Heather’s Bookshelf: The Lucky Seven
Author: Norman W. Holden
Released: 06/01/23
Genre: Adult Historical/Biographical Fiction (Based on a True Story)
“The fuselage fire was growing out of control, leaving nothing left for the crew to do but bail out. Second Lieutenant James J. Goebel Jr. stood on the narrow bomb-bay catwalk as he checked his straps one last time. Summoning the courage, he stepped into open space.”
“The Lucky Seven” is historical fiction that is based on the life (and a true story) of a young American airman, First Lieutenant James J. Goebel, Jr. On April 24, 1944, Goebel’s B-24 is shot down, resulting in his parachuting out of the wreckage and into the Belgium countryside.
As he touches down, Goebel notes two men running toward him and fears the worst of being in a territory occupied by the enemy. Luckily for him, the men that find him are on the side of the allies and hide him away from the occupying Germans.
Goebel soon finds he’s not the only airman found and saved. Members of his and another downed American mission soon join him. The French and Belgium people they encounter risk everything to get the airmen to safety during WWII.
Trigger Warning: war-time violence, murder, torture
Overall, I found this to be a deeply researched and informative story. The author clearly did a lot of research and had a personal connection (author is the son-in-law) to Goebel, which provides authenticity in the tone and details of the story. The pictures and drawings included are also quite amazing and at the end of the book, the author includes some of the details of how he acquired the specifics within the pages. The beginning of this story finds Goebel parachuting out of his B-24. It then flashes back to his childhood, high school years, enlistment, and basic training before moving on to flight training. These chapter provides significant insight into Goebel’s life leading up to the crash, but it feels like someone is reading from a Wikipedia page. It’s lacking in emotion and told to the reader. Once the narrator gets to Goebel in his flight training, the pacing and the way the story is told changes for the better with more dialogue and details of surroundings that help put the reader in the story. The absolute horror these airmen and the people who risked everything to keep them safe went through is indescribable. The level of evil crawls out of the pages. But there’s still a level of hope and humanity that shines through and the author does an excellent job in highlighting them. The ending wraps up Goebel’s military service and provides his family connections, including a couple of details about the other “lucky seven” but very little, which I’m sure was hindered by available information. The author also describes his and his wife’s trips/experiences related to the locations and events in the book. Including these trips as part of the story may have added another layer of emotion to the story. I applaud the amount of time and effort put forth to honor Goebel, the rest of the lucky seven, and all those who risked (and sometimes lost) everything along the way.
I received a copy of this story in exchange of a fair and honest review.
OVERALL REVIEW:
A WWII story based on the true events and life of an American airman- researched and told by his son-in-law. Deeply researched, though sometimes lacking in emotional connection.
Want to learn more about the author?
Check out my interview with Norman W. Holden
Interested in checking out the book for yourself?
Find it for purchase here
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