Bill Yenne

San Francisco Then and Now (Then & Now Thunder Bay)

MacArthur's Air Force

"The exploration for real and mythical treasures in the Americas"--Jacket flap.

legendary kingdoms, quixotic quests, and the search for fantastic new world wealth

Cities of gold

Aces is an illustrated history of the brave World War II fighter pilots who earned the title of ace, with archival and modern photos of their aircraft.

True Stories of Victory and Valor in the Skies of World War II

Aces

From the acclaimed author of Hit the Target and Big Week, an in-depth account of the legendary World War II combat group, the Flying Tigers. In 1940, Pearl Harbor had not yet happened, and America was not yet at war with Japan. But China had been trying to stave off Japanese aggression for three years—and was desperate for aircraft and trained combat pilots. General Chiang Kai-shek sent military aviation advisor Claire Chennault to Washington, where President Roosevelt was sympathetic, but knew he could not intervene overtly. Instead, he quietly helped Chennault put together a group of American volunteer pilots. This was how the 1st American Volunteer Group—more commonly known as the Flying Tigers—was born. With the trademark smiling shark jaws on their P-40 fighters, these Army, Navy and Marine pilots became a sensation as they fought for the Chinese. Those who initially doubted them were eventually in awe as they persevered over Rangoon despite being outnumbered 14-1 by Japanese aircraft; as they were described by Madame Chiang Kai-shek as her “little angels” and by a Chinese foreign minister as “the soundest investment China ever made”; and as they ultimately destroyed hundreds of Japanese planes while losing only a dozen of their own in combat. Two of their veterans would later earn the Medal of Honor—and as a group, the Flying Tigers managed to rack up a better record than any other air wing in the Pacific theater. When Tigers Ruled the Sky is a thrilling and triumphant account of their courage and their legacy.

The Flying Tigers: American Outlaw Pilots over China in World War II

When Tigers Ruled the Sky

The natives call it simply "the City." This is the story of the changing faceof San Francisco, and how it has become one of the most picturesque cities inthe world. Seventy modern color photographs are compared side-by-side with 70archival photographs from the 1850s to the 1950s.

San Francisco Then & Now

During World War II, most of the air forces of the nations engaged in combat had women in their ranks, but only in the Soviet Union did women fly regular, routine missions in live-fire combat. Of all the major air forces that were engaged in the war, only the Red Air Force (Voenno-Vozdushnie Sily) had units comprised specifically of women. Initially, as with other air forces, the Red Air Force maintained an all-male policy among its combat pilots. However, as the apparently invincible German juggernaut sliced through Soviet defenses during the summer of 1941, the Red Air Force began to rethink its ban on women. By October 1941, authorization was forthcoming for three ground attack regiments of women pilots. Among these women, Lidiya Vladimirovna "Lilya" Litvyak soon emerged as a rising star in the Red Air Force. She shot down five German aircraft over the bitterly contested Stalingrad front, and thus become history's first female ace. She would go on to more than double this score. She scored 12 documented victories over German aircraft, mainly fighters, between September 1942 and July 1943 during 168 combat missions. She also had many victories shared with other pilots, and a number of unconfirmed or probable victories, bringing her possible total to around 20. The fact that she was a 21-year-old female ace was not lost on the hero-hungry Soviet media, and soon this colorful character, whom the Germans dubbed "The White Rose of Stalingrad," became both folk heroine and martyr. Seventy-five years after the disappearance of Amelia Earhart, wonderment and controversy about her death persists. Both died mysteriously. Lilya disappeared on August 1, 1943. Her body was not found until 1979 and controversy persists as to whether it was really her remains. While Amelia Earhart was deliberately and continuously celebrated as a pop culture icon, after her disappearance, Lilya was a "non-person" by the Soviet Union because she was MIA. As a result, Lilya was rarely mentioned in the Soviet media and popular culture until many years later, therefore forgotten except by those who knew her. By the time that she was found and rehabilitated by Michael Gorbachev in the 1980s, so much time had passed that she remained as an obscure footnote to a war that later generations knew only in an abstract way. This exciting new book will shed new light on one of the most intriguing women of the 20th Century.

The Real-Life Adventure of Lidiya Vladimirovna Litvyak, the Highest Scoring Female Air Ace of All Time

The White Rose of Stalingrad

A remarkable collection of accounts of intrepid American aircrew shot down over enemy lines during World War II and how they got away. To be an airman in the Eighth Air Force flying over the war-torn skies of Europe required skill, tenacity, and luck. Those who were shot down and evaded capture needed all of that and more if they were to make it back to friendly lines. These are their stories. Each is compiled from the original intelligence debrief written by the pilots or aircrew themselves. Bill Yenne details how a spider web of escape routes sprang up, created by the local Résistance. Downed airmen were clothed, given false papers, and hidden so they could be smuggled back to England. These efforts were then supplemented by Allied intelligence agents. But the risks remained the same. Capture could mean death. Their accounts are sometimes funny, often heartbreaking. P-47 pilot Joel McPherson feigned appendicitis and was able to escape from the local German military hospital – after he had his appendix removed. He spent weeks operating as a getaway driver for a Maquis bank robber gang before making it into neutral Spain. Bomber crewmen Fred Hartung and Norman Therrien found refuge at a French château, but later nearly froze to death crossing the icy Pyrenees with the Gestapo on their trail. The accounts of these men and others from the Mighty Eighth make this a story of defiance, foolhardiness, and bravery against the odds.

Mighty Eighth Airmen on the Run in Occupied Europe

The Ones Who Got Away

As the sun sets over the great cities of Europe, the strange and mysterious gargoyles come into their hour. They sit as they have since the Middle Ages, peering down anonymously at the sleeping European cities. Art historian John Stocking once said that a Northern Gothic cathedral is like a cave -- rich in stalagmites and stalactites -- turned inside out. Gothic Gargoyles examines the little-known and little-understood creatures that inhabit those caves turned inside out, as well as the anonymous craftsmen who created them. Gothic Gargoyles is the ultimate book of gargoyles -- the largest full-color collection of gargoyle images ever published. It is filled with 200 original photographs of Medieval gargoyles from throughout Europe, including Notre Dame in Paris and London's Westminster Hall, as well as cathedrals and public buildings in cities such as Rouen, Chartres, Brussels, Brugge, Mons, Cologne, and 's Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands, where Hieronymus Bosch was inspired by -- and possibly lent a hand to -- the gargoyle sculptors. This volume also includes important nineteenth-century Gothic Revival gargoyles perched on buildings in Europe, and in United States cities from New York to San Francisco.

Gothic Gargoyles

Curtis E. LeMay

The Story of the B-29 and American Air Power

Superfortress

The Legend of Zorro

America's Few delves into the history of US Marine Corps aviation in World War II, following the feats of the Corps' top-scoring aces in the skies over Guadalcanal. Marine Corps aviation began in 1915, functioning as a self-contained expeditionary force. During the interwar period, the support of USMC amphibious operations became a key element of Marine aviation doctrine, and the small force gradually grew. But in December 1941 came the rude awakening. Within hours of Pearl Harbor, heroic Marine aviators were battling the Japanese over Wake Island. In the South Pacific, the aviators of the US Marine Corps came out of the shadows to establish themselves as an air force second to none. In the summer of 1942, when Allied airpower was cobbled together into a single unified entity – nicknamed 'the Cactus Air Force' – Marine Aviation dominated, and a Marine, Major General Roy Geiger, was its commander. Of the twelve Allied fighter squadrons that were part of the Cactus Air Force, eight were USMC squadrons. It was over Guadalcanal that Joe Foss emerged as a symbol of Marine aviation. As commander of VMF-121, he organized a group of fighter pilots that downed 72 enemy aircraft; Foss himself reached a score of 26. Pappy Boyington, meanwhile, had become a Marine aviator in 1935. Best known as the commander of VMF-214, he came into his own in late 1943 and eventually matched Foss's aerial victory score. Through the parallel stories of these two top-scoring fighter aces, as well as many other Marine aces, such as Ken Walsh (21 victories), Don Aldrich (20), John L. Smith (19), Wilbur Thomas (18.5), and Marion Carl (18.5), many of whom received the Medal of Honor, acclaimed aviation historian Bill Yenne examines the development of US Marine Corps aviation in the South Pacific.

Marine Aces of the South Pacific

America's Few

Thomas Nelson Publishers

A simple retelling of the Bible story in which David receives a special blessing from the prophet Samuel and then receives permission from King Saul to face the giant Goliath.

David and Goliath

The Atlas of the Solar System

A perfectly poured history of the world's greatest beer. "Joseph Conrad was wrong. The real journey into the Heart of Darkness is recounted within the pages of Bill Yenne's fine book. Guinness (the beer) is a touchstone for brewers and beer lovers the world over. Guinness (the book) gives beer enthusiasts all the information and education necessary to take beer culture out of the clutches of light lagers and back into the dark ages. Cheers!" -Sam Calagione, owner, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery and author of Brewing Up a Business, Extreme Brewing, and Beer or Wine? "Marvelous! As Bill Yenne embarks on his epic quest for the perfect pint, he takes us along on a magical tour into the depths of all things Guinness. Interweaving the tales of the world's greatest beer and the nation that spawned it, Yenne introduces us to a cast of characters worthy of a dozen novels, a brewery literally dripping with history, and-of course-the one-and-only way to properly pour a pint. You can taste the stout porter on every page." -Dan Roam, author of The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures

The 250 Year Quest for the Perfect Pint

Guinness

The German blitzkrieg stunned the world in 1939-1940, and so too did the Japanese "blitzkrieg" of 1941-1942 in the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaya, and Burma. However, the remarkable Japanese land offensive involving operations of equivalent scope and complexity has received only a fraction of the attention. This is the story of that campaign. One of the few histories that tells the story of the Pacific War from the Japanese side, this is the long-awaited overview of the years when the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) was conducting its seemingly unstoppable ground campaign in the Far East. It includes extensive background and biographical information on Japanese commanders, including Homma and Yamashita. In just eight weeks following December 7, 1941, the IJA pushed the Americans out of the Philippines, and defeated the British to captured Manila, Hong Kong, the Malay Peninsula, and the great bastion at Singapore--called the "Gibraltar of the East." They also forced the capitulation and occupation of Siam and the occupation of Burma. A month later, the Japanese had added the Netherlands East Indies, with an area and depth of natural resources more than twice that of Japan, to their trophy case. In The Imperial Japanese Army, author Bill Yenne recounts how the IJA faced and surmounted technical challenges that the Wehrmacht did not have--transportation. Whereas most of the German conquests were reachable by highways or rail lines, all of the IJA operations required ship transport, and most required amphibious landings. For example, in the Malay Peninsula campaign, the IJA famously used bicycles for the drive on Singapore. Unlike most histories of the Pacific War that focus on the Allied experience, The Imperial Japanese Army examines the year of victory from the Japanese perspective, when the mighty Japanese naval and ground forces swept all before them both throughout the Pacific and on mainland Asia.

The Invincible Years 1941–42

The Imperial Japanese Army

General Henry Harley “Hap” Arnold is widely considered the father of the United States Air Force. But his long list of accomplishments doesn’t begin or end there. He was also the first and only five-star general of the US Air Force; one of the first US military aviators; the first American to carry air mail; and the architect of the war-winning air strategy of World War II. In this new biography of one of the American military’s most towering figures, author Bill Yenne weaves the story of Hap Arnold’s life, from his youthful days as a cunning prankster to his sunset career as an elder statesman. All along, Yenne unfolds General Arnold’s life like the adventure story it is. A bold advocate for technological advancement, Hap Arnold was a powerful character in the golden age of aviation, an innovative warrior in the conflict that defined the modern era, and the creator of an entirely new branch of the US military. Hap Arnold: The General Who Invented the US Air Force is a page-turning adventure biography for history buffs, aviation enthusiasts, and anyone interested in the events that shaped America and the world in the first half of the twentieth century.

The General Who Invented the US Air Force

Hap Arnold

General Henry Harley "Hap" Arnold is widely considered the father of the United States Air Force. But his long list of accomplishments doesn't begin or end there. He was also the first and only five-star general of the US Air Force; one of the first US military aviators; the first American to carry air mail; and the architect of the war-winning air strategy of World War II. In this new biography of one of the American military’s most towering figures, author Bill Yenne weaves the story of Hap Arnold's life, from his youthful days as a cunning prankster to his sunset career as an elder statesman. All along, Yenne unfolds General Arnold's life like the adventure story it is. A bold advocate for technological advancement, Hap Arnold was a powerful character in the golden age of aviation, an innovative warrior in the conflict that defined the modern era, and the creator of an entirely new branch of the US military. Hap Arnold: The General Who Invented the US Air Force is a page-turning adventure biography for history buffs, aviation enthusiasts, and anyone interested in the events that shaped America and the world in the first half of the twentieth century.

Inventing the Air Force

General Henry Harley “Hap” Arnold is widely considered the father of the United States Air Force. But his long list of accomplishments doesn’t begin or end there. He was also the first and only five-star general of the US Air Force; one of the first US military aviators; the first American to carry air mail; and the architect of the war-winning air strategy of World War II.

For half a millennium, stories of vast treasures-- El Dorado, Manoa, the Seven Cities of Cibola, the Lost Dutchman Mine--have been part of the lore of the Americas. In Cities of Gold: Legendary Kingdoms, Quixotic Quests, and Fantastic New World Wealth, Bill Yenne takes the reader from the rainforests and mountains of Peru, Paraguay, Brazil, and Guiana to the deserts and peaks of Mexico and the United States to tell the extraordinary, and often brutal story of how the search for mysterious New World riches fueled the exploration of an unknown hemisphere for hundreds of years.

Bill Yenne

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