February’s Road

Hear film director Paul Thomas Anderson, film director David Cronenberg, actor Viggo Mortensen, writer/director Brad Bird, comedian/actor Patton Oswalt, writer/director Tamara Jenkins, director Jason Reitman, screenwriter Diablo Cody, and film critic David Edelstein on this edition of Fresh Air.
Paul Thomas Anderson's newest release, There Will Be Blood, is up for eight Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Director. The film is based on an Upton Sinclair novel and stars Daniel Day Lewis as an oil prospector in the earliest days of the industry. (Original airdate: 12/19/2007)

David Cronenberg and Viggo Mortensen teamed up for the Oscar-nominated thriller Eastern Promises. The film takes place in London and is about the underworld sex-trafficking industry. (Original airdate: 9/13/2007)

Brad Bird directed and Patton Oswalt stars in the film Ratatouille, the animated feature from Pixar about a foodie rat who becomes a chef in a top Parisian kitchen. It's nominated for five Oscars, including Best Animated Feature. (Original Airdate: 6/28/2007)

Tamara Jenkins wrote and directed the film The Savages, about two siblings in their 40s who have to deal with an elderly father who has dementia. The film stars Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney, and is up for two Academy Awards. (Original Airdate: 11/27/2007)

Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody are behind the film Juno. It's about a tough, sardonic 16-year-old girl who gets pregnant and gives the baby up for adoption to a couple she finds in the Pennysaver. Juno has garnered four Oscar nominations. (Original Airdate: 12/06/2007)

Finally, David Edelstein reviews Be Kind Rewind, starring Jack Black and Mos Def, and directed by Michel Gondry. [Broadcast Date: February 22, 2008]

THE ROAD TO BIG WEEK
The Struggle for Daylight Air Supremacy Over Western Europe
July 1942¬¬-February 1944

Eric Hammel

The Road to Big Week begins with a thorough examination of American development of a strategic bombing doctrine from its earliest conception after World War I. Balancing the demands of the ground army’s desire for air support and the visionary outlook of such early Air Corps leaders as General Billy Mitchell with the cash-strapped circumtances of the Great Depression and the limitations imposed by the Congressional peace lobbies, the Air Corps was able to deliver a fully formed doctrine that could not at first be supported by adequate aircraft nor even a public acknowlegenent that the drive to perfect strategic bombing was even on. Before the doctrine or a fully funtional heavy strategic bomber were quite perfected, the United States was drawn into World War II. Facing numerous obstacles unperceived during peacetime, not the least being simple bad weather, the early American efforts to mount a strategic bombing campaign in northern Europe nearly failed in the face of unsustainable casualties and ineffective strategic direction. Only the belated modernization of escort-fighter policy saved the strategic bombing force from failure and, indeed, formed the foundation upon which the strategic bombing campaign ultimately reached maturity and achieved success.

In this exciting and complete accounting of the transition from idea to near failure to ultimate success, Eric Hammel sets out all the dots, then connects them in a conversational style approachable by all readers.



What the Experts Are Saying About THE ROAD TO BIG WEEK . . .

Eric Hammel convincingly demonstrates that the road to "Big Week" in February 1944 occupied more than twenty years. With a passion for objectivity and an eye for telling detail, he describes the U.S. Army Air Forces' evolution of the self-defending bomber as well as Nazi Germany's efforts to preserve and patch "the roof" over the Third Reich. Though the European war lasted another fifteen months, Hammel shows that by the end of Big Week there was no reversing the traffic on that sanguinary path.
——Barrett Tillman, author of Clash of the Carriers

Eric Hammel has done it again, with a lucid portrayal of the growth of American bomber theory from the 1918 Armistice to the crucial days over Germany when the Eighth Air Force broke the Luftwaffe’s back. Some books have told what happened during Big Week—Hammel tells you why, driving home points that are as vital today as they were in 1944.
——Col. Walter J. Boyne, National Aviation Hall of Fame Honoree

In The Road to Big Week, Eric Hammel cleverly connects a widely disparate collection of dots that are the development of America as the world's preeminent air power. These connections describe how the U.S. Army Air Forces—just barely in time—evolved in size and capability such that America's airmen prevailed in the iconic air battle that ultimately ensured the defeat of Nazi Germany. Hammel's meticulous research and eminently readable style make this definitive work a compelling read.
——Lt.Col. Jay A. Stout, author of Fortress Ploesti

Eric Hammel has a special gift for combining musty war records and intimate personal accounts into a gripping history . . . If you think there's nothing new to learn about World War II, if you think there was never a possibility the Allies might lose, if you think one side was smarter than the other, The Road to Big Week will unnerve you and change forever your perception of what happened in those high, embattled skies.
——Robert F. Dorr, co-author of Hell Hawks!
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