Ace!: A Marine Night-Fighter Pilot in World War II [Paperback]

R. Bruce Porter (Author), Eric Hammel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2007 | ISBN-10: 0935553584 | ISBN-13: 978-0935553581

Ace! is Bruce Porter's life as a Marine combat fighter pilot-from his earliest days as a naval aviation cadet before World War II, to his adventures guarding America's forwardmost defense line in the South Pacific, to his aerial combat over the Solomons. Follow Bruce Porter through his exacting night-fighter training and fly with him on his rare double-kill night mission over Okinawa.

Product Details

• Paperback: 308 pages
• Publisher: Pacifica Military History (April 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0935553584
• ISBN-13: 978-0935553581
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,362,964 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great tale of World War II, March 5, 2005

By 

Clayton R. Horner (Eureka, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ace! a Marine Night-Fighter Pilot in World War II (Hardcover)

I could barely put this book down. It was a reviting story from the first page to the last.

The author also did not get into the "I'm so great" attitude that so many people do. Fighter pilots seem espcially prone to this idea.

It was also written in a nice simple matter that takes the time to explain what was going on for those who are not familair with the Second World War.

It is a great first person account of the air war in the Pacific.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An American hero, May 21, 2011

By 

Steve Albracht - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ace!: A Marine Night-Fighter Pilot in World War II (Kindle Edition)

I knew and admired Bruce until the day he died. In an era where every one is a hero, he was the real thing. A great book, a real look into the early war years in the Pacific by a man who had the right stuff.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Good, but not great., April 26, 2011

By 

Greg Hooten - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Ace!: A Marine Night-Fighter Pilot in World War II (Kindle Edition)

One quote from the book seems to flavor the rest of the book. "I no longer have the figures, but the training hours outnumbered the combat hours by several hundred to one, and the balance kept shifting farther and farther toward the training hours." In fact much of the book is training. While he seems a very decent person, and would be interesting to meet, he was not in the thick of much of the fighting. He probably saved a large number of more raw recruits as he was a training officer and gave his extensive training knowledge to others, but it does not make a great combat narrative.

Also, while there are some interesting parts about the plane, there is really very little detail about how night fighting developed, or why. Some surmises, but no real look at the details.

This is a personal account, and while interesting, don't mistake this for a lengthy combat descriptor.