Publisher's Weekly Review
The author piloted dive-bombers in the Pacific campaigns of WW II, participating in most of the major naval-air battles: Coral Sea, Midway, Eastern Solomons, Philippine Sea. Besides flying from the decks of the carriers Yorktown , Saratoga , Enterprise and Hornet , he saw much action during a wild four-week sojourn with the Marines' ``Cactus Air Force'' on Guadalcanal. Buell is refreshingly self-revealing, admitting his doubts and fears, his passionate desire to become ``a killer angel, an avenging force,'' and incidentally giving frequent credit to his personal guardian angel. The engaging memoir recounts one Navy pilot's experiences waging war in a now-extinct manner, i.e., dive-bombing, and conveys in vivid detail what the crucial carrier war was all about. Photos. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
Former history professor and U.S. Navy aviator Buell here tells the story of his World War II career, in which he participated in all five major Pacific carrier engagements. Memoirs of fighter pilots of that era have become common, but Buell served throughout in dive-bombers--the Douglas Dauntless and the Curtiss Helldiver--hence the title. The book is certain to interest both casual and serious students of naval aviation history and leaves one rather hoping Buell will see fit to record the remainder of his 21 years in naval aviation. ~--Roland Green
Library Journal Review
Commander Buell's remembrance of the actions in the South Pacific flying dive bombers from carriers (and for three weeks from Guadalcanal's runways, still under fire from determined Japanese defenders) is personal and immediate even after almost a half century. He adds to his own memoirs and diary entries several accounts from fellow fliers to make a vivid history of that continual series of sea battles that was the Pacific War. Buell's view from the cockpit of a Dauntless is that of the average pilot, and from that perspective he gives us a sense of the urgent and frightening assault of events from the Coral Sea until the invasion of the Philippines. A rare combination of personal recollections and overall history that remains focused on the author's own place and time, this still makes sense of a bewildering swirl of actions in a huge arena. Highly recommended for history collections.-- Mel D. Lane, Sacramento, Cal. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
