REVIEW BY COLIN POMEROY
Luck of the Draw, which has just been adapted by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks into the new television series Masters of the Air, is in effect the autobiography of the late Frank Murphy.
It tells the story of Murphy’s entire life, but particularly his career flying with the 100th Bomber Group of the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) during the Second World War. Murphy took part in exciting and intense daylight bombing raids over Europe, but was shot down on his twenty-first mission and spent many subsequent years as a prisoner of war.
Written in first-person, matter- of-fact style that makes little unnecessary drama out of the events recounted, it’s a very readable book. And despite Murphy’s often grim wartime experiences, there are some laughs. For instance, I had to chuckle when reading his thoughts on the contrast between the USAAF and the RAF: the British swinging of the arms to shoulder height when marching seemed to amuse their American cousins.
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