The fall of fortresses cover

The fall of fortresses

by Elmer Bendiner

Elmer Bendiner was aboard a B-17 that was in a bombing raid over Germany. They were hit in the fuel tank by a German 20mm shell that did not explode. Upon landing, they found 11 such shells. All had no explosives. In one was a note from a Czech prisoner that said, "That's all we can do to help for now".

Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?