Available:*
Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury) | SCD 921 MORGAN 4 DISCS | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
As a young man growing up in Asheville, North Carolina, Robert Morgan was a fast-driving party boy-a hell-raiser. But when his mothercommitted suicide upon learning she had inoperable brain cancer, Morgan's life changed dramatically. He was no longer a carefree playboy; he was a man searching for meaning.
He found that meaning at the controls of an airplane, and in the flak-and fighter-filled skies over Occupied France and Nazi Germany. The plane was a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. Morgan named her the Memphis Belle in honor of his fiancée, a Memphis beauty named Margaret Polk. He and his crew flew 25 successful daylight missions over Europe in the Belle , and wereimmortalized by Hollywood director William Wyler in a 1944 documentary called The Memphis Belle . In those 25 harrowing missions, Morgan never lost a crew member. The only casualty associated with the Belle was Morgan's engagement to the plane's namesake; it simply couldn't survive the War Department's publicity demands.
A powerful chronicle of loyalty, love, and astonishing bravery, The Man Who Flew the Memphis Belle takes you into the heart of the war above 20,000 feet, and into the unforgettable life of one of America's greatest World War II heroes.
Author Notes
Acclaimed author of best-seller "Gap Creek".
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (2)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Obviously a brave man and an intriguing character, Morgan was glorified in a 1944 William Wyler documentary and was the subject of a somewhat less distinguished 1990 movie starring Matthew Modine. As commander of one of WWII's heavy B-17 bombers, the Memphis Belle, Morgan led 25 missions over Europe. And Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and bestselling author Powers (Flags of Our Fathers) is a proven story-teller. The problem with this abridged audio version is that McLarty reads it in a pretentious, overly dramatic manner, evincing the tedium and tenacity of a boring but unshakable travel companion. So despite the colorful details from Morgan's Depression-era childhood in Asheville, N.C., where his mother's best friend was a Vanderbilt, to his touching love affair with a flesh-and-blood Memphis belle named Margaret Polk, through his record-breaking daylight bombing missions in the Flying Fortress he named after her and on through the other wartime and peacetime activities that have filled his remarkable life this tape, disappointingly, quickens one's irritation and fatigue rather than one's heart. Simultaneous release with Dutton/Plume hardcover (Forecasts, Apr. 30). (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Library Journal Review
Flying ace Morgan explains that his B-17 was named for his fiance. Although the headline romance from World War II did not last, William Wyler's 1944 documentary about the Belle's 25th bombing mission over Europe captivated the nation. Here is Colonel Morgan's personal story of his training, his skilled USAF crew, his wives, and his flying another bomber in the Pacific campaign. He deplores war's death toll and property loss but is justifiably proud of his contribution to the Allied victory. The archival film on the Belle and the Flying Fortress itself were almost lost; their preservation concludes one of World War II's best memoirs. Narrator Ron McLarty has the right American voice, expressing the many dramatic shifts in mood. Enthusiastically recommended. Gordon Blackwell, Eastchester, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
