I read this book a couple of years ago. While the overall story was interesting I remember being very unimpressed by the writing style.

I just pulled the book out again and went through a couple of chapters. Sorry to say but the quality of writing is very simple and not nearly up to the standard of Ambrose's other books.

I'm wondering if he really wrote it - or had it subcontracted out.

I'm only giving this one star because amazon says I have to give something cause I dont feel they deserve even one star, I ordered this product May 4th, its now June 4th, and I still have not received my book. I have emailed the seller 3 times with no reply from them at all. This is my first bad experience on Amazon, but it wont stop me from buying off of Amazon again . Amazon is working with me to help me resolve the issue. I don't even really want my money back I would rather have my book, but only if its in the condition advertised----like new. I don't know whether to order from someone else as its part of a series or just keep waiting this out or what. But I will never buy from this person again.

One of the things I love about Ambrose's books is the personal history he brings to the subject. If you look at the bibliography of "The Wild Blue" you will notice that many of the sources are interviews he has done with many of the characters in the book, along with other primary source materials. What this does is brings a very personal style to the telling of these stories. Other so-called "oral histories" are bland and often read like a transcript. Ambrose brings other research to the stories so you can understand the context of the time they lived in. "The Wild Blue" is no exception to this.

Before he was a liberal Democratic senator from South Dakota and an anti-war candidate for president, George McGovern flew 35 combat missions over Europe in World War II. Of these 35, only a few were "milk runs." The others were deadly encounters with the enemy, and only his skill and bravery saved his life and the lives of his crew. McGovern also volunteered for this service - no one was drafted or forced into piloting these heavy bombers.

McGovern is a noted anti-war figure from the Vietnam era and was soundly defeated by Nixon in 1972 for the presidency. One of the great ironies of McGovern's political career is in aligning his anti-war stance with his magnificent and heroic service in WWII. Perhaps that experience shaped his views in ways we, or anyone who has so vocally criticized him, can never imagine.

A theme in all of Ambrose's WWII books is that of the "citizen soldier," that of ordinary (mostly young) people dedicated to their country, families, buddies, and surviving the war. One of the accounts from "The Wild Blue" is of a mission where McGovern's engine had been blown out by flak, and his efforts in bringing the crippled B-24 home safely and in saving his life and the life of his crew. McGovern was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his efforts. He was 22 years old. What were you doing when you were 22?

Through this personal history, and other similar books and films on this theme, we pay only a fraction of the respect that is owed to these men.