Command Decision

Command Decision

<b>“This taut, continuously engrossing novel of an American bomber command based in England packs a solid impact from its first page.” – <i>The New York Times</i> (Jan. 5, 1947)</b><br /><br /><b>“Rare it is that a piece of fiction smacks the reader between the eyes with conviction that it has burst spontaneously from the narrator’s brain and is a story that HAD to be told.” – <i>Chicago Tribune</i> (Jan. 5, 1947)</b><br /><br />Leader of an elite team of American heavy bomber planes, General Casey Dennis of the US Air Force is sent to England during the height of World War II—and orders his pilots deep into German territory in order to disrupt production of the Luftwaffe’s fighter jets. Forced to balance the safety of his crew against the lives of thousands of Allied troops ahead of D-Day, and plagued by political interference pressuring him to attack less dangerous targets, General Dennis must make agonizing life-and-death decisions—with the outcome of the war, and the future of the Air Force, in the balance.<br /><br />A fascinating fictional account of the USAAF bombings of Germany during World War II, this international bestseller takes a close, suspenseful look at the demands faced by generals forced to send their troops on desperate, deadly missions. This book was the basis for a movie of the same name, starring Clark Gable. A former US intelligence officer during World War II, author William Wister Haines lends an intensity to the prose informed by firsthand experience.<br /><br /><h2>ABOUT THE AUTHOR</h2><br />William Wister Haines (1908–1989) was an American author born in Des Moines, Iowa. To support himself while attending the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, Haines worked on the construction of the network of electric transmission towers being installed countrywide. At the age of 24, he used this experience as a lineman in writing his first novel, <i>Slim</i>, which became a national best seller in 1934. Warner Brothers made the book into a film starring Henry Fonda and Pat O’Brien.<br /><br />Haines served in World War II as an intelligence officer with the US Eighth Air Force in Britain, principally evaluating the strength of the German Air Force and planning bombing raids. He later worked with the team that first cracked German war codes, a project called “Ultra.”<br /><br />Following the war, Haines began working on <i>Command Decision</i>, initially as a play. His publisher, Little Brown, suggested he use the theme for a novel. The book quickly rose to become a national best seller and is regarded as the first major story told about World War II. In October 1947, the play version of <i>Command</i> opened on Broadway at the Fulton Theater and ran for 409 performances.<br /><br />MGM bought the movie rights, acting at the behest of Clark Gable, who saw the story as a vehicle reflecting his personal experiences as an Air Force officer. He played the hero, General Casey Dennis, who must make life-and-death decisions on bombing runs while plagued by political interference pressuring him to attack less dangerous targets.<br /><br />Haines’s 1961 novel, <i>The Winter War</i>, won the Golden Spur award from the Western Writers of America. He also worked on several films, including <i>Torpedo Run</i>, <i>On Wings of Eagles</i> and <i>Beyond Glory</i>. He died in 1989 at the age of eighty-one.