BEST-SELLING AUTHOR TO SPEAK AT THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE U.S. AIR FORCE

DAYTON, Ohio - Join best-selling author Dr. Donald L. Miller as he discusses his award-winning book, Masters of the Air: America's Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air War Against Nazi Germany, on Oct. 30 at 7:30p.m. at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.

The book, which appeared on the Air Force Chief of Staff's 2007 reading list, describes the deep personal story of the American Eighth Air Force, which fought the longest American military campaign of World War
II and lost more men in the war than the U.S. Marine Corps.

Dr. Miller focuses on both sets of victims in the air war: the German people who were bombed and the American crews who did the bombing. He also explains the military impact and mortality of strategic bombing, as well as the mental strain of the air crews, which served as the theme of the popular Hollywood film, twelve O'Clock High!

This free lecture will be held in the museum's Carney Auditorium and is open to the public.  Doors open at 6:30 p.m.  Special book-signings will take place in the museum's gift shop prior to the lecture at 1 p.m., and then again following the lecture in the Carney Auditorium.

Dr. Miller, who is also the author of eight other books, received his Ph.D. in history from the University of Maryland, and has taught at Cornell University, the University of Maryland, the University of Pennsylvania and is currently the John Henry MacCracken Professor of History at Lafayette College in Easton, Pa.

His articles and reviews have appeared in the Washington Post, the New York Times and the Chicago Tribune, and his books have been nominated for every major American literary prize, including the Pulitzer, the National Book Award, and the National Book Critics Circle award.

He is a contributing editor of American Heritage magazine, host and chief historian of the PBS series, A Biography of America, and has participated in the writing and production of more than two dozen television documentaries, including American 1900, which received a prestigious Peabody Award.

Dr. Miller also serves as chief historical consultant and script editor on two film projects including a Tom Hanks production on WWII for the National D-Day Museum, and a 10-part series on WWII based on the diaries of Allied and Axis combatants for The History Channel.

In addition, he is working on two more books titled Supreme City: New York in the 1920s, and The Siege: The Fight for Vicksburg, the Decisive Battle of the American Civil War and also serves as chief historical adviser to the CEO of the National World War II Museum.

The National Museum of the United States Air Force is located on Springfield Street, six miles northeast of downtown Dayton. It is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day). Admission and parking are free.

http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123119423.