Customer Reviews

Flying Forts: The B-17 in World War II

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
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From the drawing board to the bomber graveyard, the detail of the book is amazing. Technical stuff and anecdotes from the men who lived and died with these aircraft, it gets you inside an important aspect of WWII. It deeply inspired my interest in the history. Actually I read it 25 years ago and I still remember much of it as if I'd read a month ago!

I found Flying Forts at age 12 in my parents' bookcase. In the years since, I have read and re-read this book so often, I had to buy a used copy as mine disintegrated.

This might seem a bit much, but here is the truth:

The power and masterful language with which Caidin paints the Fort's history portrays not so much the story of a machine as a profile in human spirit. The men who designed, built, flew, and especially fought in the B-17 are profiled here in a remarkable alternation of big-picture history and the individual tales of a crew or a mission.

Reading Flying Forts at that young age was the first I learned of WW II. I can say without doubt that my appreciation for the dignity, heroism and tragedy of that mighty conflict, were all first engendered in me as a child by this one book. As an adult,I can trace my pilot's license, my aviation library and my deep love of history directly to the day that I first read Flying Forts.

If you read only the prologue and the epilogue, this book is worth whatever it costs. If you ever had an interest in history, airplanes or flying, find a copy, and keep it forever.

Martin Caidin's "Flying Forts" is an engrossing tale of the history of one of the great flying machines of World War II. Caidin traces the history of the Fort from its original design and construction through its many modifications. If you are interested in the history of research, development and production of an aircraft, then this book is up your alley. The story of the Flying Fortress in WWII doesn't start till page 163. Caidin follows the plane through the war years, and ends by taking us on a ride in a vintage fortress. This is a good book, but has several drawbacks that could be remedied if the book ever goes into print again. First, it needs an index. There is no way to find specific information without one. Second, addition of a small selection of photographs would be nice, although perhaps not feasible from a cost standpoint. The edition I have is filled with pen drawings that depict all the major aircraft of the war, which is a plus. This book is hard to find. I picked mine up at a thrift store for a dime. But it is worth the search and I recommend it to die-hard Flying Fortress fans.

Like another reviewer, I read this book when I was a kid and just reread it. I remember being enthralled by it as a teenager; as an adult, I enjoyed re-reading it, but I wouldn't say I was quite as enthralled the second time around.

As history books go, Flying Forts is the equivalent of a good beach read, and that's not a bad thing. It's a fun, easy read (with its share of pot-boiler prose, I have to say). You'll need to look elsewhere for a strategic analysis of the Allied bombing campaigns and their effectiveness. But if you want to know what it was like to swing a .50 caliber machine gun at the open window of the waist position of a B-17 in 40 degree-below weather, fighting for your life and the lives of your crew mates, this is your book.

I first read this book 39 years ago, and reread it recently. It is the full story of the B-17 Flying Fortress, from the conception of the Model 299 prototype to the handful of Forts that flew on in various roles after World War II. There is considerable detail on many topics, while others are unavoidably summarized due to space considerations. Caidin was an excellent writer, and the book is extremely readable. Strengths are the excellent coverage of little-known material such as the development of the B-17 and the careers of the early models before the B-17E (especially in the Pacific and in Royal Air Force service). Many individual experiences are singled out for detailed coverage, my favorite being the gunner who had to be summoned from KP duty to receive his Medal of Honor! Weaknesses are that the Combined Bomber Offensive (the huge daylight raids on Germany), which is probably what drew most readers to this topic, gets only about 100 pages, about 20% of the total book, and that relevant topics that aren't directly B-17 related are either not covered at all, or barely glanced at. Don't expect much of the German or Japanese viewpoint, this book focuses on the Forts and the men who fought and died in them. I highly recommend the book.

Cadin takes the B-17 from the design of Model 2 to the use of the surviving bombers after World War II. He is an anthor who writes comfortably of the technical and the military aspects of the plane. He takes the reader through the pain of a crash of a prototype and the pain of men struggling to bring home a wounded bird carrying wounded comrads. He is the master of aviation writers, and displays it in this book.

Excellent compilation of legends and facts surrounding the most famous bomber of WWII. Caidin's love of aviation, particularly the history of warbirds, clearly influenced this book. From the opening tale of a haunted bomber landing at an English airbase, to the tragic accident during the plane's development and testing stage and beyond, Caidin faithfully and fittingly pays tribute to the men, and this marvelous machine, who fought for victory in the skies over Europe.

Para mí, Flying Fortress de Martin Cadin es un clásico y por eso lo conservo, desde que lo compré en 1968, a pesar que las páginas están muy deterioradas por el paso del tiempo.
La detallada descripción de la historia del inigualable B-17, en la pluma de Martin Cadin está matizada por innumerables anécdotas y episodios muy poco conocidos y que lo mantienen a uno sin quererse despegar de la lectura. No cabe duda que el libro es excelente y mejor la forma como Cadin describe la historia desde el nacimiento del B-17 hasta la última "misión", en la que participó el autor, cuando volaron tres B-17G reconstruidos en 1961.