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This freshlookat Hollywoods 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 Lombards 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 start to sacrifice her life in the War. The War Department offered Gable a funeral service with full military honors, but he refused it, knowing that his wife would not approve of such spectacle. Based on extensive research rather than gossip, this investigationfurther explores the lives of the 21 others on the plane, including 15 members of the U.



About the Author

Robert Matzen

Robert Matzen is an American author who specializes in Hollywood history and World War II, combining meticulous research with spellbinding narrative. His ninth book, "Warrior: Audrey Hepburn," was written in collaboration with Hepburn's son Luca Dotti. "Warrior" complements "Dutch Girl: Audrey Hepburn in World War II" and captures a fearless woman who turned experiences learned as a teenaged Resistance fighter in the Netherlands into a quest to "give voice to the voiceless" as a UNICEF goodwill ambassador in war zones on multiple continents. His previous books include "Mission: Jimmy Stewart and the Fight for Europe," which shot to bestseller status during the 2016 holiday season and continues to earn media coverage, including national television appearances and an essay by Robert in the Wall Street Journal.Matzen leveraged his 10 years working at NASA Headquarters in aeronautics communications for his sixth book, "Fireball: Carole Lombard and the Mystery of Flight 3," which rose to #2 on the Amazon bestseller list for Biography, earned praise from the Smithsonian, and won the 2015 Benjamin Franklin Award for Biography. With every book, Matzen gets personal with history. For "Dutch Girl" this meant spending weeks in the Netherlands talking to the people who lived through the war with Audrey Hepburn. For "Mission" he flew in B-17 and B-24 bombers and walked the muddy fields of Jimmy Stewart's base at Tibenham, England. And for "Fireball," he famously climbed a mountain--Mount Potosi, Nevada--to explore the wreckage of TWA Flight 3.



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