New Books Network

Jan Cress Dondi, "The Navigator's Letter" (Union Square, 2026)


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One of the riskiest air raids of World War II occurred on August 1, 1943, over the oil fields at Ploesti, Romania--Nazi Germany's primary fuel source. The Allies believed that the destruction of Hitler's oil refineries would shorten the war. Using an untested strategy, it was worth the gamble, but the mission did not go according to plan--with 53 aircraft and 532 crewmen lost, it was the costliest US air raid of the war.

A true story, The Navigator's Letter is a tale of uncanny coincidences: two friends from the same small Illinois town; both joined the Air Corps; both became navigators; both were assigned to B-24 Liberators; both flew missions over Europe; both of their planes were forced down over Ploesti; and both went missing-in-action.

Intertwined with events of WWII, the story follows the two B-24 navigators coursing through wartime, both with ties to the same woman. Their lives unfurl with the Air Force's darkest day, Operation Tidal Wave. It was the first-ever zero-altitude air raid followed by multiple high-altitude raids culminating in Operation Reunion, the largest evacuation by air in history with the Tuskegee Airmen of the 332nd Fighter Group flying escort repatriating 1,162 POWs from Romania back to American air bases in Italy.

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