
Jimmy Stewart
Bomber Pilot
Paperback
Other Editions of This Title:
Compact Disc (8/8/2017)
Hardcover (4/30/2005)
MP3 CD (8/8/2017)
Description
Jimmy Stewart, Bomber Pilot chronicles his long journey to become a bomber pilot in combat. Author Starr Smith, the intelligence officer assigned to the movie star, recounts how Stewart's first battles were with the Air Corps high command, who insisted on keeping the naturally talented pilot out of harm's way as an instructor pilot for B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberators. By 1944, however, Stewart managed to get assigned to a Liberator squadron that was deploying to England to join the mighty Eighth Air Force. Once in the thick of it, he rose to command his own squadron and flew twenty combat missions, including one to Berlin.
"We would have made Jimmy a group commander [equivalent to an army regiment] if the war had lasted another month." - General Jimmy Doolittle.
"An excellent biography of a distinguished airman and fine human being." - Roger Freeman, author of The Mighty Eighth: A History of the U.S. 8th Air Force.
"How wonderful it is that Starr Smith has finally directed a literary light on the personal history of Jimmy Stewart. . . . I welcomed Starr's book. It is needed and wanted. Bravo!" - Gay Talese.
"This is a very well researched and written book. . . . It fills a place in history about no mere actor but a courageous and selfless man, Brigadier General Jimmy Stewart, USAF." - General Michael E. Ryan, former Chief of Staff of the Air Force.
“I have met a few movie stars, but of them all, I think that Jimmy Stewart was most like those modest heroes he portrayed. Now journalist Starr Smith has raised the curtain on Stewart’s gallant service as a bomber pilot and air combat commander in World War II.” —Walter Cronkite, from the Foreword
Praise For Jimmy Stewart: Bomber Pilot…
WWII History, March 2007
“It goes without saying that James Maitland Stewart was one of Hollywood’s greatest and most enduring stars. Be he was also an American patriod of the first order … Veteran journalist Starr Smith has captured the true essence of the man in this superbly written and profusely illustrated biography … With so many of the current generation of Hollywood stars decidedly antiwar and antimilitary, this book is a refreshing, nostalgic look back at a time when personal fame, money and safety took a back-seat to the ideals of duty, honor and country. Not to be missed.”Zenith Press, 9780760328248, 320pp.
Publication Date: November 15, 2006
About the Author
Starr Smith is an international journalist and author who has chronicled his adventures to more than one hundred countries. Smith was a combat intelligence officer with the Eighth Air Force in England during World War II, and later served on General Eisenhower’s press staff at his London and Paris headquarters.
After the war, Smith worked with the military’s top brass, including Anderson, Arnold, Doolittle, Eaker, Kenney, Spaatz, and other great World War II leaders and generals. He has been a correspondent for NBC Radio, a reporter for Newsweek, and his byline has appeared in newspapers and magazines from six continents.
Smith’s books include Only the Days are Long and Starr Smith’s Southern Scenes. He lives in Montgomery, Alabama.
Starr Smith is an international journalist and author who has chronicled his adventures to more than one hundred countries. Smith was a combat intelligence officer with the Eighth Air Force in England during World War II, and later served on General Eisenhower's press staff at his London and Paris headquarters.After the war, Smith worked with the military's top brass, including Anderson, Arnold, Doolittle, Eaker, Kenney, Spaatz, and other great World War II leaders and generals. He has been a correspondent for NBC Radio, a reporter for Newsweek, and his byline has appeared in newspapers and magazines from six continents.Smith's other books include Only the Days are Long and Starr Smith's Southern Scenes. He lives in Montgomery, Alabama.