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The Candy Bombers: The Untold Story of the Berlin Airlift and America's Finest Hour
The masterfully told story of the unlikely men who came together to make the Berlin Airlift one of the great military and humanitarian successes of American history.On the sixtieth anniversary of the Berlin Airlift, Andrei Cherny tells a remarkable story with profound implications for the world today. In the tradition of the best narrative storytellers, he brings together newly unclassified documents, unpublished letters and diaries, and fresh primary interviews to tell the story of the ill-assorted group of castoffs and second-stringers who not only saved millions of desperate people from a dire threat but changed how the world viewed the United States, and set in motion the chain of events that would ultimately lead to the dismantling of the Berlin Wall and to America’s victory in the Cold War. On June 24, 1948, intent on furthering its domination of Europe, the Soviet Union cut off all access to West Berlin, prepared to starve the city into submission unless the Americans abandoned it. Soviet forces hugely outnumbered the Allies’, and most of America’s top officials considered the situation hopeless. But not all of them. Harry Truman, an accidental president, derided by his own party; Lucius Clay, a frustrated general, denied a combat command and relegated to the home front; Bill Tunner, a logistics expert downsized to a desk job in a corner of the Pentagon; James Forrestal, a secretary of defense beginning to mentally unravel; Hal Halvorsen, a lovesick pilot who had served far from the conflict, flying transport missions in the backwater of a global war—together these unlikely men improvised and stumbled their way into a uniquely American combination of military and moral force unprecedented in its time. This is the forgotten foundation tale of America in the modern world, the story of when Americans learned, for the first time, how to act at the summit of world power—a masterful and exciting work of historical narrative, and one with strong resonance for our time..
Price: $4.41
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The Two O'Clock War: The 1973 Yom Kippur Conflict and the Airlift That Saved Israel
It's usually called the Yom Kippur War. Or sometimes the October War. The players that surround it are familiar: Sadat and Mubarak, Meir and Sharon, Nixon and Kissinger, Brezhnev and Dobyrnin. It was a war that brought Arab and Jew into vicious conflict. A war in which Israel almost unleashed her nuclear arsenal and set two superpowers on a treacherous course of nuclear escalation. And a war that eventually brought peace. But a peace fraught with delicate tensions, disputed borders, and a legacy of further bloodshed. The Two O'Clock War is a spellbinding chronicle of the international chess game that was played out in October 1973. It is a story of diplomacy and military might that accounts for many of the dilemmas faced in the present-day Middle East. This is a war that Israel never thought was possible. Surprised by the fury and excellent execution of the Arab onslaught, and perhaps more than a little complacent, Israel suddenly found itself on the point of losing a war because of a lack of ammunition, planes and tanks. The United States, after much vacillation, finally elected to help Israel, beginning a tremendous airlift (code name: Operation Nickel Grass) which incurred the wrath of the Arab states, and their sponsor, the Soviet Union. Fortunately the airlift came just in time for Israeli ground forces to stabilize their positions and eventually turn the tide in the Sinai and Golan Heights. And it was all made possible by an operation that dwarfed the Berlin Airlift and the Soviets' simultaneous efforts in Egypt and Syria. The Two O'Clock War is bound to become the definitive history of a war that quite literally approached Armageddon. .
Price: $6.95
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The Speed of Heat: An Airlift Wing at War in Iraq and Afghanistan
With its fleet of large transport aircraft, the United States military can put personnel and equipment anywhere on the globe within hours. In the Iraq and Afghanistan wars in particular, virtually every soldier, every bullet, every pint of blood, and every bite of food have arrived in the war zone by airlift. Transport aircrews have accompanied the troops from the beginning, flying them in, supplying them, bringing them out for medical treatment or rotations home, and in the most heart-breaking missions, carrying them on their final journey back to grieving relatives. This book tells the story of one Air National Guard airlift wing as related by its members. The 167th Airlift Wing of the West Virginia Air National Guard consisted of a squadron of 12 C-130 cargo planes, their crews, and all the supporting sections--in all, more than 1,200 people. The author, a former Associated Press reporter turned aviator, flew as an active member of that unit and interviewed nearly 70 servicemen and women for this book. Their stories include C-130 aircrews who dodged heat-seeking missiles, mechanics who made combat repairs, flight nurses who treated and transported the wounded, even two motor pool truck drivers struck by a roadside bomb. The interviewees vividly describe their day-to-day work in the war zone, revealing the inner workings of a part of the military not usually well covered by the news media..
Price: $35.00
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Berlin Airlift: The Salvation of a City
At the end of World War II, the German capital city of Berlin was divided into four zones controlled by America, Great Britain, France, and Russia.In June 1948, in an attempt to drive the Allied forces out of Berlin, Stalin stopped all road and rail traffic in and out if the city, whilst simultaneously cutting off all electricity and communications. Shocked by this unexpected turn of events, America and Great Britain lead Allied troops on an unprecedented and perilous mission to airlift thousands of tons of supplies - including food, coal, and medical supplies - to the desperate citizens of West Berlin every day.With unparalleled detail, "The Berlin Airlift" tells the full story of this amazing operation, from the first moments of the Russian blockade to its end in April 1949..
Price: $12.47
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Runway Visions: An American C-130 Pilot's Memoir of Combat Airlift Operations in Southeast Asia, 1967-1968
In February 1967, Air Force Lieutenant Vaughan arrived at Ching Chuan Kang Air Base in Taiwan to begin 14 months as a C-130 Hercules pilot, airlifting supplies and troops throughout southeast Asia. Feeling well suited, Vaughan had volunteered for the duty, but little had he realized the pressure associated with flying the heavy cargo plane under combat conditions and taking off and landing on the short runways that dotted the Vietnamese countryside. Among his most harrowing duties was the aerial resupply of the Marine base at Khe Sanh during the most intense action of the Tet Offensive. This is the story of an Air Force pilot's progression from inexperienced flyer to veteran crew member and how he came of age under combat conditions..
Price: $35.00
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Flying Tigers over Cambodia: An American Pilot's Memoir of the 1975 Phnom Penh Airlift
At the end of World War II, a number of former American military pilots formed the "Flying Tiger Line," which soon became the world's leading airfreight company Its motto of "Anything, anytime, anywhere" was especially applicable in its humanitarian projects. In 1975, the Flying Tigers took part in relief efforts for Cambodians surrounded by Khmer Rouge forces. The "Ricelift" exposed the Tiger pilots to enormous risk. Though they were technically "noncombatants," all this really meant was that they couldn't shoot back. This is the memoir of Larry Partridge who, in his plane, nicknamed "Nancy" after his wife, flew 52 missions into Phnom Penh, delivering rice and other supplies in hostile conditions. After the collapse of Saigon and the victory of the Khmer Rouge, the ricelifts ceased. This account, from a Tiger's-eye view, includes both history and human drama in a remarkable but completely true story.
Price: $34.30
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Remembering An Unsung Giant - The Douglas C-133 Cargomaster and Its People
A detailed description of the Douglas C-133 Cargomaster by an author who served as navigator in the Cargomaster during the last two years of its 15-year AF service A brief history of strategic airlift precedes an account of USAF proof-of-concept testing of turboprop propulsion. C-133 design, development and flight testing provide the foundation for development of air and ground crew and worldwide airlift routes. Topical chapters cover technical information, C-133 employment, support to NASA and the strategic missile force and its employment in the Vietnam War and on special missions of all kinds. Of 50 built, ten C-133s were lost in accidents. The crashes chapter gives complete details of the accidents and the most comprehensive analysis available of the reasons for the losses. Three squadrons flew the C-133 and are detailed in their own chapter, as are histories of each of the fifty airplanes built. The book concludes with a chapter on the never-built Douglas C-132, which would have been the worlds largest turboprop aircraft. More than 330 photos and illustrations show the airplanes and people. The index lists over 970 persons as well as other topics and there is an extensive bibliography. The16-page color section shows aircraft interiors and operational activities. Eight fold-out sheets contain large Douglas factory drawings and one large C-133 photograph..
Price: $34.95
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