I Could Never Be So Lucky Again

Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: Gen. Doolittle is an extrordinary man. This book is filled with several of his exploits from the early days of aviation to modern times. In it he recollects several amusing stories from his career as well as heart-warming stories from his family life. I strongly recommend this book to any aviation enthusiest.

Rating:
Summary: Heroes are born, generals are made.
Review: He was one of a kind.

He got in on the ground floor of aviation & rode the elevator all the way up.

He grew into a doctorate in aeronautics; he grew into military administration. He KEPT growing, for nine decades.

He had spunk, integrity, loyalty, vision. The only thing he ever lied about was his height.

Like Nestor, he wanted to share fame with his wife.

Diplomacy was not his strong point, because he was an individualist. His friends were individualists: Patton. His antogonists weren't: Eisenhower. His was a century of individualists. It was a different age, and he was right about it: He never COULD be so lucky again, not nowadays anyway.

[Paperback edition hard to read, as 8-point print disappears into binding; no offset. If you are over forty, read the hardback, if you can.]

Rating:
Summary: You Could Do Little To Belittle Doolittle
Review: I COULD NEVER BE SO LUCKY AGAIN, written when Jimmy Doolittle was in his nineties, is a thoroughly refreshing glimpse through a glass lightly at a truly rare bird, a genuine American hero.

Written in the nonrevisionist tenor of PRIDE OF THE YANKEES, Doolittle's life story is told in a straightforward style in which the man fairly leaps off the page at you to grab you in a bear hug. Jimmy Doolittle lived to be nearly one hundred, and his zest for life explains why.

Best known for leading the "30 Seconds Over Tokyo" Raid of 1942, Doolittle did so much more. A true aviation pioneer,barnstormer, inventor, and rugged individualist, he was also the holder of an engineering doctorate, literally dozens of piloting records, and was a happily married man, to boot.

There are no skeletons unearthed, and no deep critiques of the literally thousands of people who passed through Jimmy Doolittle's life, including gold miners and Presidents. This is a memoir in the best sense, not character assassination masquerading as autobiography. Sometimes silence is golden.

On the other hand, Doolittle's self-effacing, humorous brand of Self is reflected in the amusing letters he received from frioends such as Roscoe Turner and General "Georgie" Patton. His was an era of true loyalties and good old fashioned gumption.

Jimmy Doolittle was a man who loved life, and it shows.

Rating:
Summary: i highly recommend this book
Review: James H. Doolittle (Jimmy) went to school in Los Angeles where he became interested in airplanes and engines. During college he joined the Army and went to flying school. After flying school he received his pilot's license and became a stunt pilot. He than married Josephine Daniels (Joe.) Than in 1941 World War 2 broke out and President Roosevelt wants to attack the home islands of Japan. For some reason Jimmy ends up leading it. They succeeded but have to bail out over China. When he returns he gets chosen by General Eisenhower to lead the invasion of Africa. While he was in Africa the German code "Ultra" was broken, giving America the advantage over Germany. The War in Europe ends and he gets transferred to the Pacific to "end the war." Jimmy never flies a mission and the war ends with the dropping of two atomic bombs. Although the war has ended the fight begins in Washington to create a new but equally powerful service to be known as the Air Force. They also wanted there to be a Department of National Defense; this is harder due to the Navy. After the Air Force and the D.N.D. are established the Korean War breaks out and ends. After this war General Dwight Eisenhower (Ike) becomes the president of America. More happens I'm just not going to tell you the ending...
This book includes a great amount of detail and knowledge of the 2nd World War. It tells you a little to a lot about most of the battles that occurred during the war. It really shows the depth of the war.
The only part I don't think works is how the beginning takes place during the 1940's. The 2nd chapter tells about his childhood.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who's interested in World War 2, airplanes, aircraft technology, the history of Shell, or anyone who needs to read an autobiography.

Rating:
Summary: A marvelous story from a genuine American hero
Review: Jimmy Doolittle is a giant in the aviation world. Although most remember him for the Tokyo bombing raid if 1942 (see the movie Pearl Harbor for his latest incarnation), Doolittle was responsible for many of the safety measures now taken for granted by pilots in the world today in the early daus of test flying in the Army Air Corps. He left the service, did some private consulting, and when World War II loomed ahead of us, he returned to duty, rising to a position of senior leadership in the war in Europe.
Doolittle achieved great success in the air, but this book will also teach the reader about his scientific abilities, and his corporate roles played in life, as well as his influence on some major policy movements in the US Government and the military after his retirement.
For just the story on his involvement in the Tokyo Riad, this would be well worth the read. However, this book is much more than that, and very well told by a modest, gentleman warrior of a different era.

For another account of the Tokyo Raid, I would suggest Ted Lawson's Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo.