| Front Cover |
Book Details |
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| Genre |
Non-Fiction |
| Subject |
Fighter pilots - United States - Biography; United States. Army Air Forces - Biography; World War, 1939-1945 - Aerial operations, American; World War, 1939-1945 - Campaigns - Western Front; World War, 1939-1945 - Personal narratives, American; Zemke, Hub, 1914- |
| Publication Date |
1988 |
| Format |
Hardcover |
| Publisher |
Orion |
| Extras |
Dust Jacket; Dust Jacket Cover |
|
| Personal Details |
| Store |
AbeBooks |
| Purchase Price |
$13.95 |
| Acquire Date |
3/31/2018 |
| Condition |
Very Good/Very Good |
| Rating |
0 |
| Links |
Library of Congress
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|
| Product Details |
| LoC Classification |
D790 .Z44 1989 |
| Dewey |
940.54/4973 |
| ISBN |
051757330X |
| Edition |
Book Club Edition |
| No. of Pages |
243 |
| First Edition |
No |
| Rare |
No |
|
| Notes/Review |
On the wall over my desk is a lithograph called "The Hunter Becomes the Hunted" by William S. Phillips. It depicts four B-17s, a Focke-Wulf 190 in pursuit, and in the foreground a P-47 zeroing in on the FW 190. It is signed by a B-17 pilot, B-17 top turret gunner, a FW-190 pilot, and a P-47 pilot. That P-47 pilot is Hub Zemke. The information card for the picture tells me that it depicts action on March 6, 1944, a large raid on Berlin, and that the signatories all participated in that action. Reading this book I realize that the P-47 depicted is that of Zemke.
This book, Zemke's Wolf Pack, is the first of two books about Zemke's exploits in WWII. The second book is Zemke's Stalag. That gives the reader a clue as to how this one ends. Of course, the story isn't so much about the destination as the journey.
Here on Goodreads the author is listed as Zemke but the book is (both books, in fact) written by Roger Freeman. Actually, on the cover it says "as told to Roger A. Freeman". That's a pretty apt description. For most of the book it's as if Zemke is talking to the reader, telling us his story. Freeman occasionally interjects a few paragraphs to provide some background or short anecdotes of some of the other characters in the story. In the last couple chapters the tone changes noticeably from "I did this" to "this was done".
When I bought the lithograph I had the impression that the men who signed it were "just" average Joes who took part in far from average events. Reading Zemke's story it's clear to me that "average Joe" is not a very good description of Hub Zemke. |
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