Deadly Sky: The American Combat Airman in World War II

Deadly Sky: The American Combat Airman in World War 11. By John C. McManus. Novato, Calif.: Presidio Press, 2000. ISBN 0-89141-678-1. Photographs. Notes. Selected bibliography. Index. Pp. x, 435. $32.95.

This is a fascinating, but ultimately frustrating book. John C. McManus uses vivid eyewitness accounts, diaries, letters, and memoirs to describe the combat experiences of American airmen across every theater during the Second World War. He used a similar technique in his previous work, The Deadly Brotherhood, which dealt with ground combat veterans of that same conflict. This latest effort makes for some exciting reading at times and will doubtless appeal to many of those who snap up the books on World War II which fill the shelves at bookstores. Unfortunately for those who might be interested in serious scholarship or further research, this book intentionally ignores many of the conventional rules of notation or support. The author's...