This book is really not a serenade to the B-17 nor an account of the authors’ missions so much as it is an expression of the author’s philosophy of politics and economics. If you are looking for a book purely on the military aspects of flying with the 8th Air Force in the latter part of World War II this is not the book you’re looking for. Similarly, if you’re looking for a book on politics and economics from the standpoint of the war years this not the book. It does, however, hang together well enough to be a fairly quick read. ( )

After completing a tour of duty (thirty-five missions) in B-17s, Bert Stiles transferred to a fighter squadron. Just four months later he was killed in action on an escort mission to Hanover, Germany, on November 26, 1944. Stiles' book was written in the period between his two tours. Serenade to the Big Bird portrays the tragedy of war, and specifically the loss to the world of a fine, sensitive, talented writer who had only a short time to prove his merit. He died at twenty-three.

Bert Stiles (1920-1944) was an American author of short stories who was killed in action during World War II while serving as a fighter pilot in the US Army Air Forces.His mother commemorated his memory by having his book published in 1947 in England (Lindsay Drummond Ltd.), with its first U.S. publication in 1952 (W.W. Norton & Company). Entitled Serenade to the Big Bird, the book achieved cult status among aviation enthusiasts for its honest depictions of bomber combat and also won favorable literary reviews for its spare, Hemingway-style prose and its anti-war sensitivity. ( )

Stiles was a young man going to college in Colorado and not going anywhere fast. He decided to join the Army Air Force and ended up as a co-pilot on B-17's flying over Occupied Europe. He kept a diary and he wrote this book after he flew 35 missions. Instead of going home on leave as he was entitled, he asked to be assigned to fighters and was. He was shot down in November, 1944 and killed.

In this memoir he describes missions but he also describes life in England for an American soldier. In his case, he loved England and describes his many trips into the countryside.

He did not appear to have a good relationship with his first plane commander who constantly criticized him in flight. His second pilot seemed to mesh with Stiles and they had a close successful relationship in the air for Stiles last 12 missions. This is a different description of air combat by a very sensitive individual who vividly describes the green fields of England or Germany as he flies over them. He did fly missions on D-Day and clearly describes his view of the armada of ships in the Channel and the bombing of bridges. etc. behind German lines. ( )

One of the best aerial combat memoirs of World War II. ( )