"He had decided to live forever, or die in the attempt." — Catch-22

The men of the 57th Bomb Wing flew out of Corsica during World War II and bombed vital bridges throughout Italy to sabotage German supply routes. Their missions were dangerous and never-ending. One bombardier in the wing was a young New Yorker named Joseph Heller, who would later turn his experience into the classic 1961 war novel Catch-22. Now aviation historian Thomas McKelvey Cleaver takes a closer look at the real-life men of the 57th, whose camaraderie in the face of death inspired the raucous cast of heroes and antiheros in Catch-22.

From the Inside Flap:

The true story behind Catch-22

Joseph Heller’s classic novel turns on the impossible dilemma that trapped the World War II aviators flying bombing missions over Europe: Anyone would be crazy to keep defying enemy guns and deadly flak day after day. But if you asked to be grounded you were obviously sane, and so you had to keep flying. Thus Joseph Heller and his fellow aviators were forced to pile suicide mission on top of suicide mission as the number of total required flights was continually upped, and the promised release back home receded perpetually into the future.

Now, veteran aviation historian Thomas McKelvey Cleaver exposes the true story behind the iconic novel, digging into contemporary letters, war diaries, and other hitherto-unseen primary sources from the unit Joseph Heller himself flew with. In his fresh research, Cleaver uncovered the gripping stories of young men who daily challenged death in their fragile flying machines and the missing explanation of how Heller himself escaped from the nightmare that his fellow airmen remained mired in. The Bridgebusters reveals:

How an entire crew that had racked up 70 missions and been awarded the promised orders to return home was forced to fly one last time to their deaths
The many ways to die in the air: flak hits, fuel fires, faulty parachutes, mangled landing gear
How shot-down aviators managed to survive in hostile territory
How one courageous pilot handled orders to drop his bombs on friendly Italian civilians
Why "road block" missions were so hated by the crews of the Mitchell Bombers
Why Joseph Heller was sent home with a total of only 60 missions under his belt when the required number was 70
Why Heller was "the angriest guy I ever knew," according to a screenwriter who collaborated with him on the Catch-22 movie

Cleaver’s electrifying account of the daring exploits of American aircrews and the moral dilemmas they faced is not to be missed.

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The Bridgebusters: The True Story of the Catch-22 Bomb Wing

Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

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