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The Wrong Stuff: The Adventures and Misadventures of an 8th Air Force Aviator
 
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The Wrong Stuff: The Adventures and Misadventures of an 8th Air Force Aviator (Paperback)

by T. Smith (Author)
4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
Price: £14.50 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Product details

  • Paperback: 358 pages
  • Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press (31 Dec 2002)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0806134224
  • ISBN-13: 978-0806134222
  • Product Dimensions: 22.6 x 15 x 2.3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 640,048 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

From the Author

"I'D NEVER HAD A HUNDRED WOMEN BEFORE"
It was at the breakfast for a hundred wives of the 385th Bomb Group Memorial Association in Tucson, Arizona, and I was the guest speaker to talk about my book "THE WRONG STUFF". I felt intimidated and also apprehensive about saying the wrong thing. After all, my specialty was "THE WRONG STUFF". And sure enough --- The first thing I heard myself saying seemed to come out wrong.

I started with, "I've never had a hundred women before."

The response from the ladies was titillation: The state of being tickled.

Surprised at first by their response, I realized that it wasn't all bad to have tickled so many women at one time.

Women. I say, "Women (?)", with emphasis on the question mark, because I'm into my seventies and I still haven't figured them out. Yet, they have (surprisingly to me) expressed appreciation for "THE WRONG STUFF".

As a result, I usually suggest to the "girls" to give "THE WRONG STUFF" to their husband or boyfriend as a gift. And that morning in Tucson, I was pleased that they bought all copies available from the bookstore --- and I still haven't figured it out.

Why would women be interested in an autobiography of a twenty-year-old B-17 pilot flying combat in Europe during World War Two?

I'm not talking about just the wives of the guys who were involved in the greatest air war in history, but younger women who were not yet born.

There is a seventeen year old girl in England, who's been in contact with me, who knows more about the adventures and MIS-adventures of those in the Eighth Air Force than I do... Oh, to B-17 again.

What makes it so puzzling is having been told up front by a female agent in New York City, that, "Nobody is interested in what happened back then." Really? What about "Saving Private Ryan", "Citizen Soldiers" and "The Greatest Generation"?

Now, "THE WRONG STUFF" didn't make the New York Times Best Seller List. Not their fault. As far as I know, they were never asked to read it. The same with Publishers Weekly.

However, I also know that "THE WRONG STUFF" was the Best Seller at Brace Books in my hometown in Ponca City, Oklahoma.

Big deal? For me, yes, because my publisher couldn't have handled a national Best Seller at the time. But it was interesting to note, that none of the national Best Sellers even made the Top Ten at my bookstore. Hmmmm?

But thank God for Amazon. com . "THE WRONG STUFF" has been consistently among the top one-half-of-one-percent of the three million books available from Amazon. So get your copy, read it and see if you don't agree that it's a FIVE STAR (PLUS).

CAUTION: You might find a bit of the language shocking. But to put you into the cockpit and let you know what it was really like, I had to tell it like it really was.

Truman J. Smith --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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The Wrong Stuff: The Adventures and Misadventures of an 8th Air Force Aviator
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The Wrong Stuff: The Adventures and Misadventures of an 8th Air Force Aviator 4.7 out of 5 stars (12)
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Customer Reviews

12 Reviews
5 star:
 (10)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.7 out of 5 stars (12 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A human story of leaving boyhood to manhood thru war, 16 April 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: The Wrong Stuff!: The Adventures and Misadventures of an 8th Air Force Aviator (Paperback)
I would to thank Truman Smith and every american who has laid down their life or put their life on the line for the rest of us,and for the sake of freedom in any war.If you never got the chance to ask your father,uncle,brother,etc.. about WWII or about being in combat than this book is a must read.Truman Smith or "smitty" takes you to 27,000 feet and you'll swear you can feel the cold.You will also feel the darkness surround you in the middle of a blackout,but most of all you will know whats it's like to become a man in the middle of a war
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Journalistic-literature to the power of 10., 15 Dec 1997
By A Customer
This review is from: The Wrong Stuff!: The Adventures and Misadventures of an 8th Air Force Aviator (Paperback)
"The Wrong Stuff" is journalistic-literature to the power of 10, It is the definitive documentary of aerial combat, because, as if by magic, Truman J. Smith somehow is able to take the reader with him to share the internal and external struggles of trying to survive in an environment that is extremely hostile. His exceptional sense of humor adds to the pleasure of reading "The Wrong Stuff". I base this judgement from my personal experiences in two wars and as a Professor of Journalism and Mass Communications. Charles Nedwin Hockman, Lt. Colonel, USAF, Retired
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1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars No ghost-writers in the sky, 24 Mar 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: The Wrong Stuff!: The Adventures and Misadventures of an 8th Air Force Aviator (Paperback)
"Smitty" Smith might tell good aviator stories but he simply cannot write a book. The style is simplistic rather than simple and it is not enough story to fill 340 pages. His experience is interesting but the general strategic pictures he gives are simply not according to history. And he repeats himself unbearably - we know pretty soon that "flak is so impersonal" and that pilots' billets are worse than those of American criminal prisoners - it is possible to understand this the first time it is mentioned. So aren't there any people at Southern Heritage Press who write these stories over - or at least work out the many typing errors (did he just dictate it - eg "I sang allowed" rather than aloud/ p 107)? Also, I am no fan of every word or part of sentence, which would be stressed in talking, being set in capital letters- I think everybody can follow this text without being helped in this way. Therefore, 200 pages would have been way enough (I do not need all of his 35 missions including all he has nothing to teel about).
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Definately NOT the wrong stuff
I read the book in a few days having read other accounts by British and German air combatants from the period. Truman was faithful to his book and it reads well. Read more
Published on 6 Jan 2006 by D.Hatcher

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent account of what it was truly like to be there
I read this book, finally, in mid-September, and I am very glad I did. As an historian of the subject (B-17s), this is a very moving, touching account of something which is all... Read more
Published on 19 Oct 1999

4.0 out of 5 stars I liked this book without meaning to.
I bought this book because it has a chapter ("Jake") dedicated to my great uncle Jake who grew up and still lives in Smitty's hometown, Ponca City, Oklahoma. Read more
Published on 24 May 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Read - Hard to Put Down Once You Start.
The title was a worry when I ordered it but on the strength of the readers' comments, I pressed on. I am glad I did. Read more
Published on 10 May 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars Must read for WW2 aviation buffs
Truman Smith did more than just tell a story, he was able to relay the raw emotions of a combat pilot of WW2. Read more
Published on 18 April 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars Cover to cover in one sitting!
This is one of the best books on what it was like to fly combat in a B-17 I've ever read. 'Smitty' tells it like it was in an entertaining and enthralling way. Truly a must read.
Published on 26 Mar 1998

5.0 out of 5 stars "The Wrong Stuff" is definetely "The Right Stuff"
"As a publisher of aviation art I have to extensivelyresearch my subjects which means reading almost every book on WW2 that is available. Some good and some not so good. Read more
Published on 16 Dec 1997

5.0 out of 5 stars I thought this would be a mans book. Wrong!
Back in '44 I married a young Lieutenant very much like the guy in The Wrong Stuff. At the time he was in B-17 Combat crew training. Read more
Published on 12 Dec 1997

5.0 out of 5 stars "The Wrong Stuff" is one of the best books I have ever read
I enjoyed "The Wrong Stuff" immensely! I rank it among the best I have ever read, and I read a lot. Read more
Published on 8 Dec 1997

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