Forgotten Fifteenth: The Daring Airmen Who Crippled Hitler's War Machine

[edwest]

No reviews for this one, so no idea if it's worthwhile.



http://www.amazon.com/Forgotten-Fift.../dp/1621572080





Usual disclaimer,
Ed

[Jim Oxley]

Book titles leave so much to be desired.

[edwest]

As a professional in the book publishing business, I agree. Titles range from the cryptic, to the stupid to the overly dramatic. I will never buy a book with a subtitle that reads: "The action, event, person, strategy that won the war..."

All contributed, and mistakes were made by all sides (I'm still trying to figure out the rapid fall of France). My least favorite title includes the names of two flowers. Some books I find totally by accident, despite the publisher's best effort to give the book a title with no military connection whatsoever.



Ed

[Csaba B. Stenge]

I have a copy already (and till now, I was able to read around 200 pages from it).

Since this book is the first complete 15th AAF history and it is the usual Tillman quality (lots of research behind it and it was written in a very readable style), definitely worth its price. I've found few avoidable errors in it and I've missed some more sources from the opponent side (but I'm a nasty perfectionist) After all it is a very fine book, well recommended to anyone.

[Richard T. Eger]

Dear Csaba,

Does Tillman write in narative style or does he provide more like a daily this is what we did today, what we hit, why, and the results? A couple of days ago an acquaintance asked me about Wasserburg. Did it have anything to do with Me 262 production and, if so, what did it produce? My memory said that it was wiped out in an early, for the Me 262, bombing raid, but I was left scrambling to dig up the facts. Eventually, I uncovered that it was hit by the 15th AF in Sept. 1944, no thanks to the diary type books I have on the 8th AF, but not on the 15th. Once I had a lead, I could provide the needed information.

Regards,
Richard

[Dénes Bernád]

Recently, I've received a courtesy copy from the author.

I haven't had the chance to read it yet, only flicked through. It definitely looks like a well written book, nice design, which is well worth the purchase.
It's written in a narrative style, mixed with some background, strategic overview, not a day-by-day account, like the other recently published title dedicated to the 15th AAF, by Kevin A. Mahoney.

What I'd have appreciated was an accurate map of the region and more photos. Nevertheless, as I said, I can only recommend it, also because bibliography of the 15th AAF is unreasonably scarce. I only wish more similar books, dedicated to this topic, would show up on my bookshelves...

[Richard T. Eger]

Dear Dénes,

Thank you for the description. How is the index for finding targets such as Wasserburg?

I went to Amazon.com to check on Mahoney's book and read the reviews. Larry deZeng says it is based on the Intops summaries, which I have. Apparently a shortcoming of the book is an incomplete index. Thus, what I would seek in either book is a jump off point that would tell me when and where any particular target had been attacked, i.e., meaning it would have to have a good index.

Another reviewer, "Laura", says Mahoney's book is a bit short on telling the story behind each mission, something that perhaps Tillman's book provides. If Mahoney's book is based on the Intops summaries, I can see why this could be the case. Why a mission was flown and what it accomplished are needed parts of the story.

Comments?

Regards,
Richard

[edwest]

Dear Richard,


Until your mention of intops summaries, I had never heard of them. The other issue here is that the 15th Air Force, as most know, consisted of various parts, like the 449th Bomb Group.


http://www.amazon.com/Maximum-Effort.../dp/B00411LODQ

If one types Fifteenth Air Force into google, links to various parts of the Fifteenth begin to appear. And some of these parts have published limited run, relatively recent, obscure unit histories, or the web sites provide additional leads. Time is always the issue. At my publishing company, we spend most of our time doing research since we know readers of fiction want the accuracy. So I'm the guy the editor-in-chief comes to and says: "I need the best info on the following obscure subjects." An example: http://489th-bomb-group-museum.org/489th-group-history/

It's fun but it's also time-consuming.



Regards,

Ed West

[Dénes Bernád]

Originally Posted by Richard T. Eger

How is the index for finding targets such as Wasserburg?

Hello Richard, there is a 24-page index at the end of the book, quite comprehensive I'd say. Still, I could not find Wasserburg, only Wasserfall (Waterfall), reference to German experimental high-altitude surface-to-air missile.

[Richard T. Eger]

Dear Ed and Dénes,

Ed, the issue that you run into is why we need a good book that covers it all, rather than disparate bits and pieces.

Dénes, I assume that you are saying that you couldn't find "Wasserburg" in Tillman's book. Do you have Mahoney's and, if so, does it appear in its index?

The index is so crucial to being able to maximize the research value of an author's labor.

If both these books come up short, can anyone recommend a nice compendium of targets attacked, by whom, and when for each of the Allied Air Forces in the European campaign?

Regards,
Richard