MWSA Book Review

Straight And Level (Growing Up in the 40’s)

Authors:  Jack Botts

Publisher:  iUniverse

Reviewer: Bill McDonald – President of the MWSA

From High School to Flying on B-17 Over Europe – Growing up in the 40’s!

We follow author and WWII veteran Jack Botts from his high school days in North Dakota to war and back. He gets drafted shortly after graduation and eventually ends up in Europe flying B-17 missions as a radio operator. In his book “Straight And Level (Growing Up in the 40’s)” we witness a coming of age story of sorts. Readers will get to follow a young Jack Botts as he matures in combat.

The author uses old photos, edited letters home and historical facts to go along with his narrative. The combination gives the reader a full spectrum view of what it was like for those young crew members flying bombing missions over Europe. It took a certain amount of courage to get into those airplanes and fly until your 25 missions were completed. Botts doesn’t make himself out as any kind of hero in his book and actually understates at times the dangers and the fear he must have faced often completing his missions.

I think real aviation buffs will love this book. This time period in history was one of the most interesting times for all of military aviation. Having the perspective of a crewman who actually flew on these missions makes the telling of this story much fuller and more entertaining. That war changed the author, as it did to so many others of that generation; however, we can see only a glimpse of what those changes may have been in his personal accounting of those war experiences. The author effectively puts up just enough of a barrier that he denies the reader any deeper look at his emotional state during this time. But we get snap shots of his feelings from time to time and it paints us a portrait of what he must have been feeling.

You will enjoy reading this book and come to like the story teller as well. The author comes across as somebody you would love to spend time with. He tells his story and holds your attention. You come away knowing something more about the war, but more importantly about the men who fought in it. Buy this book and read it! It will not disappoint you.