Edward Jablonski Knihy

When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the Army Air Forces had only 1,100 combat-ready planes. No one could have imagined then that within the next four years the AAF would become the mighty weapon commemorated in the paintings reproduced on the following pages, or that it would have to scope to engage in what its commander, General Henry H. "Hap" Arnold, described as a "global mission." Nevertheless, by 1944 the AAF had grown into 16 separate air forces stationed around the world, and its 1,100 planes had grown to nearly 80,000.

Text and photographs give some attention to the home front and to the high military commanders behind the lines but concentrate on the soldier on the front lines

Combines a basic history of World War II with more than four hundred captioned photographs, and features charts, maps, and a wealth of specific facts.

Enriched with excerpts and insights from personal correspondence and interviews--plus lively anecdotes and rare, never-before-published photographs--this fascinating portrait brings us closer to the real persona of George Gershwin than ever before. 81 black-and-white photographs.