100 books like Never Call Me a Hero

I doubt there is a flyer anywhere in the world who doesn’t know of Jimmy Doolittle. He did it all: stunt pilot, scientist, pioneer “blind-flyer,” Schneider Cup and Mackay trophy winner, first to perform an outside loop, Medal of Honor winner for the 1942 Tokyo Raid, and three-star general leading the Eighth Air Force against the Axis.

The writing is remarkably fluid (ably assisted by aviation writer C.V. Glines); Doolittle’s humility is always on display. We also learn of how critical his loving, understanding wife of seventy years, “Joe,” was to his success. In particular, she was instrumental in Jimmy earning his Ph.D in Aeronautical Engineering at M.I.T. One wonders how it all would have worked out without her!

As a bomber guy to the core, I approached this book with a silent groan—ugh, another Tom Cruise tale. Was I ever wrong! ‘Forty-Second Boyd’ (maximum time it took him to defeat all challengers) was not only a great fighter pilot, his combat tactic discoveries changed the way every air force in the world flies and fights today. Many consider him the father of the legendary F-15 and F-16 fighters.

Coram’s knowledge and writing style are superb. Boyd was a complicated man; absolutely brilliant with insight and slide rule, a poor father and worse husband—loud, abrasive, and profane. He rarely met a general he couldn’t offend. Despite these drawbacks, Coram skillfully shows how Boyd somehow overcame all professional obstacles, though in the end at great personal cost.

My grandfather was born in Norway and growing up I identified with that heritage. Bernt Balchen was the greatest of all of Norway’s pioneering flyers. A stunningly handsome Viking, there was little he couldn’t do; a consummate “blind-flying” pilot, navigator, engineer, polar explorer, World War Two military leader, and, amazingly, a fine watercolor artist.

His critical contributions to Admiral Richard Byrd’s famous trans-Atlantic and Pole flights made Byrd very jealous. An adroit swindler, Byrd (Balchen proved he lied about being the first man to reach the North Pole) determined to ruin Balchen’s reputation (mostly successfully) because the Norwegian could prove Byrd faked the navigation records. Author Glines’ work is masterful; he roots out all these intrigues, while simultaneously recording all the incredible accomplishments of a great flyer.

My Uncle Orvis Nelson founded Transocean Airlines in 1946 (during the Korean War; the world’s largest non-scheduled carrier) and ever since I have been fascinated by airline pioneers. Rickenbacker was a celebrated race car driver, 26-victory World War One fighter pilot, Medal of Honor winner, Rickenbacker Cars automotive designer, owner/operator of the Indianapolis Speedway, and long-time president of Eastern Airlines.

"My life has been filled with adventures that have brought me face to face with death." So begins his book; no idle boast, including 24 days stranded on a flimsy Pacific raft and a terrible, disfiguring airline crash. Rickenbacker tells his story in a pleasing, readable style, though seldom missing an opportunity to toot his own horn. No matter—if ever a flyer earned that right, it was Captain Eddie.

The book provides a fresh look at the pivotal World War II sea battle, generally considered the turning point of the Pacific War. The authors conducted extensive research on both the American and Japanese sides to provide a comprehensive account of the battle. This book is highly readable and enjoyable.

Perhaps the best book on the epic World War II Battle of Midway, Craig Symonds brings together all the pieces that became the turning point in the Pacific War. Looking at the leadup to the battle from both the Japanese and American perspectives, Symonds shows how the Japanese, in their typical style, created a battle plan that was overly complicated for its objective. Symonds explains how American Joe Rochefort and his eclectic band (he even had commissioned naval musicians) worked to bend (but not entirely break) the Japanese naval code. This allowed the Allies to surmise Midway as the Japanese target and set in place their own battle plan. Symonds clearly explains how the codebreaking efforts played a huge role in this battle of battles.

The first biography of Captain Joseph Rochefort, who led “Station Hypo”, the Navy’s code-breaking unit in Hawaii. Tragically, those running the U.S. cryptanalysis effort in Washington had decided to focus on breaking Japan’s diplomatic code. Only after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor were Rochefort and his team permitted to throw all their efforts at breaking Japanese naval codes. Their work led to America’s resounding success at Midway, only months after the disaster at Pearl. Carlson does an admirable job of bringing to life one of the forgotten men of the war.

It was the carrier-based dive-bombers that carried the day at Midway, and Moore’s narrative non-fiction account of the battle through the eyes of the actual men who fought at Midway in these dive-bombers is an entertaining and gripping page turner.

You learn of their fears, the uncertainty, and of their humble courage. Moore brings you with them in their SBD Dauntless cockpits. These men were what the United States had at the onset of the Pacific War, and Moore’s tribute to them is moving.

The story of the ill-fated Torpedo Squadron Eight of USS Hornet – all planes lost and only one survivor out of 30 men - is the stuff of legend.

In this essential non-fiction tome, Mrazek introduces the reader to these men and explores what made them tick. It is not always pleasant, and Mrazek pulls no punches as he delves into the human side of these flawed men, who in some cases did not like each other, which increases the empathy for the sacrifice of the squadron at Midway.

The reader can imagine him or herself in a tight-knit squadron arguing and irritating one another as humans can do at times – before having to fly into combat in planes they knew were obsolete. While the human cost and poignant stories of loss are part of all Midway books, A Dawn Like Thunder lays it out the best.

It is hard to underestimate the significance of code breaking during World War II. Without the work of dedicated mathematicians, linguists, and others the great conflicts such as the Battle of Midway and the German U-boat "wolfpacks" that sank over 13 million tons of Allied supplies could have easily been up for grabs. But due to the codebreakers the balance shifted to the Allies. And what is even equally impressive is that the Axis powers never knew that their encoded messages were being read. Stephen Budiansky traces how the codebreakers pulled off this feat while at the same time often battling within their own ranks about who should decode the message, how the messages should be used, and who should get the credit.