To Kingdom Come: An Epic Saga of Survival in the Air War Over Germany - Softcover

Mrazek, Robert J.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0451235754 ISBN 13: 9780451235756

Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group, 2012

Synopsis

The breathtaking, never-before-told, true story of a historic air force bombing mission in 1943 Germany. 

On September 6, 1943, three hundred and thirty-eight B-17 "Flying Fortresses" of the American Eighth Air Force took off from England, bound for Stuttgart, Germany, to bomb Nazi weapons factories. 

Dense clouds obscured the targets, and one commander's critical decision to circle three times over the city—and its deadly flak—would prove disastrous. Forty-five planes went down that day, and hundreds of men were lost or missing. 

Focusing on first-person accounts of six of the B-17 airmen, award-winning author Robert Mrazek vividly re-creates the fierce air battle—and reveals the astonishing valor of the airmen who survived being shot down, and the tragic fate of those who did not.

About this title

About the Author

Robert J. Mrazek is a navy veteran and former congressman from the North Shore of Long Island. While in Washington, he authored a number of pieces of landmark legislation. Since his retirement from Congress, Mrazek has served on the boards of several companies and charitable organizations, including ten years as chairman of the Washington-based Alaska Wilderness League.

Review

“With power and passion, Robert J. Mrazek tells the story of one of the most calamitous American bombing missions of World War II....Mrazek writes about the ill-fated Stuttgart Raid as though he had gone into the heart of the Reich with the audacious American bomber crews...a great book with 'hold on to your seat' suspense.”—Donald L. Miller, author of Masters of the Air

“Mrazek has uncovered the moment of profound exigency for the bomber crews, when the course and consequence of the air war converged and rendered it in vivid clarity.”—Hugh Ambrose, New York Times bestselling author of The Pacific

“[A] work of cinematic sweep and pace.”—Richard Frank, author of Downfall and Guadalcanal

“Through superb historical research and powerful narrative writing, the author brings back to life a pivotal, heartbreaking episode.”—Tami Biddle, Professor, U.S. Army War College, and author of Rhetoric and Reality in Air Warfare

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0451235754
• ISBN 13: 9780451235756
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 400