The Unstoppable Hero: How One Man's Rescue Mission Impacted the Outcome of World War II

Paul Davies: I first became aware of Pappy Gunn and the Battle of the Bismarck Sea when I read Martin Caidin's fictionalized version of events,Whip.I've always been fascinated by how B25s transformed into devastating low level attackers in the Pacific theatre.This book explains how it happens.Pappy Gunn was a truly extraordinary man,a character who was so larger than life,you couldn't make him up.

United Kingdom on Jun 09, 2020

Lew Craig: I recommend this book for all who may be interested in World War II. It is a unique true story about a very unique man. It was fascinating and had me up late wanting to know what happened next. The writing was frustrating, however. The author had misspelled words and many repetitions. In this sense, it was a frustrating read. I would give 3 stars for the writing and 5 stars for the story, hence 4 stars. I will give the author a lot of credit for the story. It was very informative and entertaining.

United States on Apr 14, 2020

cadickie: While the story teller seemed to embellish some of the deeds of "Pappy Gunn", it was an excellent book about the invasion of the Philippines, and the efforts to keep the Imperial Japanese Army from gaining control of Australia. I have lived in both New Guinea and the Philippines and always heard tales about the war. I particularly was interested in what the wife and 4 children went through at San Tomas during their 3 year internment. And the book illustrates the ingenuity of "Pappy" and his will to do anything to defend Australia and try to get back to his family. It was a fine example of the will and determination of many people who helped to win the 2nd World War. A very good read and a necessary one because I sometimes feel we do not hear enough about the Pacific War. And I will repeat what the Europeans now say about the European side of the war. "Never Again!"

Canada on Nov 15, 2018

Silver Fox: Amazing. Pappy was a hands on git'er done type of guy who used his ingenuity and common sense skills. Like every other scenario such as big business if they would listen and pay attention "to the suggestions from guys on the front line" life would be easier.how many lives were lost and internal suffering we will never know but he definitely made the war int he South Pacific against the Japanese shorter by doing what he did at the risk of his own life and money. The bureaucrats in Washington,commanding officers(not all) and unbelieving engineers should be ashamed. Remember the ' Titanic was built by experts? the Ark by amateurs'. The other John Bruning put every thing in perspective and made a part of history interesting to read.

Canada on Feb 03, 2018

chillnm: The only reason I give this book 5 stars is because there’s no option for giving it 6. I know the cliché “riveting” is often used when describing a good book, but I use reluctantly it since it is cliché and since it is an understatement. Mr. Bruning doesn’t just tell a great story – he takes you to the places and events; he makes you the proverbial “fly on the wall”. His work is obviously very well researched, though I have heard criticisms saying that some of what he tells is not altogether accurate, which I say is probably largely nonsense. Indeed, it is impossible for anyone to know the utter details of some of the situations presented in the book 70 years after they occurred, but John freely acknowledges as much pointing out when appropriate that the nitty gritty details may have been embellished in some way, though the embellishments do not detract from the undisputable reality of the events depicted. He also provides an excellent appendix where he presents alternative versions of important events for which more than one credible version exists. However, none of this detracts from the “riveting”, page turning action of the incredible story of Paul Irving...

United States on Dec 24, 2017

Franklin Orfe: FINE
REMARKABLE STORY OF PAPPY GUN
WHO CHANGED AERIAL WARFARE IN THE South Pacific

United Kingdom on Jul 23, 2017

Sometimes_me: Exactly what I wanted.

Canada on May 18, 2017

Marc L. Tavasci: To win a war, especially a war of the magnitude of World War II, it takes soldiers who are absolutely driven to defeat the enemy, as well as tactics and innovative weapons which help those soldiers get the job done. During World War II, the United States had such a soldier: Paul I. "Pappy" Gunn.

Pappy had served in the U.S. Navy for several years before retiring and moving his family to the Philippines and becoming a founding member of Philippine Air Lines. Along the way, he learned how to fly and how to fix almost anything that flew. When the Japanese attacked the Philippines in December, 1941, he was made a part of the USAAF and assigned a wide variety of missions around the islands: flying supplies to various places, moving personnel to and fro, attacking the Japanese when possible with the meager forces at hand, and keeping the tiny amount of aircraft available to him flightworthy. It was during one such mission where he ended up in Australia and the Japanese closed off his chances to return to the Philippines and rescue his family. As it turned out, this was to have a far-reaching impact on the way the war progressed in the Pacific.

Since he couldn't rescue his...

United States on Nov 06, 2016