Hell above Earth: The Startling True Story of Werner Goering's Flights Against the Luftwaffe - Hardcover

Stephen Frater

3.75

329 ratings by Goodreads

9781849542524: Hell above Earth: The Startling True Story of Werner Goering's Flights Against the Luftwaffe

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 184954252X ISBN 13: 9781849542524

Publisher: Robson Books, 2012

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Hell Above Earth tells the unforgettable story of two World War Two American bomber pilots who forged an unexpected but enduring bond in the flak-filled skies over Nazi Germany. But there s a twist. One of them was related to the head of the Luftwaffe, Reich Marshal Herman Goering, and the other had secret orders from FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, to kill him if anything went wrong during their missions. A heart-wrenching story of friendship forged in the fires of war, an adrenalin-filled account of aerial combat, and an exquisite work of popular history, HELL ABOVE EARTH centres around the author s discovery of a half-centuryold secret that has farreaching and deeply personal repercussions for the pilots, and profound consequences for the FBI and the Mighty Eighth Air Force.

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About the Author:

Stephen Frater, a former staff writer for the Herald-Tribune Media Group, a New York Times company, is a graduate of Brown University and lives in Rhode Island and Florida.

Review:

"The riveting true story of a World War II bomber pilot and the co-pilot who received orders to kill him. At the beginning of the war, U.S. pilot Werner Goering was "an exceptional pilot" whose "nerves of steel, combined with his unwavering ability to make split-second decisions, saw his crew safely home, mission after grueling mission." However, writes "Sarasota Herald-Tribune" staffer Frater, he was also the nephew of Hitler's right-hand man and head of the Luftwaffe, Hermann Goering. As a national-security precaution, FBI officials ordered his experienced co-pilot, Jack Rencher, to kill him if their B-17 was going down over Nazi territory. In addition to examining the friendship that developed between the two, the author packs the narrative with rapid-fire history and statistics about the 303rd Bomb Group, the growth of the U.S. Air Force and the overall tenor of the war. Frater captures the strength, fear and bravery of Goering and Rencher's crew, but never fully explains the details of the men's lives. The narrative is more a factual recounting of Goering's career, which began as an untrusted pilot and continued for more than 20 years as a risk-taking spy during the Cold War, ending at a desk in the Pentagon. After the twists and turns in Goering's many missions, Frater finishes with a stunning revelation. Despite occasional repetition, the author delivers an exciting read full of little-known facts about the war. A WWII thrill ride." " Kirkus Reviews" "Stephen Frater has uncovered one of the greatest and most ironic surprises of World War II. A riveting book, every bit as exciting and unusual as Operation Mincemeat, and demonstrating that there are still things we don't know about World War II." " Michael Korda, New York Times bestselling author of "With Wings Like Eagles "From the opening salvo of words Frater excites and entices. The core story and its surprise ending give us a glimpse of Fate's fickle twists. Multiple tangents tello

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