Review
Backwards Into Battle is a memoir of a state of mind as much as it is of historical events, and that's what makes the story compelling, especially fifty years later. --
Palo Alto Weekly, Sept. 6, 1995It is doubtful that anyone has captured the B-29 experience -- on the ground or aloft -- better than Andy Doty. This modest little book belongs in your library and that of your children and their children, for it is about all of us when we were young, careless, in love and then, at war. The author provides literate and graphic accounts of his B-29 missions. His moment-by-moment description of bailing out of his bomber is especially moving. Yet his book's greatest contribution is his portrait of our own innocence through his tender and revealing portrait of himself. It defines in gentle yet honest words the men who fought in World War II. Thus, it is less about what we did rather than who we were. That is why this book ought to be read by our children and theirs. --
330th Bomb Group Newsletter, Winter, 1996Lots of people have memories. Not all of them are fascinating for others to read. Andy Doty's are. As I made my way through the 156 pages, I was increasingly conscious of the writer's down-to-earth sophistication. As America tries to make sense of itself again, Andy has made a productive contribution to the debate. --
Glens Falls, NY Chronicle, Oct. 5, 1995The author's long-time fascination for words has matured into a mastery. This personal glimpse of the air war over Japan will rightfully take its place with other accounts of that telling chapter of the war in the Pacific. This is a book not only for those of the generation that fought or served in that last "good" war, but also for all who seek to understand why. --
St. Lawrence University Alumni Magazine, Winter, 1995This book should be on every bestseller list in the nation. Andy Doty has come up with one of the most thrilling autobiographies in World War II aviation history. This is a poignant, perceptive and inspirational account of the young men who took up arms in WWII to avenge a wrong, set the world right and insure a better future. --
Palo Alto, Daily News, Oct. 3, 1998This is a real flyer's book. It is powerful and so true that it hurts. There is no sugar-coating of experiences, no spurious heroics, no uncalled-for foolishness -- only the hard core facts about the dirty business of bombing from altitude in B-29s. Backwards Into Battle is a short, yet thrilling and accurate book that tells it like it was for all of those who experienced combat flying during WWII. I recommend this book for a fast, yet memorable read into the WWII experience. --
In Flight USA, September, 1998
From the Publisher
This book is now in its fifth printing. It has been warmly received by readers all over the country: veterans reliving their war experiences, WWII buffs delving into the history of the conflict; children learning about the experiences of their parents. "In my opinion, this is one of the most interesting personal stories to come out of World War II," wrote Chester Marshall, former B-29 pilot and aviation author/publisher. "It is a well-written, 'can't put it down' type story." Vice Admiral James Stockdale, a Navy flier held nine years in a North Vietnam prison, wrote: "This is a penetrating assessment and critical accolade of the life and times of the American World War II combat veteran. You have illuminated the reality of your service as a crewman on a B-29 firebombing Japan, bailing out, being rescued at sea, and being a true-blue teammate in a bomber crew that fought together, some dying together. With unabashed frankness, you have drawn out the mystical side of the comradeship, the responsibilities and the excitement of war that so many of us have come to identify as the one great lyric passage of their lives." Excerpts from other letters: "I had barely gotten into the book when I realized I was reading an articulate and literate work by a B-29 veteran who also happens to be a writer. The combination has produced an absorbing memoir that is a joy to read. What you have written about your missions -- including the tragic one -- is as vivid as anything I've read about tough missions in any air force. This book about who we were belongs in every airman's library and those of his children." -- D.M., Powhatan, VA "I read the whole book in one fascinated gulp. It was obvious after the first pages that the author was a professional writer -- not just an ordinary Joe writing a memoir." -- H.T.B., Atlanta, GA "Andy's book arrived yesterday. This book is pure GOLD. It is clean, magnificently balanced, the stuff of enduring literature. Andy wastes no words --- every part of speech carries its own weight. The book is a hymn to life: its wonder, its promise, its hardships, its gifts. Should be required reading for the populace, particularly for the disaffected youngsters who hoot at what they count as outworn values. Andy could easily have waded in bathos; instead, he evokes an entire spectrum of human emotion with enviable restraint and insight. More than once this old bastard swallowed whole apples and mopped a cloudy eye." ---R.C., Queensbury, NY "Betty saw me off at the airport and by the time the plane circled east I had started "Backward Into Battle" and was reveling in the early years of Andy Doty. I scarcely noticed Lake Tahoe, and came up for air at the Mississippi River, then saved the rest until I would be home.....Right now, in the hours I can't sleep, I'm savoring each chapter." -- J.M., New York, NY
"Couldn't put it down! I think you did a tremendous job in presenting your story from the individual, human side. I am sure that your story touched many men and produced several wet eyes. It did mine." ---W.S., Gulfport, MS "I remember that Thorton Wilder once said that OUR TOWN was his attempt to find a value above all price for the smallest events in the daily life he lived as a young man. It seems to me that kind of desire shines through your BACKWARDS INTO BATTLE and in a very real way you give back to thousands what was 'The Best Years of our Lives.'" --- B. R., Palo Alto playwright. "What truly hits me about your heartfelt story is that it is truly heartfelt!" --- A.C.R., Yucaipa, CA
"My husband just finished the chapter about the crew bail-out and was spellbound." --- S.B.S., Boulder, CO
"We think your book is a treasure. When I urge people to read your book I also suggest that they read it aloud. I looked up more than once to see a tear in Harry's eye as he read your words." -- S.H., Palo Alto publishing firm editor.
"I find the book spell-binding; it conjures up times past which many of us still remember." --- R.C.L., Christchurch, England "I sent copies to my crew members and have already heard from two who said they couldn't put it down -- read it from cover to cover as soon as it arrived."----G.B.R, former B-29 pilot, Woodland Hills, CA "I can't thank you enough for sending a copy of Andy Doty's Backwards Into Battle. I read it this past weekend and used as many post-its to mark one or another passage as there are pages. It's a marvelous memoir told very nicely. And as modestly as he tells his story, I am in awe of his war experiences at that age." - F.H., Princeton, NJ "Never has my flight (to England) gone so quickly as it did as I read your marvelous book -- even faster than my usual gripping page-turner mysteries" -- K.P., Palo Alto, CA "Your book was a wonderful trip back into a world that was essentially beautiful, for most of us. I had a feeling I was reading about a beautiful life well lived and a beautiful marriage. I wish all young people could read your book so they could know what the world was like -- once." -- G.W.B., Jackson, CA "The best book I have read on that aspect of the second world war. Well written, a first-class mixture of authority and down to earth experience." -A.W., Middletown, NJ "I was riveted to the book. It is a treasure. Every page grabbed me and I was right there through your innocent youth to the end of the book. You are a hero, Sergeant Doty! You have my gratitude for fighting in World War II to guarantee the freedom we live in today." -- Mrs. I. K., Atherton, CA
