Unavailable
Unavailable
Unavailable
Ebook371 pages7 hours
Fireball: Carole Lombard and the Mystery of Flight 3
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this ebook
This fresh look at Hollywood's "Queen of Screwball," Carole Lombard, presents a first-ever examination of the events that led to the shocking flight mishap that took her life on the side of a Nevada mountain in 1942. It also provides a day-by-day account of the struggles of Lombard's husband, Clark Gable, and other family, friends, and fans to cope with the tragedy. In effect, having just completed the first sale of war bonds and stamps in the nation following its entry into World War II, Lombard became the first Hollywood start to sacrifice her life in the War. The War Department offered Gable a funeral service with full military honors, but he refused it, knowing that his wife would not approve of such spectacle. Based on extensive research rather than gossip, this investigation further explores the lives of the 21 others on the plane, including 15 members of the U.S. Army Air Corps, and addresses one of the most enduring mysteries of World War II. On a clear night full of stars, with TWA's most experienced pilot at the controls of a 10-month-old aircraft under the power of two fully functioning engines, why did the flight crash into that Nevada mountainside? This gripping page-turner presents the story of the people on the plane, the friends and families left behind, and the heroic first responders who struggled up a mountain hoping to perform a miracle rescue. It is a story of accomplishment, bravery, sacrifice, and loss.
Unavailable
Read more from Robert Matzen
Fireball: Carole Lombard and the Mystery of Flight 3 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mission: Jimmy Stewart and the Fight for Europe Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dutch Girl: Audrey Hepburn and World War II Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Errol Flynn Slept Here: The Flynns, the Hamblens, Rick Nelson, and the Most Notorious House in Hollywood Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Warrior: Audrey Hepburn Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Errol & Olivia: Ego & Obsession in Golden Era Hollywood Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Season of the Gods: A Novel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Fireball
Related ebooks
Tales From The Day: Life shaping events that truth be told all happened under the heading of "oops." Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe UR Jack Commer Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFolly and Glory: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An Irish Soldier’S Patriotic Journey: From the Walls of Fort Sumter to the Halls of the Us Pension Bureau Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBy Sorrow's River: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Kicked In The Ass Hard, And Still Here Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFor Virginia: John Wilkes Booth, Thomas J. Jackson, Robert E. Lee, Edmund Ruffin, James Ewell Brown Stuart and the Civil War Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHell in the Pacific: A Marine Rifleman's Journey From Guadalcanal to Peleliu Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Batter's Box: A Novel of Baseball, War, and Love Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSecret Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines with the Elite Warriors of SOG Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Bone Island Mambo: An Alex Rutledge Mystery Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Drums Rum-Tumming Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Wandering Warriors: Includes two bonus stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Wind of Glory Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsConfessions of a Name Dropper Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWalking Man: The Life and Times of a 19th Century Superstar Who Defied the Limits of Human Endurance Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThunder Run: The Armored Strike to Capture Baghdad Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Wild Muir: Twenty-Two of John Muir's Greatest Adventures Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDistal Watchman Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAmeritrekking Adventures: Visiting Wounded Knee in South Dakota: Trek, #1.1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMy Brother Glenn a Prisoner of the Gestapo During World War Ii: German Secret Police Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAching for Always Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Concrete Island: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Beyond the Spanking Stick Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMy Life's Stirring Adventures Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhen Johnny Comes Marching Home Again Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Wandering Hill: The Berrybender Narratives, Book 2 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5BETWEEN THE RIVERS: FLY FISHING STORIES OF THE WEST Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Entertainers and the Rich & Famous For You
The Woman in Me Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I'm Glad My Mom Died Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Recovery: Freedom from Our Addictions Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Agatha Christie: An Elusive Woman Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mother of Black Hollywood: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I Can't Make This Up: Life Lessons Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Counting the Cost Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Radical Love: Learning to Accept Yourself and Others Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Finding Me: An Oprah's Book Club Pick Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Down the Rabbit Hole: Curious Adventures and Cautionary Tales of a Former Playboy Bunny Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fallen Idols: A Century of Screen Sex Scandals Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Elvis and Me Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Open Book Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Trejo: My Life of Crime, Redemption, and Hollywood Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Is This Anything? Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Boys: A Memoir of Hollywood and Family Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Scrappy Little Nobody Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Around the Way Girl: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Foundling: The True Story of a Kidnapping, a Family Secret, and My Search for the Real Me Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Failing Up: How to Take Risks, Aim Higher, and Never Stop Learning Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Taste: My Life Through Food Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Boldly Go: Reflections on a Life of Awe and Wonder Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mommie Dearest Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I'm Your Huckleberry: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5No Time Like the Future: An Optimist Considers Mortality Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Whiskey in a Teacup: What Growing Up in the South Taught Me About Life, Love, and Baking Biscuits Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Reviews for Fireball
Rating: 4.270833583333334 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
24 ratings4 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5So many people are fascinated by Hollywood stars, and I admit I am as well, but mostly by stars of yesteryear. I was a little wary of such a detailed book about a plane crash and feared it might be dry. No worries on that account. The author did a good job of juxtaposing biographical information of Lombard & Gable along with the accounts of the air disaster. Descriptions of the terrain at Mt. Potosi painted a vivid picture of just how horrific was the crash and what an ordeal was faced by the would-be rescuers/FBI/CAB/investigators. The author also remembered and paid tribute to the flight crew and soldiers who lost their lives as well. Yes, Carole Lombard was the most famous, but all those other people lost their lives, were somebody's children or spouse or parent and were just as important. A very well done book.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Detailed stories of an American tragedy
As a huge Gable and Lombard fan, I was familiar with the death of Carole Lombard in the tragic plane crash outside of Las Vegas. However, this book shares so much more information! Stories of the many other passengers on that ill-fated flight, details of the flight crew, and even the condition of the plane (overweight/overloaded) are described in great detail. The author personally visited the still-authentic crash site while writing this book. It contains both the technical and emotional aspects of the tragic accident and the tolls on the families, airline, and even the country in its aftermath.
Definitely a must read for anyone with any interest in the subject matter. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This well researched book is not simply a biography of Carole Lombard but the story of all who were on TWA Flight 3 in January of 1942. The book weaves biographical information on Lombard with the tragedy of the plane crash. Information on all the passengers and crew on the flight is presented and I was surprised to find that two of the Army fliers (brothers Ed and Bob Nygren) were from my mom’s hometown and the minister who presided at their services was the minister who baptized my mom. This book provides more detailed information on the crash, recovery, and investigation, than all the other books I have read on Lombard combined. The author also did a good job of tying up loose ends by letting us know what happened to the important people in Lombard's life. It was very difficult to put this book down and I highly recommend it. My only complaint is that I wish there had been more photographs and that the photos presented had been larger.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I began to read this with some trepidation… I didn't want these two to lose their luster. I also didn't want to cry over them, but I was resigned to that – when one of a loving couple is going to crash into a mountain in the course of a book, tears are going to happen. In the end, was the Great Love Affair between Gable and Lombard everything fond fans say it was? I don't know. Probably not. (Two words: Lana Turner.) Would they have been divorced in a few years? Maybe. But it doesn't really matter. It's sort of like JFK's presidency – cut untimely short, there's so much room left for fantasy and imagining. And, also like JFK's presidency, press coverage resulted in a public perception of the situation which didn't bear much resemblance to reality. Which goes back to the beginning of this review. I kind of like the fantasy, the he-for-her-only-and-she-for-him illusion. It's not any fun to become resigned to the fact that Gable was a dog, and Lombard was no saint herself. But … well, the couple in this book are human beings, not Movie Stars. There's the difference. This is the story of a woman described as the kind of friend everyone longs for, energetic and loyal and fierce – a fireball – and the fireball that ended her. I knew little enough about her, except for her earlier marriage to William Powell, her love of animals, and the romance with Gable; I had no idea about the other accident that changed the course of Carole Lombard's life. Shocked, I felt stunningly unobservant never to have noticed the scars … until I went looking for them. They're most definitely there in some pictures – I can't say I'm not unobservant – but in my defense, makeup and lighting were used skillfully to hide or at least minimize them. Her tremendous heart, her "salty" language – and the reason for the language; her "Causes" which ranged from parrots to people and everywhere in between… No, this exploration of her life and death did not dim Carole Lombard in my eyes. Supplemental to the tale of Gable and Lombard and that damned mountain, this was a look inside Hollywood of the 20's and 30's, and how Gable hated playing Rhett Butler but Lombard longed to play Scarlett, and the often vicious process of casting and celebrity. "The result is equal parts biography, rescue effort, and mystery; it’s also a love story and an unimaginable tragedy that continues to haunt me, as it may haunt you." And it's about early air travel, the uncertain first steps of the country into war, about the other people who were on that damned plane and the people they left behind. It could have been a scattered mess – but it's not. The method in which Matzen tells the history, in which the timeline is cut in half and braided until about the 60% point where they catch up to each other, and the story of Gable and Lombard is woven together with that of all the other people involved in the fireball, works to deepen the story. I don't think it's easy to tell a story with a foregone conclusion; reading another biography of a beloved celebrity, I thought about how I would probably get his death out of the way early and soften the blow a bit. I mean, as with this book, I went into it knowing full well that he died some years ago, but the exploration of the long illness that killed him, culminating in his death and funeral and a brief aftermath, left me a bit wrecked at the end – testament more to how I felt about the actor than to the book. So I liked the fact that there is no coyness or artificial buildup to the very definitely foregone conclusion in Fireball. The emotional impact is still powerful, the description of the crash is horrific in its detail, but it's not what the reader closes the book with for the last time. The cause, or rather possible cause of the crash is explored, and no real answer attained. I found it remarkable that even in this story there are conspiracy theories. Yeah, I cried. "If I can do it, so can you." I learned a bit more about the Golden Age Hollywood stars I love so much – Spencer Tracy, and Lucille Ball, and William Powell. Gable and Lombard. And it didn't hurt my affection for them – on the contrary. They are more fully formed in my mind's eye, and knowing that I like them as human beings will enhance my enjoyment of their performances. We're not really supposed to quote from advance copies of books, but … well, that never really stopped me before, and I want to make note of: "…Stand your ground, and make it look like you were planting flowers on that ground all the while." I'd like that cross-stitched and framed. And I want to close with another quote, the author's summation of why I wish I'd known the woman born as Jane Alice Peters: "the soft-hearted, hard-charging, caffeine-fueled, self-promoting, profanity-laced, nicotine-addicted, business-oriented, and usually optimistic sexpot and perpetual motion machine known to the world as Carole Lombard". God bless – and angels keep.