BOMBS AWAY (audiobook) by John Steinbeck
Originally published in 1942.
Published in 2016 by Penguin Audio.
Read by Scott Aiello.
Duration: 4 hours, 36 minutes.
Unabridged.
1942 was a rough year for America in World War II, especially in the early months. The Pacific Fleet was devastated and American troops were barely involved in the European Theater.
As part of a total war effort, every resource had to be tapped, including pulling in famous authors like John Steinbeck to write books that assured the American public that the Army Air Corps/Air Force (he uses both terms interchangeably) had a plan, was implementing the plan, and it was going to be a successful plan.
Steinbeck was a bold choice to write what is basically a piece of American propaganda. His novels Of Mice and Men and Grapes of Wrath caused quite an uproar just a few years earlier with their criticism of the American capitalism. I think the reasoning was that if Steinbeck approves of what the Army Air Corps/Air Force was doing, it must be okay.
Steinbeck starts with an overview of the history of airplanes in the U.S. military. Then, he looks at 2 kinds of bombers - the B-17 and the B-24 and discusses the jobs of the men that flew those planes. Finally, he looks at a pretend recruit class and follows a crew through their individual training. Finally, he puts them all together in a plane and the reader gets to see them finish their training. The book ends with the crew on the runway. The crew opens their orders to an undisclosed location, the navigator lays in a course and they fly off to join the fighting.
Generally speaking, this book does not feel like a Steinbeck book. It spends a lot of time talking about the unique characteristics of America and Americans that will help them win the war. It has an element of truth, of course, but it also is very, very obvious.
The book does have the Steinbeck characteristic of being about regular people. There are few high level officers in the book and they have few lines. There are no big shots - no quotes from FDR, not sweeping pronouncements from MacArthur. Just young men from regular, almost boring, places being trained to go off and do extraordinary things.
I cannot say that this was a good book. It's too obvious and doesn't really have a plot. But, it is an outstanding record of how America trained its bomber crews in a palatable form.
I rate this audibook 3 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: Bomb's Away by John Steinbeck.
Published in 2016 by Penguin Audio.
Read by Scott Aiello.
Duration: 4 hours, 36 minutes.
Unabridged.
1942 was a rough year for America in World War II, especially in the early months. The Pacific Fleet was devastated and American troops were barely involved in the European Theater.
As part of a total war effort, every resource had to be tapped, including pulling in famous authors like John Steinbeck to write books that assured the American public that the Army Air Corps/Air Force (he uses both terms interchangeably) had a plan, was implementing the plan, and it was going to be a successful plan.
Steinbeck was a bold choice to write what is basically a piece of American propaganda. His novels Of Mice and Men and Grapes of Wrath caused quite an uproar just a few years earlier with their criticism of the American capitalism. I think the reasoning was that if Steinbeck approves of what the Army Air Corps/Air Force was doing, it must be okay.
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| A B-17 (left) and a B-24 (right) |
Generally speaking, this book does not feel like a Steinbeck book. It spends a lot of time talking about the unique characteristics of America and Americans that will help them win the war. It has an element of truth, of course, but it also is very, very obvious.
The book does have the Steinbeck characteristic of being about regular people. There are few high level officers in the book and they have few lines. There are no big shots - no quotes from FDR, not sweeping pronouncements from MacArthur. Just young men from regular, almost boring, places being trained to go off and do extraordinary things.
I cannot say that this was a good book. It's too obvious and doesn't really have a plot. But, it is an outstanding record of how America trained its bomber crews in a palatable form.
I rate this audibook 3 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: Bomb's Away by John Steinbeck.
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