The Children's Crusade: : The Eighth Airforce Series, Volume 1

Cheryl Pula has created a compelling series of novels about the heroic fliers of the 8th Air Force, during WWII. Her characters jump off the page at you and all the events are based on her extensive interviews with WWII veterans. Pula's action scenes will keep you up at night because they are that realistic, you will feel like you are in the plane during the battle scenes. All of her books are based on actual events that happened during World War II. When you recognize that the average age of a bomber crewman during the war was under 24 years of age, and that the average crew would not survive past their sixth mission, it is not surprising that these young man are often referred to as our greatest generation. As the publisher, we refer to Cheryl's books as "addictive." Now you can get the entire series at one time and "binge read" to your heart' s content! "Wars are fought by human beings, with feelings, emotions, hopes and dreams. Ordinary people who are thrown together under extraordinary circumstances." Said Cheryl Pula. I have never been a traditional "history buff" but Cheryl Pula has influenced me to understand more about the lives and stories of the Great Generation who served. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, and can't wait to read more in the series. For those, like me, who learn through understanding the actions and emotions of well-developed characters, I can enthusiastically recommend this book, and the other in the series. This was the type of book you could not put down after reading just a few chapters. We were surprised at the prejudice shown during this period in our history. Matt being part American Indian kept him from being treated fairly. Hopefully, this would not happen today. We were amazed at the hardships endured by our very young troops and the amount of spunk they showed in overcoming them. For boys so young this was amazing. The bravery shown by these young men was also amazing. The hardships of being on their own away from family and friends hit us. Also, the intelligence and bravery was outstanding. The fortitude shown by our nation during this trying time was heartwarming. What struck us as being amazing also was the fact that the companies in our nation came together and built the B-17 bomber to withstand the forces required of it. The steady nerves of those brave young men in the face of the horrors of war - seeing your friends blown to pieces in front of you and still being able to carry out your mission left us spellbound. All in all, Cheryl did an outstanding job protraying the stuff young Americans were made of during that time period. We look forward to reading Book 2. Phyllis and Dale Robinson, Plain City, Ohio