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  • Fireball

  • Carole Lombard and the Mystery of Flight 3
  • By: Robert Matzen
  • Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
  • Length: 12 hrs and 3 mins
  • 5.0 out of 5 stars (7 ratings)

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Fireball cover art

Fireball

By: Robert Matzen
Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
Free with 2 month trial

AUD $16.45/mo after 2 months. Renews automatically. Cancel anytime.

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Publisher's Summary

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 21 others on the plane, including 15 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 10-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.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

©2013 Robert Matzen (P)2014 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic Reviews

"Devoured Fireball in a single day while recuperating from the Toronto International Film Festival. 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)

What listeners say about Fireball

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Really really good.

Fascinating story about Lombard and Gable’s relationship, old Hollywood and the plane crash in such detail. Great narration.

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