I’ve just had the good fortune of reading two books back-to-back in a way to make them both more interesting. Having recently finished Masters of the Air, a book about the 8th (and 15th) Air Force B-17 bombing campaign against Germany during World War II, I started right in on A Higher Call, which is billed as an incredible story about how a German pilot saved a B-17 and its crew by escorting their crippled bomber out of German airspace, but is actually more of a look at the German Air Force through the life of the man who did that.
The story itself is fascinating, but it was even more interesting to see the parallels between the books — to see changes in tactics and equipment first reflected in one book, then executed in another. How the Germans learned and changed how they flew, and the Allies’ changes in response. And of course, finally, the playing out of the demise through attrition of the German Air Force, along with the relentless overwhelming destruction wrought by the Americans and British in their attacks on the German motherland.
I love the book A Higher Call, but even more in my understanding of what was happening on both sides through that same time frame. It’s a great way to read, and I hope to get the opportunity again with another set of books.