These are books I recommend to anyone researching the WWII combat glider pilots and the airborne operations they flew. Each title links to Bookshop.org, which supports independent bookstores.
My Book
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Suicide Jockeys: The Making of the WWII Combat Glider Pilot
Monique Mousseau Taylor
How the U.S. Army Air Forces selected and trained its combat glider pilots, and what those men faced in combat. Drawn from Army records, wartime letters and interviews with veterans.
Gliders and Airborne Operations
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Four Hours of Fury: The Untold Story of World War II’s Largest Airborne Invasion and the Final Push into Nazi Germany
James M. Fenelon
An account of Operation VARSITY, the Allied airborne assault across the Rhine on March 24, 1945.
Never Give Up the Jump: Combat, Resilience, and the Legacy of World War II through the Eyes and Voices of the Paratroopers, Wives, and Families of the 508th PIR
Susan Gurwell Talley and Jack L. Talley
The 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, told through the voices of its paratroopers and their wives and families.
First to Jump: How the Band of Brothers was Aided by the Brave Paratroopers of Pathfinders Company
Jerome Preisler
The U.S. Army pathfinders, who jumped ahead of the airborne forces to mark the drop zones, from Normandy to Bastogne.
Silent Wings at War: Combat Gliders in World War II
John L. Lowden
A memoir by a glider pilot who flew with the 1st Allied Airborne Army in Europe, combining his own recollections with those of fellow veterans.
Further Reading
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Prisoners of the Castle: An Epic Story of Survival and Escape from Colditz, the Nazis’ Fortress Prison
Ben Macintyre
The Allied prisoners of war held at Colditz Castle, where the German army confined the prisoners it considered most defiant, and their attempts to escape.
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