Aces

True Stories of Victory and Valor in the Skies of World War II

by Bill Yenne

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Pub Date Oct 13 2020 | Archive Date Oct 14 2020

Quarto Publishing Group – Chartwell Books | Chartwell Books

History | Nonfiction (Adult)

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Description

Aces is a celebration of the bold fighter pilots who earned the accolade and joined the ranks of flying aces during World War II aviation combat.

Since World War I, fighter pilots have been seen as a breed apart, fighting their battles high above the mud and muck of the battlefields—“knights of the air.” During World War II, tens of thousands of aircraft engaged in deadly dogfights in the skies over Europe, North Africa, and the Pacific. In this hellish battle for survival, hundreds of pilots claimed five or more victories to become aces. These are their stories.

This informative history book includes a wealth of biographies of WWII’s most daring aerial knights. Each major country in the war (and some of the minor ones) had Aces. You can learn about where they came from, who they fought for, who they were outside the cockpit, and see their brave young faces that were ready for whatever the war threw at them. Packed with rare historical photos as well as modern images to see how their work impacted history, Aces paints a full picture of these featured flyers.

Among aviation warfare, the title of “ace” sets some above the rest. While it technically marks the pilots as having five enemy kills in aerial combat, it means a lot more than that in military circles. On the battlefield, they were enemies, diametrically opposed, but when they were firmly planted on the ground, they were respected colleagues.

Learn all about the daring men of valor from:

US Army Air Forces, US Navy, and US Marines
British Commonwealth
Germany
The Soviet Union
Poland
Japan
Italy
France
And other Allied and Axis forces

This fascinating account of the greatest pilots of World War II is a great gift for the history buff in your life and an excellent way to fall into history.

Available Editions

EDITION	Other Format
ISBN	9780785838340
PRICE	$19.99 (USD)
PAGES	240

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Additional Information

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Featured Reviews

Kady B, Reviewer

Very thorough book on the Aces of WWII. Love reading the short biography of each man and his accomplishments.

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Ron B, Reviewer

An excellent book on the various top fighter pilots from all countries in WW2. The stories were compelling and kept my interest. While some of the top aces are well known, the author also provided stories on some of the lesser known individuals as well. For air enthusiasts, this is a must read book.

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

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John P, Reviewer

Author Bill Yenne (https://www.billyenne.com) published the book “Aces: True Stories of Victory and Valor in the Skies of World War II” in 2020. Mr. Yenne has published more than three dozen novels and non-fiction books.

I categorize this book as ‘G’. The book comprehensively covers the top ace pilots in the Axis air forces as well as in the Allied air forces.

Only a few pages are dedicated to each pilot, but there are a large number of aces covered. The book looks at the major powers - the US, British, German, Russian, Italian, and Japanese. It also mentions those from the smaller countries who were top aces. The aces from Finland (The winter War) are included as well. There is even a small section covering Russian women who qualified as aces. The book contains many vintage photos of the pilots and their fighters.

I thought that the 8.5 hours I spent reading this 240-page WWII history were interesting. I had read of some of these pilots before, but this book included many I had not been aware of. It is surprising how many pilots qualified as an Ace (Generally, 5 planes confirmed shot down). I was amazed at the total number of planes some of these pilots had shot down. I like the cover art. I give this book a 4 out of 5.

You can access more of my book reviews on my Blog ( https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/).

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).