Mitch Topal is a Public Relations professional who writes and edits content for the media including websites, annual reports, editorials, feature stories and newsletters.
Mitch is Vice President of the Delaware Press Association, a member of The Public Relations Society of America and the American Association of Political Consultants.
This is Mitch's first novel, a non-fiction work about a decorated WWII bomber pilot who beat the odds and survived 25 missions over Nazi Germany. It's named "Against All Odds, The Ray Firmani Story."
Born in upstate New York, Mitch graduated from Syracuse University and worked for Donnelley Marketing and in the commercial lithography industry before starting his own company in 1999.
As Managing Partner of Out of the Box Communications, Mitch has spent the last 17 years providing compelling and effective P/R and communications for commercial and governmental clientele. He is an achievement-driven Public Relations and Communications expert with outstanding qualifications in all phases of corporate and government communications.
Mitch writes and edits content for websites, annual reports, editorials and newsletters. He is Vice President of the Delaware Press Association, a member of The Public Relations Society of America and the American Association of Political Consultants.
This is Mitch's first novel, a non-fiction work about a decorated WWII bomber pilot named "Against All Odds, The Ray Firmani Story." A labor of love, this book is the culmination of a life spent surrounded by World War II veterans. These men and women are the only first hand link we have with the greatest and defining event in our global history and we are losing them to the ages. According to the VA, they are dying at a rate of 740 per day. Most are well into their 90th decade and a small handful are fit enough, both physically and mentally, to remember and reiterate their experiences.
Ray Firmani is one of them. His story is no less amazing than that of Louis Zamperini, the protagonist in Laura Hillenbrand's
Unbroken. Statistically, Ray should not have survived the war. He beat those odds, earned the DFC, and went on to have a successful career and family. He has spawned four generations, including grandchildren, great grandchildren and is expecting his first great, great grandchild.
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$15 The Digital Pack
10 readers
Receive the "Against All Odds" Ebook Edition (PDF, ePUB, MOBI). This is a special and limited quantity and limited time reward.
1 copy + ebook included
Free shipping
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$20 Paperback
107 readers
$20 Paperback
Receive your very own Paperback copy of "Against All Odds." For those who want a true to life war story that includes love, danger and the constant threat of meeting a violent death in the sky, this book won't disappoint.
"Against All Odds" is a compelling war story that has just the right amount of historical background to support the narrative.
Who is this reward for?
-Fans of WWII novels
-Individual buyers
-Followers of the book's Facebook page (almost 250 likes, most have
indicated they want to purchase a copy when it's available)
-Members of the Delaware Press Association (DPA - the author is Vice
President)
-Volunteers, visitors and staff of the Dover Air Mobility Command
Museum who've helped us with research and a venue for our video,
and have offered to help market it with a book signing event and
prominent shelf space in the museum store
-Many friends and neighbors who've asked to buy one (50+ of them)
-General public
1 copy + ebook included
$5 shipping
143 of 250 left
$25 Individual Book signed by the author and subject
75 readers
1 copy for individuals priced at $25 signed by the author and Ray Firmani, the subject of the story.
-Book collectors
-Military history buffs
-Collectors of military memorabilia
-Museum staff and volunteers at DAFB
-Airmen at DAFB and the Delaware Air National Guard base
-DPA event attendees
-VFW chapter members
1 copy
$5 shipping
50 of 125 left
$100 Patron Book Sponsor
3 readers
Receive 5 copies of "Against All Odds," and receive special acknowledgement in the book as a patron sponsor. See your name in the printed book and I'll personalize your copies.
-Book collectors
-Military history buffs
-Collectors of military memorabilia
-Museum staff and volunteers at DAFB
-Airmen at DAFB and the Delaware Air National Guard base
-DPA event attendees
-VFW chapter members
5 copies + ebook included
$7 shipping
47 of 50 left
$1000 Corporate Sponsor Package
1 reader
Receive 50 copies of "Against All Odds," for executive teams or employees. This reward includes special recognition in the acknowledgements section of the book and a private session on heroism and to share my story.
-Corporate sponsors that would like to use it for publicity and events
-Institutions of higher education that want to make the book available to
students at a discounted rate
-Non-profit veterans organizations that subsidize historical projects or would like to sell the book to raise money for their missions
-Museum stores
50 copies + ebook included
$15 shipping
4 of 5 left
$2500 Against All Odds Sponsor Package
0 readers
150 copies bundle for those who'd like to sponsor our effort to get this story into the hands of readers.
-Corporate sponsors that would like to use it for publicity and events
-Institutions of higher education that want to make the book available to
students at a discounted rate
-Non-profit veterans organizations that subsidize historical projects or would like to sell the book to raise money for their missions
-Museum stores
150 copies + ebook included +$750 shipping; guest appearance and book signing event by the author and Ray Firmani at no additional cost; private tour given by Ray Firmani and the author of the restored B-17G "Sleepytime Gal" at the Dover Air Mobility Command Museum; prominent mention in the book's acknowledgement section.
150 copies
$750 shipping
150 of 150 left
Hi Fans! Yes, I am closing in on the end of the book. It's well into Ray's 25 harrowing missions and the word count is just under 80,000 (about 320 paperback pages). We are talking to publishers and an editor at this point. So, here's another excerpt to wet your appetite.
It's an incident that happened to the 100th Bomb Group, which accompanied Ray's 486th Bomb Group on the same mission. Word spread quickly about it at the time and it's included in the book. We call it the "piggyback" incident. Scary stuff:
The 100th Bomb Group took the heaviest casualties that fateful day. Thirty-four of their planes went up. Only twenty-five returned. One particularly gruesome accident happened when a B-17 piloted by Glenn Rojohn and William Leek, Jr. watched seven of their ships go down in flames, the victims of a vicious attack from German Bf-109’s during their return flight. Rojohn maneuvered his ship into a gap that was left below him in the formation when a B-17 was shot down by the German fighters. At the same time, another ship, not visible to Rojohn and his crew had the same idea, ascending from below to fill the same opening. Rojohn’s ship pancaked into the ship below, crushing and killing most of its crew. The two B-17’s became locked together like Siamese twins in a death knell, three of the lower ship’s engines and props turning at full speed, one was feathered and burning. Rojohn’s propellers were bent and his engines and electrical system dead. They managed to keep the yoke pulled all the way back, riding the two ships down as if in a bizarre, aerial rodeo act. After getting the remaining crewmembers to bail out, Rojohn and Leek put their feet up on the instrument panel and pulled the yokes back to their stomachs with every bit of strength they could muster. The planes were falling fast, but they managed to ride them all the way to the ground where they belly flopped onto a field. The bottom plane exploded but Rojohn and Leek’s plane slid off, stopping only when it’s left wing careened into a headquarters building, obliterating it entirely. The two pilots suffered only minor injuries and were quickly taken prisoners of war by the Germans. While prisoners, they heard rumors circulating that the Americans had deployed an 8-engined bomber. It must have looked that way to anyone who witnessed the event from the ground.
