by Bob Drury
First published 2017
Captain Jake Morrison grips the controls of his B-25 bomber as enemy fighters swarm the Pacific sky around him. The year is 1943, and Morrison leads a crew of misfits nobody else wanted. Below them, Japanese forces control key strategic positions. Above them, Zero fighters close in for the kill. What starts as another bombing run becomes an aerial battle that stretches on for hours, longer than any dogfight in military history. Morrison must keep his damaged aircraft airborne while his gunners fight off wave after wave of attacks. Each crew member faces a choice between personal survival and the mission that could shift the balance of the Pacific war. As fuel runs low and ammunition dwindles, Morrison realizes that getting his men home alive might require the ultimate sacrifice. The fate of the war hangs on the decisions made in the cramped cockpit of a single bomber, where ordinary men discover what they are truly made of.
Genres: historical-fiction, military-fiction, adventure, action
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: found-family, sacrifice
Setting: Pacific
Period: 1943
565 pages · Hardcover · Thorndike Press Large Print
Content warnings: violence, war