Elmer bendiner february 11, 1916 september 16, 2001 was an american writer and. He tells this story of a world war ii bombing run over kassel, germany, and the unexpected result of a direct hit on their gas tanks. Army air corps navigator who flew in the nose of b17 flying fortresses during world war two and this is his memoir. A personal account of the most daring, and deadly, american air battles of world war ii by elmer bendiner 19800401 bendiner, elmer on. As for my copy, i donated it to charity after reading just over half of it. But if you enjoyed similar liberalslanted, antiwar books like the war lover john hersey and serenade to the big bird bert stiles, youll probably love the fall of fortresses. Stricken b17 all american miraculously flying after collision with a german fighter, photographed by the crew of another bomber in her formation. A personal account of the most daring, and deadly, american air battles of world war ii by elmer bendiner 19800401. The fall of fortresses by elmer bendiner, and a note found in. The fall of fortresses by elmer bendiner, and a note found. The story, accompanied with some incredible pictures, told of. Elmer bendiner was a navigator in a b17 during ww ii. Our b17, the tondelayo, was barraged by flak from nazi antiaircraft guns. After the war, he worked for esquire, then for a series of medical publications, and wrote a number of books.
To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. The fall of fortresses would be well worth reading as a personal account alone, but it is much more. We got this email in our inbox the other day, purporting to tell the story of the boeing b17 flying fortress, all american. The fall of fortresses by elmer bendiner goodreads. Mar 17, 2015 the story, as written in the circulating erumor below, is a paraphrasing of an actual account given by world war 2 war veteran elmer bendiner in his book the fall of fortresses. This story is confirmed in elmer bendiners book, the fall of fortresses.
Although the author is dead for 15 years and the book is 35 years old, i saw it referenced in a far more. Ali rawlinson complained that she wouldnt want any. May 12, 1980 looking back, authornavigator bendiner tautly interweaves an account of his experiences aboard a ww ii b17 with a reappraisal of the allied decision to bomb schweinfurt in 1943. The book is now out of print but the team was able to acquire a used copy at. A personal account of one of the most daring and deadly air battles of the second world war elmer bendiner on. Bendiner weaves a tale of his life during those times, using a rambling style of writing in which a dozen metaphors or more i liked the fall of fortresses and i liked it a lot. Elmer bendiner is the author of the fall of fortresses 4. Although the author is dead for 15 years and the book is 35 years old, i saw it. The story, as written in the circulating erumor below, is a paraphrasing of an actual account given by world war 2 war veteran elmer bendiner in his book the fall of fortresses. Bendiner was born in pittsburgh to william bendiner, a businessman, and lillian maiden name schwartz. We honor esther shapiro bendiner who died on saturday, june 16, 2007 at the age of 94.