Mennonite farm boy Lance Roark’s faith is as big as the challenges he faces on his family’s drought-ravaged Dust Bowl spread on the old Chisholm Trail. He can also run over, around, and away from people on the football field and is a natural-born aviator. These abilities lead him to college gridiron glory and bring him into contact with famed aviators Charles Lindbergh and Wiley Post, entertainment icons Will Rogers and Bing Crosby, best-selling young author John F. Kennedy, and President Franklin Roosevelt. 
As war clouds gather across the seas, Lance finds romance first with teenaged Chickasaw cowgirl and stunt flying sensation Sadie Stanton, then with beautiful oil heiress Mary Katherine Murchison, whose mesmerizing voice carries her to the heights of Big Band Era stardom. Nearly all of this crashes against his pious, peaceable ways. And it leads him into the dangerous world of America First, the Lindbergh-led organization that opposes the popular Roosevelt’s covert drive toward American involvement in World War II, now ablaze in both Europe and the Pacific. 
When the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor, Lance, with his lifelong commitment never to raise his hand against another human being, faces his ultimate decision—whether to accept command of a B-17 Flying Fortress in which he would face, and inflict, mass slaughter in Nazi-occupied Europe amidst history’s most fearsome war.

Shortgrass: A Novel of World War II

Literature & Fiction

Dwyer, John J

Genre Fiction

Tiree Press

Mennonite farm boy Lance Roark’s faith is as big as the challenges he faces on his family’s drought-ravaged Dust Bowl spread on the old Chisholm Trail. He can also run over, around, and away from people on the football field and is a natural born aviator. These abilities lead him to college gridiron glory and bring him into contact with famed aviators Charles Lindbergh and Wiley Post, entertainment icons Will Rogers and Bing Crosby, best-selling young author John F. Kennedy, and President Franklin Roosevelt. As war clouds gather across the seas, Lance finds romance first with teenaged cowgirl and stunt flying sensation Pearl Carter, then with beautiful oil heiress Mary Katherine Murchison, whose mesmerizing voice carries her to the heights of Big Band Era stardom. Nearly all of this crashes against his pious, peaceable ways. And it leads him into the dangerous world of America First, the Lindbergh-led organization that opposes the popular Roosevelt’s covert drive toward American involvement in World War II, now ablaze in both Europe and the Pacific. When the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor, Lance, with his lifelong commitment never to raise his hand against another human being, faces his ultimate decision—whether to accept command of a B-17 Flying Fortress in which he would face, and inflict, mass slaughter in Nazi-occupied Europe amidst history’s most fearsome war.

Mustang: A Novel of World War II

Climb into the cockpit with Dust Bowl farm boy Lance Roark as he arrives in England commanding a B-17 Flying Fortress at the height of World War II. A prologue, 2017's Will Rogers Medallion Gold Medal winner, Shortgrass, set the stage for young Lance as he made the crucial decision following the bombing of Pearl Harbor to depart from the pacifist doctrine of his Mennonite upbringing and go to war. Now, still cheerful and pious, he and his best friend, famed Oklahoma Sooner Waddy Young, tackle a new opponent--history's most fearsome air armada, the German Luftwaffe, which has bested every other force that has dared confront them.
Audacious, cool under fire, and a born aviator, Lance piles up the missions and decorations and somehow survives to complete his tour of duty--barely. Even as he gains renown as a relentless air warrior, though, his lifelong faith is shaken as the body count of those around him mounts. Driven by a desire for vengeance against his enemies, he turns down service back Stateside to return to battle in one of America's sensational new P-51 Mustang fighter planes.
As the greatest aerial war in history rages in the skies over bleeding Europe, Lance hits a low-point in his life just as a terrifying new adversary appears to challenge him. Pushed to the breaking point, he will need every bit of skill and experience he can muster in an unforgettable showdown over Dresden in the war's most legendary air raid.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Dwyer, John J. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Dwyer, John J

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Dwyer, John J. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Shortgrass: A Novel of World War II

Shortgrass: A Novel of World War II

Mustang: A Novel of World War II

Mustang: A Novel of World War II