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A review by jenbsbooks
The Forgotten 500: The Untold Story of the Men Who Risked All for the Greatest Rescue Mission of World War II by Gregory A. Freeman
3.0
For my Non-Fiction November, I figured I should get at least one book about WW2 (as there are so many out there, and I need to space them out somewhat). I had three possibilities, all I'd picked up physical books for, but could get the audio/Kindle copy from the library. I felt like they all featured "an untold story" ... and while not edge of my seat intrigued, it kept my interest. I'm just not sure if I'll really remember much. I figure it will just fade into all the other WW2 books ...
I'd watched the Apple+ series "Masters of the Air" (didn't really like it, had to push through to finish the season) and several chapters here reminded me a lot of that. The descriptions of the pilots, navigators, man in the turret ... the missions/parachuting out and being if surviving, not sure what to expect on the ground.
One thing that caught my attention was mention of the "Sperry Corporation" (they had designed the ball turret). My dad worked for Sperry some years after the war. He'd shared his history enough that I recognized the name.
I've been noticing the word "route" ... it was in this a lot (well, 10 times), pronounced "root" (I just register if it's root or rout). Also "bucolic" ... I think that's been in the last three books I've read (not that common). No proFanity.
I went primarily with the audiobook. While the narrator wasn't bad, his voice just didn't really match the material in my opinion.
There were 18 chapters, with an intro and an epilogue. The chapters had headers 1) We'll Get Them Out 2) Abandon Ship 3)Counting Parachutes 4)Americanski? 5)Long Journey to Somewhere 6) Escaping Yugoslavia 7) Passports Please 8) Man of the Year 9) Abandoned Ally 10) Screw the British 11) Goat's Milk and Hay Bread 12) An All-American Team 13) SOS ... Waiting for Rescue 14) Sure to Be a Rough Landing 15) Red, Red, Red 16)Going Home Shoeless 17) Gates of the World 18)Secrets and Lies ... some of the headers to nudge my memories of what happened in that chapter. There were also notes and a full bibliography and index. In the physical copy, there was a set of photos in the middle of the book. I couldn't see that the photos were included in the Kindle copy, unless I missed them (I just skimmed the Kindle, used it for reference). I appreciated that all three formats had a Table of Contents (and that they matched up, so I could find my spot from one to the other).
I don't know that "the rescue" really stood out to, more just random war stories ...
I'd watched the Apple+ series "Masters of the Air" (didn't really like it, had to push through to finish the season) and several chapters here reminded me a lot of that. The descriptions of the pilots, navigators, man in the turret ... the missions/parachuting out and being if surviving, not sure what to expect on the ground.
One thing that caught my attention was mention of the "Sperry Corporation" (they had designed the ball turret). My dad worked for Sperry some years after the war. He'd shared his history enough that I recognized the name.
I've been noticing the word "route" ... it was in this a lot (well, 10 times), pronounced "root" (I just register if it's root or rout). Also "bucolic" ... I think that's been in the last three books I've read (not that common). No proFanity.
I went primarily with the audiobook. While the narrator wasn't bad, his voice just didn't really match the material in my opinion.
There were 18 chapters, with an intro and an epilogue. The chapters had headers 1) We'll Get Them Out 2) Abandon Ship 3)Counting Parachutes 4)Americanski? 5)Long Journey to Somewhere 6) Escaping Yugoslavia 7) Passports Please 8) Man of the Year 9) Abandoned Ally 10) Screw the British 11) Goat's Milk and Hay Bread 12) An All-American Team 13) SOS ... Waiting for Rescue 14) Sure to Be a Rough Landing 15) Red, Red, Red 16)Going Home Shoeless 17) Gates of the World 18)Secrets and Lies ... some of the headers to nudge my memories of what happened in that chapter. There were also notes and a full bibliography and index. In the physical copy, there was a set of photos in the middle of the book. I couldn't see that the photos were included in the Kindle copy, unless I missed them (I just skimmed the Kindle, used it for reference). I appreciated that all three formats had a Table of Contents (and that they matched up, so I could find my spot from one to the other).
I don't know that "the rescue" really stood out to, more just random war stories ...