Preview
  • A Wing and a Prayer

  • The “Bloody 100th” Bomb Group of the US Eighth Air Force in Action over Europe in World War II
  • By: Harry H. Crosby
  • Narrated by: Chris Monteiro
  • Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (346 ratings)

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A Wing and a Prayer

By: Harry H. Crosby
Narrated by: Chris Monteiro
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Publisher's summary

They began operations out of England in the spring of '43. They flew their Flying Fortresses almost daily against strategic targets in Europe in the name of freedom. Their astonishing courage and appalling losses earned them the name that resounds in the annals of aerial warfare and made the "Bloody Hundredth" a legend.

Harry H. Crosby—soon to be portrayed by Anthony Boyle in the miniseries Masters of the Air developed by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg—arrived with the very first crews, and left with the very last. After dealing with his fear and gaining in skill and confidence, he was promoted to Group Navigator, surviving hairbreadth escapes and eluding death while leading thirty-seven missions, some of them involving two thousand aircraft. Now, in a breathtaking and often humorous account, he takes us into the hearts and minds of these intrepid airmen to experience both the triumph and the white-knuckle terror of the war in the skies.

©1993, 2000 Harry H. Crosby (P)2023 Tantor
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What listeners say about A Wing and a Prayer

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The True Story behind Masters of the Air

Despite being named after Don Miller’s book, this is the book that Apple’s Masters of the Air is based on. It’s an excellent primary source of the bomber war over Europe. As a former USAF Nav, Crosby really captures the essence of being aircrew in my opinion.

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Wonderful narration and story telling!

Such a great book! Hats off to the 100th and all those who served in ww2

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Love these war stories by actual participants

Worth the listen, the author gives a deep understanding of what it really was like.

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The unique perspective of the author and narrator.

What I dislike is writing a comment which does not meet your number of letter requirement.

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Enter Text Here

Author Crosby has written an autobiography of his experiences during WWII in the 8th Air Force. I read it because this book was the basis of the mini-series, "Masters of the Air" which did not do justice to Crosby's character. "Masters" writers obviously took license with the book upon which it was based. The book reinforced two things from my career as an Air Force (SAC) navigator during the 1970s-1980s.. 1. In 30 years, nothing changed with respect to the way that navigators are treated. 2. Strategic Air Command's character was forged by the 8th Air Force over Europe during WWII. Crosby after "Masters" includes several more war stories and his lifetime decisions. An excellent read.

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The greatest sacrifice

What stood out the most to me as a son of a World War II veteran was the tremendous loss of life and sacrifice that our American,
Canadian and British men made for this war. The bloody 100th was a story of tremendous loss and one needing to be told.

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great book

after reading and watching the masters of the air this book was a great 2nd perspective to add to the story of the 100th. Over all a great book!

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Epic story.

Really liked that it was in the 1st person. Added depth to the story. Recommend it to WW2 buffs.

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War is Hell

What bomber crews went through in WWII was extraordinary. These young men had little chance of surviving 25 missions, knew it and went out and died to defeat Germany.

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A Great Book

Read this book years ago so when I saw it was released as an audio book I figured it would be good to listen to before watching Masters of the Air. Through the years I have told many people that A Wing and a Prayer is one of the, if not the best personal accounts of service in World War 2 that I had read and after listening, I stand by that comment.

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3 people found this helpful