Currently reading
Gabriela, Cravo e Canela
Progress:
157/358 pages
Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A Triumph (The Authorized Doubleday/Doran Edition)
Progress:
189/672 pages
The Creature from Jekyll Island: A Second Look at the Federal Reserve
Progress:
41/608 pages
Peter the Great
Progress:
472/934 pages
Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader: North Korea and the Kim Dynasty
A Time for Trumpets: The Untold Story of the Battle of the Bulge
Progress:
191/712 pages
The German Army 1933-1945
Progress:
198/598 pages
Corporal Hitler and the Great War 1914-1918: The List Regiment
Progress:
22/238 pages
Blake, a member of the P-38 Association, has compiled a first-rate book full of the experiences of those people who had flown or serviced the P-38 fighter in its various incarnations across a variety of venues during the Second World War. Places as distant as the Aleutians, the South Pacific, the China-Burma-India Theatre. As well as in Europe, North Africa and the Mediterranean, and here in the U.S. For many years, I've had a special affection for the P-38 Lightning. One of the most fascinating things I learned from reading this book was about the various peacetime roles carried out by Lightnings (e.g. cloud seeding and flying high altitude photography jobs all over the world for mapping purposes).
Before reading this book, I had been under the impression that soon after the War, Lightnings, as government surplus, were promptly cast off and destroyed, sold for scrap, bought by private individuals at greatly reduced prices, or sold to foreign air forces. Indeed, very few Lightnings survive today.
This book is highly recommended for any aviation enthusiast who wants to read some fantastic stories about one of the most phenomenal aircraft ever built.