I was given an advance reading copy of this book by NetGalley.com in return for a fair review. When Allied Pilots were shot down and captured by the Germans during World War II, they were considered 'terrorists'. Instead of being sent to a POW camps as they should have been under the Geneva Convention, many of them were sent to a notorious concentration camp--Buchenwald--located near the city of Weimer. No one knew of their whereabouts and for the most part, these men were listed as 'missing in action'. Author Tom Clavin's book is centered on Joe Moser, a young boy who grew up on a farm in the State of Washington who ended up in Buchenwald with 168 other pilots from places such as New Zealand, Canada and England. The men elected the most senior officer in the group as their leader--a twenty-something New Zealender. They agreed that no matter how dire their circumstance got, they would stand together and still act like soldiers. Their bravery in such horrific conditions is nothing less than inspiring. Most of us will never face the things that Jose Moser and his fellow prisoners did, but their story is what true heroes are made of. Tom Clavin is one of my favorite authors. His research is outstanding and his books are written in a friendly, down to earth fashion. You can always depend on Tom Clavin to tell a good story and give you the facts. I highly recommend this book and any other book that Mr. Clavin has written. And just so you know, Joe Moser and his fellow pilots are truly heroes that walked among us.

Excellent true story about a fighter pilot and his ordeal as a POW in WWII. You will get the feel of being there with him and the struggles he went through to stay alive. Great detail and research.

This is another good biography by the author in that the book reads more like a novel that a recitation of history. This one deals with Joe Moser who is one of the pilots shot down over France during World War II and eventually ends up as one of 168 pilots categorized as terrorists by the SS and sent to Buchenwald concentration camp. After an extended period of time they are saved by a Luftwaffe officer and transferred to a POW camp just shortly before they are to be executed and sent to the ovens. This is a solid story about the conditions they endured and overcame. I recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in World War II.

I received a free Kindle copy of this book courtesy of Net Galley and the publisher with the understanding that I would post a review on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon, Facebook and my nonfiction book review blog.

I really enjoyed this story! Absolutely amazing non-fiction, detailing the heroic efforts of an American fighter pilot in WWII that went down over occupied France. The story was so detailed, never dry, and kept the reader engaged throughout. Absolutely amazing to learn about all that Joe Moser lived through and fought through.

Joe Moser's historic capture and imprisonment by the German Army is the topic of this nonfiction work called "Lightning Down" by Tom Clavin. The book explores the background of Joe Moser, his childhood dream of flying, and subsequent service in the Army Air Corps. The book contains a lot of historical and biographical information about a number of other flyers, friends, and support personnel in Joe's career and in World War II. I enjoyed most the information about Joe. He was certainly a hero and in and of himself. His survival in the brutal imprisonment of Buchenwald, a death march in one of the coldest winter's on record, and near starvation at Stalag VIIA as the Allies closed in on Mooseburg Germany in April 1945 were legendary. My father was also liberated from Stalag VIIA and I found the account to be accurate from what I have read and from his accounts. Joe Moser, like most World War II veterans, seemed to be reluctant and reticent in recounting the World War II experience. I am glad he finally told his story and the horrors of Natzi Germany from the perspective of another POW were documented. Thanks to #LightningDown#NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. .

Thank you Net Galley for the ARC of Lightning Down by Tom Clavin. This is an amazing non-fiction story of Joe Moser's, an American aviator, story of getting to join the fight against the Nazis, getting shot down and being captured by the Germans. He was sent to Buchenwald as a POW. This story brought to light the stories of Joe and other aviators and their strength to stay alive under the most deplorable conditions imaginable. This reads like fiction and it was hard to put down. The author included the facts of this incredible journey that had to be told, but not to the point of disrupting the story telling. For those that want non-fiction of WW2, this provides the details you need to have. For those that want more of a story about WW2, the strong story-telling by the author gives you what you want.

Great story of a true American hero. The story of the Allied airmen that were imprisoned at Buchenwald is not widely known, and this book does a great job of explaining how and why that happened, and the details of what those prisoners endured there and in subsequent POW camps. This is well-researched, with just enough information about other people and events to provide context. I very much appreciated the “I wonder what happened to that guy” answers that were provided throughout the book in regards to the secondary characters.

I’m glad I read this over the 4th of July holiday - really does help you appreciate the value of freedom and what our military personnel have endured on behalf of our country.

I was given a free copy of this book by NetGalley in exchange for my honest unbiased review. Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the honor of reading this book.

#LightningDown #NetGalley

As an avid reader of World War Two history, the war (quite unfortunately in some ways) is a bottomless well of stories of heroism and suffering.

I was intrigued by reading the description of this book, and was well-rewarded,. This is a story of a American pilot who fulfills his wish to fly like so many, survives thew war, but what lies between his adventures in France after D-Day and the end of the war is horrifying. Joe Moser became a prisoner of war and not much was so incredibly unusual about that,. But where he ended up was highly unusual and incredibly horrifying,

After reading through this very well-written book, when Joe tells and audience of his experiences, he was told he was making it up. As often is the case stories of horror and abuse are often discounted by others because the capacity for understanding such evil is hard to comprehend unless it is personally experienced. Here was no different occasion. But indeed, the pilots incomprehensible story was the truth and wasn't believed because the stories of where he was confined weren't supposed to be about his kind of soldier or person. Indeed, this is what makes this story so much more unbelievable. He was at the wrong place and at the wrong time. But , of course, his story only gives testimony to the more incredible stories that should be readily believed but weren't;t then and are discounted today. This makes this book all the more incredible testimony to the inhuman suffering of many people who were also in the wrong place.

This is a really well-written and very readable book. Since the subject survived, we can read with some pleasure at a story that you assume won't end. But that does't mean the story isn't horrifying or awful, and the pilot was a very lucky one, since we know thousands, and actually millions died during World War Two.

Highly recommended.

I love WWII books, specifically ones that get into the nitty gritty details of war. That's why I was so excited to read Lightning Down by Tom Clavin.

This book follows the story of American pilot Joe Moser. Shortly after D-Day in 1944, Moser was downed in his P-38 Lightning, and was captured by the Germans and detained at Buchenwald. As many times as you read narratives of the concentration camps, they never cease to be shocking. This book was no different, focusing a lot more on the physical torture experienced by the prisoners. I also did not know much about the POW rules of war and how the Germans ignored them by interning the fighter pilots. This aspect made the book stand out from other WWII concentration camp narratives.

Overall, the book could've been stronger by tightening the story a bit. While mostly interesting, the book dragged a bit when the author took multiple offramps to go in depth about various people that Moser encounters in the camps. This is the only thing that kept me from giving this book a higher rating.

Overall, 3.5/5
I was given a free copy of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

"Lightning Down" by Tom Clavin is a well-researched, fact-filled historical biography, with plenty of heart and inspiration. The story of Joe Moser and his fellow flyers in the United States Air Corps during World War II is a testimony to inner-strength, determination, and love country.

Joe Moser seemed to be just an ordinary guy. But he was an ordinary guy who loved planes and wanted to serve during World War II. He enlisted and was accepted in the the pilot program. After training for several years, 2nd Lt. Moser headed to England to begin his flying career in the Lightning plane he loved. After almost 50 successful runs over France and Germany, his plane was shot down. And so began the second part of his war story.

Although French partisans tried to rescue him, he was quickly found by the Germans and taken to a prison in Paris. He and fellow flyers rode the last cattle car-type train out of Paris before the city was liberated by the Allies. Thus began a year of the worst possible treatment and suffering that Nazi Germany could inflict. Joe Moser and 170 flyers were taken to infamous Buchenwald, instead of to a POW camp. The Nazi's considered them "terrorists" and so Germany did not follow the Geneva Convention rules with them. Joe and his comrades, who did their best to maintain military order, suffered through daily hideous and cruel treatment. Could they survive until the end of the war?

Filled with many famous figures and based on facts and records, this book is fascinating as well as a great story. The ending of the story, which updates Joe's long life, is even more amazing than the war time heroics. How proud we should be of the young men who rose up as ordinary citizens to forgo their immediate dreams and plans, and perhaps even make the ultimate sacrifice, in order to battle the evil of the Nazi regime. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advance review copy. This is my honest review.

I found this book written by Tom Clavin to be a winner. The story of Joe Moser and his experiences after going into the service is just outstanding. I enjoy many books on World War II, and this is a good one. Clavin became a fighter pilot, which was his dream, and he had some hairy times in the air. But many of his pilot friends didn’t make it back. Clavin eventually had his plane damaged and had to bail out. He was sent to a concentration camp and things became very harrowing after that. Advance electronic review copy was provided by NetGalley, author Tom Clavin, and the publisher.

The vivid detail and descriptions of not just the main character, but other men in the unit and the context of what was going on throughout the world at the same time. I enjoy history books, so I was quite excited and read the entire book in one evening. I learned a lot about the fate of the airmen in the camps - a topic I had not read much about prior to this book.

Huge history buff here, so was excited to start this book the second I got it. Very well done tale by the author and would highly recommend to fellow history buffs.

This is such a horrifyingly tragic story that was wonderfully written. No matter how many stories you hear of people who survived the concentration camps, it just seems impossible to grasp how these things could ever happen. Even more so, it is impossible to grasp how people could survive them. After all the horrifying things this man endured, I think it's amazing that he managed to keep such a wonderful outlook on life.

A truly inspirational novel about overcoming the hardships and horrors of being a prisoner of war in WW2. The story was compelling and heart rendering. It is a great story that should inspire all of us to overcome odds and survive. A must read.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

interviews, historical-figures, historical-places-events, historical-research, history-and-culture, World War 2-Europe, fliers, biography, horror, heroism*****

It's not just about the one man, but he also gives detailed honor to those he knew who were there and those who never came out alive. While much of the tech stuff about the planes was above my pay grade, I know a lot of people who will be fascinated by it. For me, it's all about the horrors of torture described and the daily horrors endured after capture as well as background of some of those who enjoyed inflicting on others. I found the numbers of 11 million dead including 6 million Jews mind boggling (Pol Pot murdered 3 million). It's totally amazing that the main airman survived with his mind intact. I am doing this review halfway through the book because I have too good an imagination and need to read fluff for a few days to recover before finishing.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley. Thank you.

Lightning Down by Tom Clavin is a stunning account of a US fighter pilot that fought in WWII, Joe Moser, and the harrowing events that he went through, and survived, that in my mind makes him a true hero.

I will save the narrative for the reader to be able to experience, however I will just say am awed, humbled, and honored to be able to read the author’s account of Joe’s experiences during WWII as a POW. To read all that he experienced, suffered through, and was able to overcome as prisoner after fighting for his country is nothing short of awe-inspiring and makes me so proud to be able to be part of the amazing country that Joe Moser represents. To read one traumatic event after another, one would think that the normal person would give up, and if they didn’t, they would be angered and bitter afterwards. But not Joe. Not only was he a survivor, but he was able to still find solace and happiness afterwards. The quote from Joe below says it all:

“I’ve had a wonderful life,” Joe said. “I would go through it again to keep our freedom. I know I could be angry for what I had to go through, but it made life worth living.”

I am so appreciative of the author to be able to bring to light Joe’s story, along with many other’s whose lives were forever changed (and sacrificed) for our country. I also am thankful that the discussion of PTSD was also included as well. Awareness of this issue is always needed.

I am thankful and honored to be able to read this account that was so tastefully and respectfully written. I cannot recommend this enough.

5/5 stars

Thank you NG and St Martin’s Press for this amazing arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication.