
The Wild Blue
The Men and Boys Who Flew the B-24s Over Germany
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Narrated by:
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Jeffrey DeMunn
About this listen
The very young men who flew the B24s over Germany in World War II against terrible odds were an exemplary band of brothers. In The Wild Blue, Stephen Ambrose recounts their extraordinary brand of heroism, skill, daring, and comradeship.
Ambrose describes how the Army Air Forces recruited, trained, and chose those few who would undertake the most demanding and dangerous jobs in the war. These are the boys - turned pilots, bombardiers, navigators, and gunners of the B24s - who suffered over 50 percent casualties.
Ambrose carries us along in the crowded, uncomfortable, and dangerous B24s as their crews fought to the death through thick, black, deadly flak to reach their targets and destroy the German war machine or else went down in flames. Twenty-two-year-old George McGovern, who was to become a United States senator and a presidential candidate, flew 35 combat missions (all the Army would allow) and won the Distinguished Flying Cross. We meet him and his mates, his co-pilot killed in action, and crews of other planes - many of whom did not come back.
As Band of Brothers and Citizen Soldiers portrayed the bravery and ultimate victory of the American soldier from Normandy on to Germany, The Wild Blue makes clear the contribution these young men of the Army Air Forces stationed in Italy made to the Allied victory.
©2001 Stephen E. Ambrose (P)2011 Simon & SchusterListeners also enjoyed...
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They began operations out of England in the spring of '43. They flew their Flying Fortresses almost daily against strategic targets in Europe in the name of freedom. Their astonishing courage and appalling losses earned them the name that resounds in the annals of aerial warfare and made the "Bloody Hundredth" a legend. Harry H. Crosby—soon to be portrayed by Anthony Boyle in the miniseries Masters of the Air developed by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg—arrived with the very first crews, and left with the very last.
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love love love the history
- By Kindle Customer on 01-20-24
By: Harry H. Crosby
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Masters of the Air
- America’s Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air War Against Nazi Germany
- By: Donald L. Miller
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 24 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Masters of the Air is the deeply personal story of the American bomber boys in World War II who brought the war to Hitler’s doorstep. With the narrative power of fiction, Donald Miller takes you on a harrowing ride through the fire-filled skies over Berlin, Hanover, and Dresden and describes the terrible cost of bombing for the German people.
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Depth of Detail was incredible!
- By Gentry S on 03-19-24
By: Donald L. Miller
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To America
- Personal Reflections of an Historian
- By: Stephen E. Ambrose
- Narrated by: Henry Strozier
- Length: 9 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Reflecting on his career, Stephen E. Ambrose - one of the country's most influential historians - confronts America's failures and struggles as he explores both its moral and pragmatic triumphs. To America celebrates the men and women who invented the United States and made it exceptional. Taking a few swings at today's political correctness, Ambrose grapples with the country's historic sins of racism, its neglect and ill treatment of Native Americans, and its tragic errors.
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Wow!
- By Coach Nathan L. on 02-10-16
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The Victors
- Eisenhower and His Boys: The Men of World War II
- By: Stephen E. Ambrose
- Narrated by: Cotter Smith
- Length: 4 hrs and 21 mins
- Abridged
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From America's preeminent military historian, Stephen E. Ambrose, comes a brilliant telling of the war in Europe, from D-Day, June 6, 1944, to the end; 11 months later, on May 7, 1945. To create this astonishing narrative, Ambrose draws from his 5 acclaimed works about that conflict, particularly from the definitive and comprehensive D-Day and Citizen Soldiers.
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The Stephen Ambrose highlight reel
- By JustThisGuyYouKnow on 09-28-07
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American Heritage History of World War II
- By: Stephen E. Ambrose, C. L. Sulzberger
- Narrated by: John Pruden
- Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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In planes and foxholes, in deserts and jungles, on ships and beaches, Ambrose shines a light on the people involved - the leaders, the fighters, the victims. With chapters on the atrocities of the Holocaust and revelations about the secret war of espionage, Ambrose's analysis also offers insight into the events that precipitated the Cold War.
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Excellent overview of WWII
- By Laura Kernen on 11-15-18
By: Stephen E. Ambrose, and others
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The Pacific
- Hell Was an Ocean Away
- By: Hugh Ambrose
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 23 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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In this companion to the HBO miniseries - executive produced by Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, and Gary Goetzman - Hugh Ambrose reveals the intertwined odysseys of four US Marines and a US Navy carrier pilot during World War II. Between America's retreat from China in late November 1941 and the moment General MacArthur's airplane touched down on the Japanese mainland in August of 1945, five men connected by happenstance fought the key battles of the war against Japan.
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Big let down
- By Howard on 03-28-10
By: Hugh Ambrose
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The Longest Day
- June 6, 1944
- By: Cornelius Ryan
- Narrated by: Clive Chafer
- Length: 8 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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> The Longest Day is Cornelius Ryan’s unsurpassed account of D-day, a book that endures as a masterpiece of military history. In this compelling tale of courage and heroism, glory and tragedy, Ryan painstakingly re-creates the fateful hours that preceded and followed the massive invasion of Normandy to retell the story of an epic battle that would turn the tide against world fascism.
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Horrendous narration makes it impossible to listen
- By Mary on 03-18-12
By: Cornelius Ryan
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Crazy Horse and Custer
- The Parallel Lives of Two American Warriors
- By: Stephen E. Ambrose
- Narrated by: Richard Ferrone
- Length: 20 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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On the sparkling morning of June 25, 1876, 611 men of the US 7th Cavalry rode toward the banks of the Little Bighorn in the Montana Territory, where 3,000 Indians stood waiting for battle. The lives of two great warriors would soon be forever linked throughout history: Crazy Horse, leader of the Oglala Sioux, and General George Armstrong Custer.
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A Fascinating, Fair Depiction of Two Heroes
- By Stewart Fletcher on 04-29-19
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The Aviators
- Eddie Rickenbacker, Jimmy Doolittle, Charles Lindbergh, and the Epic Age of Flight
- By: Winston Groom
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 17 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Gifted storyteller Winston Groom, the best-selling author of Forrest Gump, has written the fascinating story of three extraordinary heroes who defined aviation during the great age of flight: Charles Lindbergh, Eddie Rickenbacker, and Jimmy Doolittle. These cleverly interwoven tales of their heart-stopping adventures take us from the feats of World War I through the heroism of World War II and beyond, including daring military raids and survival at sea, and will appeal to fans of Unbroken, The Greatest Generation, and Flyboys.
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Too much a hagiography
- By Joseph Valenzi on 09-08-15
By: Winston Groom
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Damn Lucky
- One Man's Courage During the Bloodiest Military Campaign in Aviation History
- By: Kevin Maurer
- Narrated by: Holter Graham, John Luckadoo
- Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Pearl Harbor, Hawaii was a world away from John Luckadoo’s hometown of Chattanooga, Tennessee. But when the Japanese attacked the American naval base on December 7, 1941, he didn’t hesitate to join the military. Trained as a pilot with the United States Air Force, Second Lieutenant Luckadoo was assigned to the 100th Bomb Group stationed in Thorpe Abbotts, England. Between June and October 1943, he flew B-17 Flying Fortresses over France and Germany on bombing runs devised to destroy the Nazi war machine.
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must read
- By td godfrey on 10-06-22
By: Kevin Maurer
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Churchill's Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare
- The Mavericks Who Plotted Hitler's Defeat
- By: Giles Milton
- Narrated by: Giles Milton
- Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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In the spring of 1939, a top-secret organization was founded in London: Its purpose was to plot the destruction of Hitler's war machine through spectacular acts of sabotage. The guerrilla campaign that followed was every bit as extraordinary as the six men who directed it. One of them, Cecil Clarke, was a maverick engineer who had spent the 1930s inventing futuristic caravans. Now his talents were put to more devious use: He built the dirty bomb used to assassinate Hitler's favorite, Reinhard Heydrich.
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Rip-Roarin' Tale of Devoted 'Cads'!
- By Gillian on 02-08-17
By: Giles Milton
What listeners say about The Wild Blue
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- Ray
- 01-07-12
Good Book
I have to admit to being a little skeptical since the author claimed to be close friends with McGovern, the protagonist of the story and so there has to have been some needed objectivity lost. But the overall story isn't controversial by nature so I guess that's okay. If McGovern had made any serious blunders as a pilot or an officer, it would have surely come out before this book was ever written considering his political career.
The story developed well and I liked the background on each character and getting a look at their training, etc.
The narrator has a fine voice, and good cadence but I didn't think it really fit this book very well, but I suppose that's going to be subjective to each listener. (Just click on the audio sample to judge for yourself.)
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3 people found this helpful
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- Morton
- 02-17-20
Citizen heroes - extraordinary ordinary men
Ambrose is the biographer of the citizen soldiers, the brotherhood who won the war. This story is about the boys (that is really all they were: 18 to 22 year olds who piloted and crewed bombers. Many, including my father’s brother who was a B-24 navigator, died doing the job of destroying Hitler’s infrastructure. Listening to the stories was especially touching for me.
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- Grandpa
- 01-30-12
My Uncle Mike died
What did you love best about The Wild Blue?
My Uncle Mike died in a B-24, this story helped me realize just what he must have went through. Very good story and it should have been told a lot sooner.
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- Anonymous User
- 08-08-23
Typical Ambrose
This book does not go into great detail of the daily operations, nor in-depth strategic discussions of the air war, but it introduces you on a personal level to the crew. It is typical Ambrose, allowing One to get a sense, at a personal level,
of the characters within the story
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- Andrew
- 06-12-13
Ambrose Impresses again
If you could sum up The Wild Blue in three words, what would they be?
Entertaining, Inspirational, Educational
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
This is a great read that makes you laugh and cry. It puts you in the B-24 in many different missions and lets you feel what the crew felt.
Any additional comments?
I love reading Stephen Ambrose. I have read most of his books, and have yet to be disappointed. My favorite by him was Undaunted Courage, but Citizen Soldiers was a close second.
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- JSC51
- 03-16-17
Wonderful story and beautifully written
While not a fan of Senator McGoverns politics, I am in complete awe of his tremendous service to our country. My father in law was also at the same base as a navigator in the 454 BG. Mr Ambrose's description of the 15th air forces accomplishments speaks volumes about how the fliers were never given the press the 8th received. Great American, great book.
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- Kevin
- 01-23-12
A good read
Was a good listen, good reader. Learned quite a lot about the B-24. My dad flew in a B-17 from England so this was about the other "heavy bomber" he talked about.
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- James
- 06-30-16
great story
narrator was excellent. very interesting story and 'reads' fast. lots of interesting history about the war
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- Kent Valandra
- 11-05-23
A very Good Expo of the WW 2 Air Battle
I was not aware of the heavy casualties taken by bomber crews and especially of the bravery of George McGovern. The crews ranged in age from 18 to 25 and were brave beyond belief.
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- T
- 01-05-24
Fun and quick
Good listen with great stories from a underrated bomber group. Check it out right now!
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