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Author Topic:   Hell Hawks (Tom Jones/Robert Dorr)
ColinBurgess
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Posts: 2031
From: Sydney, Australia
Registered: Sep 2003

posted 01-22-2008 04:22 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for ColinBurgess   Click Here to Email ColinBurgess     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Former astronaut and now author Tom Jones has teamed up with well-known military historian Robert Dorr to write Hell Hawks: The Untold Story of the American Fliers Who Savaged Hitler's Wehrmacht. (It's the story of the men and machines of the 365th Fighter Group). This hardcover book will be released by Zenith Press this June.

FFrench
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Posts: 3161
From: San Diego
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 01-28-2008 02:29 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for FFrench     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Book description and image courtesy of Tom Jones:

The War No One Told You About

Veteran aviation author Robert F. Dorr and astronaut and pilot Thomas D. Jones have produced Hell Hawks!, a riveting account of the gritty and unheralded war fought by the young Thunderbolt pilots of the Ninth Air Force. Hell Hawks! is the untold story of an aerial band of brothers, long overlooked by military historians of WWII in Europe. Their narrative follows the 365th Fighter Group, the Hell Hawks, from combat in England supporting the D-Day invasion, across the Channel to France for close air support missions flown from a Norman apple orchard, to tank-busting sorties in the flak-filled skies over the Bulge, to the final defeat of the Wehrmacht in the spring of 1945. Through dozens of interviews, the authors let the voices of pilots and ground crewmen tell what it was like to fly daily into the teeth of Luftwaffe fighters and Wehrmacht flak to help win the victory in Europe.

Jones and Dorr's research has forged close relationships with many pilots and ground crewmen of the 365th Fighter Group, who in their book represent the 17 other Ninth Air Force fighter-bomber outfits. From talks with these veterans, the authors have collected dozens of unpublished photos of the 365th Fighter Group's daily operations. Publication of Hell Hawks! by Zenith Press is slated for April 2008.

FFrench
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Posts: 3161
From: San Diego
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 08-27-2008 01:46 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for FFrench     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I see that the National Air & Space Museum's events page is now listing a large number of book signing opportunities with Robert Dorr, the co-author of this book, at both the NASM's downtown location and at Udvar-Hazy.

It looks like he is signing on August 30 & 31, plus September 7, 13, 14, 20, 21, 27 & 28.

Tom Jones tells me that the copies Dorr is signing will have already been pre-signed by him, so (assuming supplies last) this should be a great opportunity to get a copy signed by both authors!

astroborg
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Posts: 200
From: Woodbridge, VA, USA
Registered: Nov 2000

posted 10-14-2008 12:30 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for astroborg   Click Here to Email astroborg     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I just met Mr. Dorr, and picked up a "dually" signed book at Udvar-Hazy yesterday. Looks like a great birthday gift for myself (today, Oct 14)!

Thanks to you fellow forum posters for the heads up on this book!

FFrench
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Posts: 3161
From: San Diego
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 11-20-2008 01:54 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for FFrench     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Jones had the book for sale at the ASF show at the Cape, and here's a photo of him with a copy.

fabfivefreddy
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Posts: 1067
From: Leawood, Kansas USA
Registered: Oct 2003

posted 12-28-2008 11:31 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for fabfivefreddy   Click Here to Email fabfivefreddy     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I also met Robert Dorr at the Udvar-Hazy museum. I really enjoyed this articulate and intelligent man. Hell Hawks is a great book for anyone that likes stories like "Band of Brothers" by Ambrose.

I also like his book entitled "Air Force One." It is an impressive coffee table book.

FFrench
Member

Posts: 3161
From: San Diego
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 12-28-2008 01:32 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for FFrench     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I see that there are another series of signing dates for Dorr at NASM listed on their online calendar. Not sure if these copies are pre-signed by Jones as before, but hopefully so.

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 42981
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 12-13-2010 10:43 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
A message from Bob Dorr [via Francis French]:
With the Holiday season approaching, our book "Hell Hawks!" -- about a P-47 Thunderbolt fighter group in World War II -- is a perfect gift for a history buff.

I'm asking friends help with a challenging goal -- to keep the hardbound edition of "Hell Hawks!" in print. We're at a critical juncture in its printing history. Even a few additional sales can tip the balance toward a further printing. Your support means a lot.

Our standard message about the book is below. Would you please consider sending this message to your friends who might be interested?


"HELL HAWKS" is our Stephen Ambrose-style history of a World War II "band of brothers with planes." In their words, P-47 Thunderbolt pilots and ground crewmen describe the war nobody told you about, fought at the front lines on the European continent during the winter of 1944-45.

The book is a great piece of Air Force history and a great gift for a World War II history buff. It's suitable for young readers. It's widely recognized as the best book about the P-47.

We have a chapter about fighting the German jets. A chapter compares the P-47 to the Messerschmitt 109 and Focke-Wulf 190. But it's the ground war that makes this such a great air story: Our guys went ashore at Normandy and fought across Europe into the Battle of the Bulge.

Co-author Thomas D. Jones (Tom) and I spent five years researching and interviewing 171 of these ordinary men who became heroes. Tom is an Air Force Academy graduate and former B-52 pilot and astronaut who flew four shuttle missions. I'm an Air Force veteran, retired U. S. diplomat, and author. I write for Air Force Times, Aerospace America magazine and other publications.

"HELL HAWKS" uses never before published photos and first-hand personal accounts. You can get a personalized copy from me.

If you'd like a copy inscribed by both authors, send me a check for $31.64, for the book, an inscription from the authors, and priority mail packaging. Overseas shipping is slightly higher.

Robert F. Dorr
3411 Valewood Drive
Oakton, Virginia 22124

MCroft04
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Posts: 1634
From: Smithfield, Me, USA
Registered: Mar 2005

posted 12-13-2010 03:32 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for MCroft04   Click Here to Email MCroft04     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Hell Hawks is a wonderful book, telling the story of WWII aviation beyond the air to air combat missions that many of us are familiar with. The book gets a very strong recommendation from me (for what that's worth).

Fezman92
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Posts: 1031
From: New Jersey, USA
Registered: Mar 2010

posted 12-13-2010 04:01 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Fezman92   Click Here to Email Fezman92     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I was at the Udvar-Hazy museum the day Mr. Dorr had a signing, so I picked one up and got it personalized by him. I have to admit, he seemed to have a bit of an ego though. We talked a bit because the town they trained the P-40 pilots at (Milvile) is the town next to mine. He said he never went out to the Air Field Museum they have (which surprised me a bit. It's a nice little place. Every year they have some kind of air show.) and how he won't allow the Milvile Museum to have his book because of the lack of sales there. I haven't read all of it yet but it looks like a great book. WWII is my favorite area in history so that's why I got it.

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