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Fireball: Carole Lombard and the Mystery of Flight 3 Audiobook
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Publisher Description
This fresh look at Hollywood's "Queen of Screwball," Carole Lombard, presents a first-ever examination of the events that led to the shocking flight mishap that took her life on the side of a Nevada mountain in 1942. It also provides a day-by-day account of the struggles of Lombard's husband, Clark Gable, and other family, friends, and fans to cope with the tragedy. In effect, having just completed the first sale of war bonds and stamps in the nation following its entry into World War II, Lombard became the first Hollywood star to sacrifice her life in the war.
The War Department offered Gable a funeral service with full military honors, but he refused it, knowing his wife would not approve of such spectacle. Based on extensive research rather than gossip, this investigation further explores the lives of the twenty-one others on the plane, including fifteen members of the US Army Air Corps, and addresses one of the most enduring mysteries of World War II. On a clear night full of stars, with TWA's most experienced pilot at the controls of a ten-month-old aircraft under the power of two fully functioning engines, why did the flight crash into that Nevada mountainside?
This gripping page-turner presents the story of the people on the plane, the friends and families left behind, and the heroic first responders who struggled up a mountain hoping to perform a miracle rescue. It is a story of accomplishment, bravery, sacrifice, and loss.
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"Even though it is a tragedy, I absolutely loved this book. I am huge fan of '40s, '50s era movies and these two are a couple of my favorite actors. I really enjoyed learning so much about them and their lives. It is a true tragedy and so heart breaking. I appreciated all the back story of these amazing characters. What a life they had. And I can't help but wonder what it could have been if not for that tragic accident. Very well researched and written.. Enjoyed every minute of it"
— Lark Rials (5 out of 5 stars)
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“Fantastic job of research, served up as a real page-turner. It would make a great movie.”
— Lou Lumenick, chief film critic, New York Post -
“Tavia Gilbert delivers a fast-paced narration in a pleasant voice…An enjoyable listening experience.”
— AudioFile -
“This work alternates coverage of her film career; her much beloved image, which combined looks, style, and down-to-earth humor; her romances, culminating in her marriage to superstar Clark Gable; and her final flight, which led to an arduous recovery effort…Matzen shows how Lombard’s bubbly personality and democratic nature provoked profound mourning in Hollywood and around the country after her death.”
— Library Journal
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About Robert Matzen
Robert Matzen is a former federal contractor for NASA who now specializes in Hollywood history. He has appeared on BBC 2 and BBC Radio 4. He is the author of Carol Lombard: A Bio-Bibliography and Errol & Olivia, and he is the coauthor of Errol Flynn Slept Here. He lives in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania.
About Tavia Gilbert
Tavia Gilbert is an acclaimed narrator of more than four hundred full-cast and multivoice audiobooks for virtually every publisher in the industry. Named the 2018 Voice of Choice by Booklist magazine, she is also winner of the prestigious Audie Award for best narration. She has earned numerous Earphones Awards, a Voice Arts Award, and a Listen-Up Award. Audible.com has named her a Genre-Defining Narrator: Master of Memoir. In addition to voice acting, she is an accomplished producer, singer, and theater actor. She is also a producer, singer, photographer, and a writer, as well as the cofounder of a feminist publishing company, Animal Mineral.