FIRST EDITION OF THE MAN WHO FLEW THE MEMPHIS BELLE, INSCRIBED BY COLONEL ROBERT MORGAN

MORGAN, Robert and POWERS, Ron. The Man Who Flew the Memphis Belle. Memoir of a WWII Bomber Pilot. (New York): Dutton, (2001). Octavo, original black and gray paper boards, original dust jacket. $250.

First edition, early printing of this memoir by the World War II bomber pilot who flew the Memphis Belle, Robert Morgan, inscribed on the title page by him: "To Robert Burlingame, Senior Master Sergeant, Thank you for your service. Best Wishes, Robert 11/7."

"A memoir of high-altitude warfare by a well-known figure in WWII history. The Memphis Belle was one of the new generation of long-range bombers developed by Boeing Aircraft at the start of WWII… Powers piloted it and a crew straight out of a Hollywood movie (Clark Gable, in fact, came along for a ride while he was making training films for the Air Corps) for an impressive total of 25 bombing runs over Nazi-occupied Europe—impressive because the odds were very much against any plane's surviving for so long" (Kirkus). "Made famous in a 1944 William Wyler documentary—and inspiring a 1990 movie starring Matthew Modine, Harry Connick Jr. and Eric Stoltz—Morgan, a B17F 'Flying Fortress' pilot, here fleshes out his own story, together with Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Ron Powers (Flags of Our Fathers)… Morgan also recounts (with the aid of 16 pages of photos) the tale of the Memphis Belle itself, which went from being a vandalized and forgotten plane to a national treasure" (Publishers Weekly). Bookplate of recipient.

A few page corners bumped. A very nearly fine copy.