MASTERS OF THE SKIES TWO BOOK STARTER SET
About this book
Please see FAQs page for *SIGNED BY AUTHOR* details.
The second AND third books in the masterful WWII oral history series...
This set is packaged with a collector's bookmark. Each book set is available in PAPERBACK or gray cloth HARDCOVER with embossed spine and glossy color dust jacket. Signed by Author also available in limited quantities in the dropdown menu.
***
~HOW DO YOU THINK YOU FEEL when you wake up in a hospital and find out you killed your own mother?
~JUST WHAT DO YOU DO in that moment when your plane’s been hit, and you are about to crash far from home?
— “I spent a lot of time in hospitals. I had a lot of trouble reconciling how my mother died after reading the telegram she opened, saying I was shot down and missing in action; I didn’t explain to her that ‘missing in action’ is not necessarily ‘killed in action’, you know? I didn’t even think about that. How do you think you feel when you find out you killed your own mother?” —B-24 bombardier, shot down, taken prisoner
Dying for freedom isn’t the worst that could happen. Being forgotten is.
— “I was in the hospital with a flak wound. The next mission, the entire crew was killed. The thing that haunts me is that I can’t put a face to the guy who was a replacement. He was an 18-year old Jewish kid named Henry Vogelstein from Brooklyn. It was his first and last mission. He made his only mission with a crew of strangers.” —B-24 navigator
Maybe our veterans did not volunteer to tell us their stories; perhaps we were too busy with our own lives to ask. But they opened up to a younger generation, when a history teacher taught his students to engage.
— “The German fighters picked us. I told the guys, ‘Keep your eyes open, we are about to be hit!’ I saw about six or eight feet go off my left wing. I rang the ‘bail-out’ signal, and I reached out and grabbed the co-pilot out of his seat. I felt the airplane climbing, and I thought to myself, ‘If this thing stalls out, and starts falling down backwards, no one is going to get out...’” —B-17 pilot
As we forge ahead as a nation, do we owe it to ourselves to become reacquainted with a generation that is fast leaving us, who asked for nothing but gave everything, to attune ourselves as Americans to a broader appreciation of what we stand for?
— “You flew with what I would call ‘controlled fear’. You were scared stiff, but it was controlled. My ball turret gunner—he couldn’t take it anymore… I guess he was right. He’s dead now. But he had lost control of the fear. He never got out of that ball turret; he died in that ball turret.” —B-24 bombardier
It's time to listen to them. Read some of the reviews for Matthew Rozell's books and REMEMBER how a generation of young Americans truly saved the world.
Or maybe it was all for nothing?
— “A must-read in every high school in America. It is a very poignant look back at our greatest generation; maybe it will inspire the next one.”
Reviewer, Vol. I
Formats and signed editions
Most titles are available in paperback and in collector's hardcover with an embossed spine and glossy colour dust jacket. Many are also available as ebooks and audiobooks.
Signed editions include a decorative bookplate that Matthew signs personally, by hand, adhered inside the front cover. Never autopen, and only available through this store.
Shipping and returns
Most titles ship from our fulfiller in Florida, some from us in upstate New York. We usually ship within a few days by USPS Ground Advantage, which carries insurance. We do not offer same or next day delivery, and we do not ship internationally.
Returns: there is a two week window to begin the process. Email us and we will send a shipping label, deducting its cost from your refund, less the irreversible 3 percent bank transaction fee and up to a 10 percent restocking charge once we recover and inspect the books. Digital products are not returnable.
Gift orders never include the price on the packing slip.
What readers say about the series.
Over 2,500 five star reviews across the series![Volume I: Voices of the Pacific Theater—The Things Our Fathers Saw [2015]](http://matthewrozellbooks.com/cdn/shop/products/fs-sm.jpg?v=1589229512&width=300)
My husband is a WW2 buff and has seen about every documentary ever made on the subject. What got him interested was his father and uncles' WW2 war stories. He was pulled into this book right away.
I bought the series because I hoped to find answers to questions I had about my dad. Some of them have been answered along with things I didn't understand about my six uncles.
![Volume VI: The Bulge And Beyond—The Things Our Fathers Saw [2020]](http://matthewrozellbooks.com/cdn/shop/products/bulge-cover-4.jpgsm_f906909e-a9e5-413c-91ff-aeceb3eb23dd.jpg?v=1590222273&width=300)
My Dad served in the 3rd Armored Division, Normandy to Germany. He did not talk about it, it is nice to sit down and read about it. Thank you very much. My Dad, Eugene Harper.
![A Train Near Magdeburg: A Journey into the Holocaust [2016]](http://matthewrozellbooks.com/cdn/shop/products/Magdeburg-02Cv2FINAL.jpg?v=1655222842&width=300)
Could not put this book down. Tears fell as I read pages and I smiled through others. I wish I could articulate the emotions that accompanied me through the stories of these beautiful people.
![Volume III: Combat, Captivity, and Reunion —The Things Our Fathers Saw [2017]](http://matthewrozellbooks.com/cdn/shop/products/AW22NDED.EB.jpg?v=1668349921&width=300)
I feel like I am sitting in the room with the veteran as he speaks. Very nice series. 3 down, several to go.
![Volume VII: Across The Rhine—The Things Our Fathers Saw [2021]](http://matthewrozellbooks.com/cdn/shop/products/ACROSSTHERHINEEBOOK-min.jpg?v=1632660295&width=300)
By and large, they're all interesting and capture the experiences of young men thrown into the horrors of a vicious war, but this one is different. It should be required reading for every high school and college age student.
Questions people actually ask.
Do I have to read the series in order?
No. Each volume stands on its own and covers a different theater of the war. Most people start with the one closest to where their own family served.
What exactly does signed mean here?
Matthew signs a decorative bookplate for each volume personally, by hand, and it is adhered inside the front cover. Never autopen. Only available through this store.
Is this a good gift?
It is the most common reason people buy these books. We never print the price on the packing slip.
Are these appropriate for a teenager?
There is no sexualised content, but there is discussion of the violence of war and some swearing in the more emotional passages. Matthew did not censor the veterans. He suggests fourteen and up, high school age, maybe thirteen depending on maturity.
How long does shipping take?
We usually ship within a few days by USPS Ground Advantage, which carries insurance. No same or next day delivery, and no international shipping. Full details on the FAQ page.
Dying for freedom isn't the worst thing that could happen. Being forgotten is.
Every purchase helps ensure these stories are remembered, and supports veteran outreach and Holocaust education non-profits on a monthly basis.
Explore all the booksBooks ship from New York or Florida, usually within a few days, USPS Ground Advantage, insured.