Greenhill Books, 2001, £ 7.50, ISBN: 1-85367-453-2, 72 pgs soft cover

Christopher Anderson returns as author to the 24th book in the GI series. The series is best when it concentrates on one topic and for a short period of time--like this book on the Air Force.

From ground crew to flight crew, generals to privates, and celebrities (Clark Gable, Bob Hope, and Marlene Dietrich) to Women's Air Corps, Anderson dissects uniform details of 104 black and white and 14 color photos. Early war crews had a mix of USAAF and RAF combat gear. As the war progressed, more uniform uniforms started to appear.

Most photos show ground scenes--only a few are taken in an aircraft. As with other books in the GI series, there's quite a bit of detail in the photo selection. Since most are on the ground, there is less excitement to the photos than in other books of the series. It's not that the details are any less detailed, but that the photos seem more static than usual. Ironically, the four pages of text were better than usual.

The Men of the Mighty Eighth is an acceptable addition to the GI series.

One-Drous Chapters: Sample Page

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Feedback from Publisher:

In MEN OF THE MIGHTY EIGHTH you comment on the fact that most photographs show ground scenes. Of course! That's the best way of showing what the people wore. You say since most are on the ground, there is less excitement to the photos than in other books of the series and I confess I don't understand this comment. All the other books in the G.I. SERIES are on the ground! I just wonder if perhaps you may have confused these books with others of the same format in our LUFTWAFFE AT WAR SERIES.

Perhaps, but to expand on the "static" nature of the photos--I meant most of them in Mighty Eighth are school class photos, i.e. two or more rows of people standing or sitting more or less at 'attention.' Not all, but most. Other photos from other GI series show more active images in the mix of combat, or just before or after--there's tension or frenzy or angst in the image that conveys not only the uniform detail, but the effects of war and the bric a brac picked up in wartime. Don't get me wrong, the GI series is an excellent series, but this particular volume didn't have the same vitality within the photos I've come to expect.--RL