This book details what was asked of young men who were thrown into combat during America's most controversal war - Vietnam. The transition of a young man's peaceful life in Iowa to facing firefights and booby traps in Vietnam is described along with the sorrow of seeing friends killed and seriously wounded in battle. The harshness of the living conditions and the intensity of combat are depicted along with the emotional impact of those experiences. It is the story of a young man who demonstrates individual courage and commitment to duty when called to serve. The author's words put you in...

Winner of 20 national book awards, SHOT DOWN is set within the framework of World War II in Europe and recounts the dramatic experiences of each member of a ten man B-17 bomber crew after their plane, piloted by the author's father, was knocked out of the sky by German fighters over the French/Belgian border on February 8,1944.

Some men died. Some were captured and became prisoners of war. Some men evaded capture and were missing in action for months before making it back to England. Their individual stories and those of the courageous Belgian people who risked their lives to help...