I was well aware of Jimmy Stewart's military record when I set out to read this book. I was, however, anxious to learn a bit more about Stewart's combat exploits during World War II. In that regard, this book was somewhat disappointing. Rather than let us get inside Stewart's heart and mind and sense what he experienced, it appears to chronicle Stewart's time in service, letting us know where, when, and in what capacities he served; what a great guy he was, how dedicated and successful he was, and when and to what ranks he was promoted; and, in general, what many of those who served with him thought of him, but it never gets down to the nitty-gritty of what he actually did at a personal level. The reader, it would seem, is always looking from the outside in.
I was also disappointed by the fact that much of the book isn't even about Jimmy Stewart. Stewart seems to be a thread running through a broader story about World War II in Europe and, more specifically, the air war as fought by our B-24 Liberator bomb groups. I say that because more often than not the author deviates from his presumed subject, Stewart, and goes off on a tangent (e.g., Eisenhower's appointment, George C. Marshall, one officer or another, the Louisiana Maneuvers of 1940, manufacturing B-24 bombers, the Wright crew, Churchill and Roosevelt at Casablanca, and various reminiscences of one person or another). Perhaps I'm being too critical, but I would estimate that only about 30% of the book actually deals directly with Jimmy Stewart while the remainder concerns other topics. And much of the 30% is a bit repetitive.
All that said, this is still an interesting history of the air war in Europe, much of it in the words of men who actually served with Jimmy Stewart. From that standpoint, it is well worth reading. After doing so, the reader will know where Stewart served, in what capacities, how many missions he flew, when he was promoted, what people thought of him, what medals and commendations he won, and where the Brigadier General James Maitland Stewart museum is located, but he or she probably won't have a real sense of the man, himself. But, maybe only Jimmy Stewart could have told that side of the story, and he was much too unpretentious a man to ever do so. Jimmy Stewart: Bomber Pilot
This book is almost a love letter to Jimmy Stewart. And it may well be that the love is justified in this case. The mild "aw shucks" demeanor of an honest, average middle class individual thrust into crisis seen so often on the screen is reported here over and over by people who knew him during WW II. It's clear that he was no dummy, graduate of Princeton.
This book though is on his wartime career. Entering the Army early in 1941 (and seeing his salary drop from $6,000 a month to $21) he was by the end of the war a seasoned bomber pilot with 20 missions behind him, including a visit to Berlin.
In part this book has to concentrate on the differences a movie star has to see (the Army didn't want him killed), but most of it is on the way Jimmy Stewart handled himself in the War. It's a view of the war seen in movies like 12 O'Clock high, but this one is a personal view as seen by one man. If even half of what the book says is true, Jimmy Stewart clearly deserved his decorations.
Smith does a nice job recounting the days the Jimmy Stewart spent in the military during WWII. I found it very detailed oriented and less filled with anecdotes than I would have thought all these years removed from WWII. I knew a bit about Stewart's involvement in the Army Air Corps, which became the Air Force, but this book really filled in the details of his time during the war. Guys like Jimmy Stewart are a far cry from the phonies like Alec Baldwin who threaten to go back to Canada but wind up sticking around the USA to sap of of our money with second rate films.
I think you will be amazed to find out all that Stewart had to do in order to become the hero he was. He was not drafted as a previous review claims, rather he inlisted against the will of the studio. He also had to endure undesired special treatment because no one wanted to put him in harms way. Eventually his desire to train for and see active duty prevailed and some forty odd years later this film star retired as Gen. Stewart, donating all of his retirement money back to the Air Force.
This is a great book about an American hero. Like many of his day, Glen Miller, Ronald Reagan. Stewart did not wait he willingly enlisted!
Jimmy Stewart was in the Air Force. I knew that; it's not a big secret. He was a general; again, I knew that, it's not a secret either. But he served in combat, at a time when he didn't have to, and was something of a hero. *That* was news to me, and frankly I'm somewhat surprised at how far into the warzone he got, and what he was able to do once he got there.
Stewart led 20 missions over Germany and occupied Europe during World War II, and flew one during the early days of the Viet Nam War, also (truly a surprise to me). He was apparently regarded by the other officers and men of the various outfits he served with as intelligent, brave, and very cool under fire, in addition to being more than a bit lucky. You'd think this last would make people jealous, but in a war, the reaction instead is to try and get next to the lucky guy, be on his plane or in his orbit: if he's lucky, if you're next to him maybe you will be too.
Unfortunately Starr Smith's book doesn't really measure up to Stewart's career. The author conducted a few interviews, but only a few, and sprinkled the story with his own recollections of Stewart. The two served together in England for a while: Stewart was Operations Officer of a Bomber Wing, and Smith was the Intellgence Officer. There is not much in the book about the actual missions he flew or anything like that: the mission to Berlin (probably his most dangerous) is described in perhaps a page. Since the author apparently realizes that this will leave readers thinking the book a bit thin, there's a lot of padding. One completely extraneous portion is a chapter on Dwight Eisenhower in Louisiana, which has almost nothing to do with the rest of the story. The last fifty or sixty pages of the book is a mishmash of recollections, appendices, short bios of people Stewart knew, and letters the author received about Stewart. Much of it repeats what's already in the text.
The book does have the virtue of having 64 photographs in it. I guess Stewart was shy, but couldn't prevent people from taking his photo. While the book overall does perform a useful service in informing people as to Jimmy Stewart's combat record during World War II, it also isn't that readable or interesting.'
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