Masters of the Air

They flew at 25,000 feet through freezing, flak-filled skies, undertaking one of the most dangerous roles of the Second World War. In Masters of the Air, historian Donald L. Miller tells the gripping story of the Eighth Air Force: the bomber crews who took the fight to Nazi Germany from bases across England. Unlike infantry soldiers, these airmen returned each night to warm beds and swing bands, but faced extraordinary odds every time they climbed into their Flying Fortresses. Miller traces their journeys from perilous missions to prisoner-of-war camps and back again, revealing both the thrill and the terror of the world's first true bomber war. Drawing on personal letters, interviews and international archives, this is a deeply human account of courage, sacrifice and the brutal cost of strategic air power – a story that shaped the outcome of the war, and the lives of those who survived it.