by John Hersey
First published 1979
Buzz Morrow sits in the cockpit of his Flying Fortress, scanning the English countryside below as his crew prepares for another bombing run over Nazi Germany. While other airmen count missions until they can go home, Buzz thrills to the roar of engines and the deadly dance of aerial combat. He sees war as his true calling, a arena where he can prove his superiority over lesser men. His crewmates watch him with a mixture of admiration and unease as he volunteers for the most dangerous missions and celebrates each enemy kill. Through the banter, fear, and fierce bonds that hold the bomber crew together, a darker truth emerges about men who find their purpose in destruction. Buzz represents something troubling about human nature itself, the part of us that creates conflict because some people need war to feel alive.
Genres: american-fiction, 20th-century, war, military-fiction, adventure, action
Vibes: dark, emotional, fast-paced, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, unreliable-narrator
Setting: England, Germany, Nazi Germany
Period: World War II
416 pages · Paperback · Panther
Content warnings: violence, war