Novel composed of linked short stories, set in New Guinea during WWII -- also in Brisbane during the pilots' R&Rs. The author was himself a bomber pilot -- a couple of the stories concern bombers -- but most of the stories are about flying P-38 fighters. --
During World War II, James Spencer was a cocky, risk-addicted young pilot who lived with death every day-but considered it a privilege to fly the B-24s that helped win the war in the Pacific. The extraordinary result is The Pilots, a novel-in-stories about young flyers locked in almost-daily aerial combat, living their off-hours as if they were their last-and the women who endure the pain of attachment to men whose life expectancies may be measured in weeks and days.

Alive with the horrors of war and the sheer exhilaration of those who live, breathe and dream of flying, The Pilots introduces us to bomber pilot Blake Hurlingame and his boyhood friend, fighter ace Steve Larkin, who is captured by a strange, savage tribe that may trade him to the Japanese-or use him as food; Doc, whose concern for his men is unhinging his sanity; Courtney, the arrogant, reckless captain with inner demons behind his movie-star good looks; and heartbreaking Addie-who will leave her mark on them all..