The Tuskegee Airmen, An Illustrated History: 1939-1949

The Tuskegee Airmen, An Illustrated History: 1939-1949

I enjoyed reading "The Tuskegee Airmen, An Illustrated History: 1939-1949." The photos of the "Red Tails" are wonderful, and thus the book does an excellent job of showing what daily life was like for them as they trained. It shows the Tuskeegee pilots in front of their airplanes, with their girlfriends, on base and everywhere else to bring them to life as individuals. The debunked myths were interesting. "The Tuskegee Airmen, An Illustrated History: 1939-1949" is more about their experience in the US than about their combat experience. However, there is some of that too toward the back of the book in the chronology of the Tuskeegee Airmen. Here is the press release:

The Tuskegee Airmen, An Illustrated History: 1939-1949

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE—OCTOBER 2011
For information, contact Suzanne La Rosa / suzanne@newsouthbooks.com
New book on Tuskegee Airmen uniquely features photos never published before, chronology of missions flown and Airmen roster, and debunks “never lost a bomber” myth

“By examining in detail the orders, mission reports, citations, and official pronouncements related to the Tuskegee Airmen, the authors have presented a real-life history of this remarkable episode in military and social history.“ — Roscoe Brown, Jr., Captain, USAAF, 100th Fighter Squadron, 332nd Fighter Group Montgomery, Ala.—NewSouth Books is pleased to announce publication of The Tuskegee Airmen, An Illustrated History: 1939-1949, a comprehensive account of this pioneering group of African American pilots with several special features.

Many documentaries, articles, museum exhibits, books, and movies have treated the subject of the Tuskegee Airmen, the only black American military pilots in World War II. Most of these works have focused on their training and their subsequent accomplishments during combat. This publication goes further, using captioned photographs — many never published before — to trace the Airmen through the various stages of training, deployment, and combat.

Hundreds of images also chronicle the critical support roles of non-flyers: doctors, nurses, mechanics, navigators, weathermen, parachute riggers, and other ground support personnel, all of whom contributed to the Airmen’s success.

An important feature of this book is a chronology detailing missions flown. The facts presented here debunk some of the myths and inaccuracies that have developed around the legend of Airmen, including the notion that the 332nd Fighter Group never lost a bomber to enemy aircraft. A complete roster of the pilots is also included.

In words and pictures, this volume makes vivid the story of the Tuskegee Airmen and the environments in which they lived, worked, played, fought, and sometimes died.
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Authors Joseph Caver and Jerome Ennels are archivists and Daniel Haulman is a historian with the Air Force Historical Research Agency at Maxwell AFB, Montgomery, Alabama, the primary repository for Air Force historical documents.
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The Tuskegee Airmen, An Illustrated History: 1939-1949 is available through your favorite bookstore or online book retailer or from NewSouth Books, 334-834-3556; www.newsouthbooks.com/tuskegeeairmen. 978-1-58838-244-3. Trade cloth, 232 pages, $27.95.