Those Who Fall [Mass Market Paperback]

Muirhead (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

First-time author Muirhead relates his experiences as a B-17 bomber pilot in World War II and as a prisoner of war. Stationed in Italy with the 301st bomber group, he flew missions to the northern part of that country, to Germany, and to Romania. It was on a mission to the Ploest oil fields that he was shot down, captured, and imprisoned in Bulgaria. The quality of writing and imagery in the storytelling raise this book above the genre. Highly recommended for most collections. Military Book Club dual main selection. George F. Scheck, Naval War Coll. Lib., Newport, R.I.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 275 pages
• Publisher: Pocket (March 1, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671649442
• ISBN-13: 978-0671649449
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,673,388 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An honest portrayal of the effects of war upon one B17 pilot, February 1, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Those Who Fall: An Unforgettable Chronicle of War in the Air (Hardcover)

I have read this book numerous times since I first purchased it ten years ago. The emotion of the author is felt each time I read it. A very honest and realistic portrayal. My favorite book on the subject You will not be disappointed.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding War Memoir, May 3, 2011

By 

Thomas G. Matowitz Jr. - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Those Who Fall (Hardcover)

I have read this book several times since it was published in the 1980s. It remains one of my favorite first person accounts of WWII. The book contains much excellent writing - I think the author was something of a poet and a philosopher, in addition to being an excellent observer. It was interesting to read about the 15th Air Force in Italy for a change, as so much has been written about 8th Air Force in England. I found the author's descriptions of flying to be very accurate and evocative, and the descriptions of friends he flew with to be vivid and interesting.
Recently I saw " Those Who Fall " included in a list of the ten best war narratives to come out of WW II. It doesn't surprise me a bit.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars swings for the fences, sometimes connects, April 26, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Those Who Fall (Mass Market Paperback)

The author was a B17 pilot in the Italian theater (and points east), and waited roughly forty years to write his memoirs. He's had a lot of time to think about his experiences, and so the fairly prosaic "and so then I set engine #3 to run lean and descended to 7,000 feet" passages are liberally seasoned with much more meditative, thoughtful, but sometimes frankly over-written pieces.

The meditative pieces are sometimes over-written and amateurish, but sometimes beautiful and elegaic - there are some passages that I would re-read three or four times before proceeding, some that I've clipped for my wall - a very rare thing for me.