski, Johnson, Gentile, Boyington, Foss, etc., the focus is on the horse race that developed through 1943 between the guys who ultimately became the top U.S. ace and those around him. That would be Dick Bong (40), Tommy McGuire (38), Tommy's Group Commander, Charles MacDonald (27), Neel Kearby who really was the one who fueled the competition (22), and Bong's squadron commander, Gerald R. Johnson. Along with Tommy Lynch, these are the guys who were involved in the story that I wanted to write. They shaped the competition. They were friends, rivals and at times frenemies.

To write this, I relied on dozens of interviews I conducted, on camera and audio recording from 1992-2004, plus a series with the last surviving 475th ace, Perry Dahl, in 2017. Letters, diaries, family documents, school grades & transcripts, also served as primary research material. I spent 249 days on the road in 2017 going to archives from coast to coast, driving from the Seattle Museum of Flight to every principle and secondary archival holding I could find in the country.

I came back with about 14 terrabytes of copied documents, everything from the Form 5's of the aces & their wingmen to the squadron dailies, unit morning reports, personal encounter reports (of course), reports and tactical bulletins never published but written by these aviators. I collected thousands of photos.

When I finished the manuscript, I handed it to a number of pilots, historians and experts for vetting. Chris Fahey and Jack Cook and Robin Reid were among those who read it and passed it for accuracy.

I went in to the project with a traditional view of what the race was in the SWPA, and who had shaped it. The documentation I collected in 2017 convinced me the post-war narrative of this crazy event in American military history was not right. I wrote the book based on the information I discovered, and it puts the race in the SWPA in a different light.

Anyway, I'd be happy to chat about it. After the book is published, I'll be posting documents I discovered in very odd corners of the country that will shed light on the new things I developed in the book.

Just want to say thank you for keeping the memory and the spirit of the WWII generation alive with your interest, knowledge and community.

John R. Bruning
https://theamericanwarrior.com/


Author:

Race of Aces
Indestructible
Crimson Sky: The Air Battle for Korea
Jungle Ace
Luck of the Draw
Elusive Glory
Ship Strike Pacific
Bombs Away
Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Atlantic
The Devil's Sandbox

Co-Author:
Luck of the Draw
House to House
How to Break a Terrorist
Ghost
Shadow of the Sword
Outlaw Platoon
Level Zero Heroes
Heart for the Fight
The Trident
Topgun

[JACK COOK]

Read it before you judge it! The book is awesome and I've actually read it!

[Stig Jarlevik]

Well Jack

It would have been interesting with a little more in depth review of the book.

Cheers
Stig

[NickM]

Originally Posted by John R Bruning

Gents,

Hello, I am the writer of "Race of Aces" and I'd be happy to answer any questions that y'all have.

Race is the culmination of thirty years worth of research that dates back to my first year in graduate school at the U of O. In 2010, while I was in Afghanistan, I was involved in a precautionary helicopter landing in the Hindu Kush. I made a bucket list of books I wanted to write if I made it out of that situation. Indestructible was the first of those, Race is the second.

The book centers on the race that developed in the SWPA, so while there are many mentions to the other aces the national media was writing about at the time--including Gabreski, Johnson, Gentile, Boyington, Foss, etc., the focus is on the horse race that developed through 1943 between the guys who ultimately became the top U.S. ace and those around him. That would be Dick Bong (40), Tommy McGuire (38), Tommy's Group Commander, Charles MacDonald (27), Neel Kearby who really was the one who fueled the competition (22), and Bong's squadron commander, Gerald R. Johnson. Along with Tommy Lynch, these are the guys who were involved in the story that I wanted to write. They shaped the competition. They were friends, rivals and at times frenemies.

To write this, I relied on dozens of interviews I conducted, on camera and audio recording from 1992-2004, plus a series with the last surviving 475th ace, Perry Dahl, in 2017. Letters, diaries, family documents, school grades & transcripts, also served as primary research material. I spent 249 days on the road in 2017 going to archives from coast to coast, driving from the Seattle Museum of Flight to every principle and secondary archival holding I could find in the country.

I came back with about 14 terrabytes of copied documents, everything from the Form 5's of the aces & their wingmen to the squadron dailies, unit morning reports, personal encounter reports (of course), reports and tactical bulletins never published but written by these aviators. I collected thousands of photos.

When I finished the manuscript, I handed it to a number of pilots, historians and experts for vetting. Chris Fahey and Jack Cook and Robin Reid were among those who read it and passed it for accuracy.

I went in to the project with a traditional view of what the race was in the SWPA, and who had shaped it. The documentation I collected in 2017 convinced me the post-war narrative of this crazy event in American military history was not right. I wrote the book based on the information I discovered, and it puts the race in the SWPA in a different light.

Anyway, I'd be happy to chat about it. After the book is published, I'll be posting documents I discovered in very odd corners of the country that will shed light on the new things I developed in the book.

Just want to say thank you for keeping the memory and the spirit of the WWII generation alive with your interest, knowledge and community.

John R. Bruning
https://theamericanwarrior.com/


Author:

Race of Aces
Indestructible
Crimson Sky: The Air Battle for Korea
Jungle Ace
Luck of the Draw
Elusive Glory
Ship Strike Pacific
Bombs Away
Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Atlantic
The Devil's Sandbox

Co-Author:
Luck of the Draw
House to House
How to Break a Terrorist
Ghost
Shadow of the Sword
Outlaw Platoon
Level Zero Heroes
Heart for the Fight
The Trident
Topgun

I was leafing thru the book, and two things got my attention: Bong was very aggrieved by the loss of two wingmen-so much so, he asked to be allowed to fly alone to not be responsible for other men's lives. Now I know next to nothing about the SWPA theater in general and Bong in particular other than he's the leading US ace., Any details of these lost men? Also, I had never heard that other comrades held Tommy Lynch's death against Bong-an interesting bit of history.

[edwest2]

As someone who works in book publishing, I will reiterate the fact that the American idea of 'snappy' book titles does little to sell the book. It does the opposite. I've posted a few examples over the years and I can apply the same example to other published titles outside of the aviation/WW2 genre.

Having grown up with a World War II veteran and others who went through the war, it was common that little was said. Painful memories are like that. Most men went on to have families and lived relatively good lives. Is a book like this necessary in concept? A collection of well-supported facts is good. I have no interest in this aspect of the air war.

Regards,
Ed West

[Jukka Juutinen]

Ed, so you prefer a sanitized version? Then you would love Finnish pilot biographies!