I received a free electronic copy of this biography from Netgalley, Robert Matzen, and GoodKnight Publishing in exchange for an honest review. Thank you all, for sharing your hard work with me.

This biography covering the last few years of the life and of the death of Carole Lombard, and the effect of the tragedy of Flight 3 on both Hollywood and the families of the other victims of that plane crash on January 16, 1942. This is an thorough follow-up on the Air Transport Command, Army Air Force pilots and airmen aboard the TWA DC-3, and the three members of the TWA crew, and the two passengers who were neither military nor a part of Lombard's party- two who talked their way onto the doomed plane. Matzen even follows the lives of the people bumped off of this flight in Albuquerque to make seats for the military pilots to return to California and ferry more planes to the east coast, and the war.

This is also an enlightening story of the Cessna T182t accident on November 8, 2007 in the same place, same circumstances.

This is a very interesting read. I would recommend it to anyone interested in WWII, Hollywood, and flying.

I am a big reader of books about stars. This book interested me because of course I know who Carole Lombard was and her tragic death, but i really didn't know a lot about it. Now I do. The book goes into Ms. Lombard's life and it gives you insight not only on the crash, but activity before the crash as well as those whom were waiting for the plane's return. Very in depth book detailing the life and death of Carole Lombard. I plan to buy this book for some friends. Thanks NetGalley for the advance copy in return for my honest review.

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I wanted to read this book because one of my favourite actors was Clark Gable, although I didn't know much about Carole Lombard, who was the love of his life, he never recovered after her death. This book gives an extraordinary insight into Carol Lombards life, her vivaciousness, her spirit and her tragic loss to the world of cinema and her loved ones.

I love anything with old Hollywood, so I was very excited to get my hands on this. I enjoyed the story and all the details included of Lombards life. So much information that you can't read elsewhere, and so interesting! I will definitely be reading this again.

Robert Matzen's "Fireball: Carole Lombard and the Mystery of Flight 3" is a clever melding of two forms: Part biography of the famous "screwball" movie queen and part investigation of the plane crash that took her life. For the first half of the book, Matzen tells the stories in alternating chapters, providing an insightful biography of Lombard, followed by details on the events that took place on January 16, 1942, leading up to TWA flight 3, which crashed into Potosi Mountain near Las Vegas, killing all aboard. The device of switching from Lombard to the lead-up to the flight creates a very effective dramatic tension -- a tough thing to do in a nonfiction book -- as it becomes clear that Lombard's life and the doomed flight are on an inevitable collision course.

After the crash, the book focuses on the flight recovery and investigation -- to this day, there's no definitive reason why the plane crashed -- and the reaction of Lombard's husband, Clark Gable, who was changed and aged by the tragedy.

Matzen's research, which includes the accounts of several surviving witnesses and researchers, is excellent. Those looking for a good Lombard biography will find a compelling amount of material, while those interested in air disasters and investigation will likewise see this as a good read.

Well researched, tragic book, covering the last few year of Carol Lombard's life as well as her tragic death. I know enough Hollywood lore to know of the love between Lombard and that rascal Clark Gable, but this was a reminder of that love. If only Hollywood romances could still be on that caliber.

The other half of this book remembers the other lives lost in the tragic plane crash and I found that to be an interesting insight. We often forget about the 'others' involved when a 'celebrity' is involved.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this book.