| Edition |
First edition. |
| Description |
421 pages : illustrations, map ; 22 cm |
|
text txt rdacontent |
|
unmediated n rdamedia |
|
volume nc rdacarrier |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 378-421). |
| Contents |
Introduction -- Map -- Flying fortress diagram -- 1. The secret story -- 2. Fibbing flyboy -- 3. Gunner Gene -- 4. Closer than brothers -- 5. "It's just a job." -- A thousand ways to die -- 7. Bremen -- 8. Gangster -- 9. Celebrity -- 10. The telegram -- 11. Solitary -- 12. Kriegie -- 13. The bowels of hell -- 14. Dreams of roast duck -- 15. Death march -- 16. Liberation -- 17. Homecoming -- 18. The family's war -- 19. The toughest to ever draw breath -- 20. A place in a woods -- Epilogue -- Photos -- Acknowledgments. |
| Summary |
"World War II tail gunner Gene Moran fell four miles through the sky without a parachute and lived. Captured by the Germans, he survived a harrowing eighteen months as a prisoner of war, including a six-hundred-mile death march in 1945 across Central Europe. When Gene returned home, he kept those memories locked up for nearly seventy years. His nine children knew little of their dad's war story. But when John, a young history teacher, learns of Gene's amazing fall, he's desperate to learn more. Finally, Gene agrees. So begins a series of "Thursdays with Gene" interviews. Gene, nearing his ninetieth birthday, recounts incredible tales. But John has no idea what wounds he's reopening. Gene's nightmares and grief return. But both men persevere, bonded by their close and growing friendship. As the interviews go on, John faces an ordeal of his own. His wife is fighting brain cancer. What will happen to his wife and his two young children? John must continue uncovering Gene's story of survival as he himself confronts the greatest trial of his life. Tailspin is more than a war story. It's a story of two men's separate journeys confronting trauma and loss. It's a story of resilience and hope"-- Provided by publisher. |
| Subject |
Moran, Eugene P.
|
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World War, 1939-1945.
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World War, 1939-1945 -- Aerial operations, American.
|
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United States -- Armed Forces -- Aerial gunners -- Biography.
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World War, 1939-1945 -- Prisoners and prisons, German.
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World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, American.
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| Genre |
Biographies.
|
| ISBN |
9781645383147 (paperback) : $17.99 |
|
1645383148 (paperback) |
|
9781645383154 (hardcover) |
|
1645383156 (hardcover) |
|
