Flyboys

Author: James Bradley

Category: Non-Fiction

Reviewer: Brian Hatak

Department/Position: Science/Teacher

Summary:
The book tells the story of pilots in the Pacific theater of WWII. The story concentrates on the lives of eight pilots who were involved in the fighting over Chichi Jima, a radio station on an island south of Japan. The story of these pilots is told from before and during the war up to their deaths. All were Prisoners of War or Killed in Action (except for George Bush). The story is about both sides of the war and the struggles that each part had. The fighting is described in detail, at least for the air war over Japan. The book can be difficult to read as the descriptions become graphic at times. The detail in this book is what caught my attention. I enjoyed the way that the men's home life was described so you knew a little about them. It was not only the Americans that were discussed in the book but the Japanese also. The war through the Japanese's eyes was very interesting along with the history of some of the islands involved. The history of these men is an important story to tell as the documents only recently became declassified. The fact that even some of the families of the pilots did not know what happened to them shows the struggle that the military had with getting the right amount of information out to the public. The book was difficult to read for any extended amounts of time since there was a connection to the individuals and the description of their deaths was sometimes very disturbing. I would even enjoy reading this book again.

Recommended Audience: Adult and high school readers interested in WWII history and its stories.

Rating: 4

This book is available in the AHS library.