The author served in the United States Air Force during World War II. At various times he served as an aircraft mechanic, an inspector, a crew chief on a heavy bomber and as an air inspector, certifying the air worthiness of aircraft at the Air Force College. Wanting to get into combat, he volunteered for training as a flight engineer on the B-29's, which had been rushed into production, to provide the long range capability to bomb Japan from bases in India. He had worked on, and has an intimate knowledge of the workings of the heavy bombers featured in the story. His training and experience in the Air Force and his educational background in clinical psychology gives him a unique perspective on the stress the air crews were under conducting bombing raids into Germany. Dr. Kendall obtained a Ph.D. in clinical psychology and completed an internship in that field with the Veterans Administration working with veterans. He graduated with honors from the University of Michigan previously. During his working career he served as a staff psychologist, manager, and as a partner in a major international management consulting firm.
