Military Books

I attended an educational session at Milwaukee Area Technical College where Michael was one of the guest speakers. His presentation about his military service in Vietnam, and his healing process in Africa were very vivid. At the end of the session I obtained an autographed copy of his book. Once I started reading it I just could not stop. Each day I completed several chapters. I like his descriptiveness of the settings and the events. It's just amazing how much one person is able to take during military service.

Having served in the army, and completed infantry training at Ft. Polk as Michael, I could easily identify with the events he discussed and followed his presentation which was quite gripping. The book really highlights his presentation in many ways. It is appealing to the senses, and presents a compelling case on the issue of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and its devastating impact on the lives of veterans.

My heart goes out to all of our veterans. Military service is not as glamorous a profession as the recruiters and the news media have portrayed. Many are still suffering from the trauma of war. Hopefully, they will receive the right type of medical treatment. Michael has certainly pulled the covers from over what is not being told to soldiers entering the military. If only they knew, some would probably have taken a different career route. This book is truly educational. It highlights the agony of living with PTSD, and the clash of cultures veterans' battle with on a daily basis while crying out for help. This is a great job Michael. All The Way!!!

Other books to read for relaxation are: Trilogy Moments for the Mind, Body and Soul; Everyday Miracles; and The Language of Poetry Forms.

Michael Orban, like so many other veterans, came home from war a damaged soul. His story is gripping........he takes you down to the ugly bottom of despair, through drugs and alcohol and the misery of life on the street. Part of that despair comes from returning to a world that doesn't understand his mental anguish. Then he goes to Africa where he devotes his life to helping and observing and learning from others as he heals himself. He skillfully drew me into his hell with details I'll never forget...and as he shared his growing insight, my empathy for the current crop of returning troops deepened (Mike's war was in Vietnam, but today's wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are no different in the tragic and traumatic effect they are having on our soldiers.) It's a must-read for anyone who wants to understand what so many of our returning troops are experiencing. And a therapeutic read for veterans who don't know what has happened to them

Michael Orban served as a 20-year-old infantry soldier in Vietnam and in his superbly written autobiography "Souled Out: A Memoir Of War And Inner Peace" takes the reader along on his journey through a disastrous war and into his experiences of loneliness, emptiness, spiritual scarring and psychological destruction. Michael writes candidly of his time in the remote jungles of Africa and a world where humanity is mired in superstitions, omens, black magic, witchcraft, sickness, disease, and every present death. Yet it is also a story of the simplistic beauty in people who are intimately connected to all of life and reverently dependent for purpose on their spirit world and their ancestor worship. Here presented are the oral historians reciting the history of their people, their suffering at the hands of the European colonists. "Souled Out" is also the story of Michael's recovering of spirit and peach through using native resources to build schools, reading the works of Albert Schweitzer while being hospitalized in Gabon, and laughing at Mark Twain's observations and stories. The underlying message of "Souled Out" is that the psychological wounds of war are as serious as the physical ones and can be remedied and recovered from, and that there is relief for and from them. Informed and informative, thoughtful and thought-provoking, "Souled Out" is highly recommended reading and an especially appropriate addition to community library American Biography collections.

I have know Mike for over 20 years. I married into the Orban fammily in 1985. He mentions in his book about living with us in Florida and how it never occured to him that it wasn't a normal situation. I remember it as being a wonderful time getting to know a very special person that just didn't have the same direction as some of us. He was always interesting to talk to and our boys were blessed to have Uncle Mike around them in their early youth.

Despite his inner struggles, Mike was always a positive person in all of our lives. After reading his book, I am able to better understand what he was trying to deal with in those years that he was with us.

I am so proud o him to have put it in writing to share with the thousands of vets that struggle with this syndrome. I would highly recommend this book to anyone.

Michael Orban creates a compelling read with his book "Souled Out." Open and honest, he takes us back to Vietnam and helps us understand what happens to the soul when one is faced with such traumatic experiences. His journey through recovery and his experiences are an inspiration to anyone who reads it. Difficult to put down, the messages are invaluable to anyone who has suffered a dramatic loss or event. I was able to apply many of his ideas to my own life.

From the perspective of a person who is apathetic toward science fiction stories and avoids who-done-it spy books, I am surprised how interested I became in reading SPYCRAFT. Robert Wallace won me over! I hated the acronyms (IHTA) even though the authors graciously defined them in the Glossary. The book is well documented throughout. My only question is: Can we completely believe the authenticity of CIA history through the experiences of people who made their living by deception, obfuscation, and counterfeiting? Oh well, buy the book any way!

This book is for every geek, techie and gadget person out there as well as serious intel bookworms. Find out from the inside how the CIA "Q" teams work. Not only is the story captivating concerning the spy gear, but the people behind the inventions are even more exciting to read about. The story of the American POWs after the Cuban missle crisis underscores the commitment and dedication of all of the CIA volunteers as true American patriots.

A superbly written and exquisitely detailed book, rich in texture illuminating a fascinating recounting of the myriad of ways in which technology has aided case officers to accomplish what practitioners term "impersonal communications" exchanges with their agents (spies.) The multi-hued stories unveiled in this book pull back the curtain to illustrate amazingly creative ways in which gadgetry, both seemingly mundane as well as state of the art operational technology have facilitated the clandestine passage of secrets from spy to case handler.

The authors are among the foremost experts in the field of technology supported tradecraft and thus provide a long overdue "insider's knowledge" optic to seldom witnessed actions playing out behind the scenes in some of the most critically important spy cases since the start of the Cold War. The stories which recount the technical support given to CIA penetrations of the Soviet government and intelligence services like Aldof Tolkachev (alias "TRIGON") and Dimitry Polyakov (alias "Top Hat") are terrific additions to open source literature. In addition, this remarkable book has exceptional photographs of the actual gadgetry used in spy operations and comes with a very useful glossary for those who may not be familiar with espionage lexicon

Highly recommended addition for the bookshelf of any serious minded student of espionage history. "Spycraft" is simply the best book which covers technology support to the art of espionage. A genuine page turner.

Fascinating. The book arrived this morning and I have had a hard time putting it down. This could be a text book on spy craft but it is anything but dull. The gadgets are fascinating and the stories are captivating. You will wonder why it is not "classified". This book is a must for anyone who wants to know more about the technical and human side of espionage.

D LeRoy
Chicago

One of the most important periods of modern history was that of the Cold War, between 1945-1991.This war was unconventional,and it was maily hidden from the public on both sides of the conflict.The main action took place in the field of intelligence.The main players in this war of mirrors-the Great Game of the 20th century-were spies.
I have maintained for a long time that it was the secret services of the East and the West that were responsible for preventing a Third World War.Paradoxically, this was achieved by this hidden war which was played in the misty dead drop sites of Berlin, Vienna, Moscow ,Washington,London and other less famous espionage sites. These were the heydays of hundreds of thousands of spooks-some more famous than the others.Most of them- especially the professional ones- have used a variety of means in order to accomplish their assignments successfully.
In a very interesting and detailed book- perhaps the best there is today on this fascinating subject-the two authors elaborate on the many gadgets the CIA has developed and employed in this battle of wits.There was a special department within the CIA which was responsible for this.What was considered to dwell only in the imagination of authors and scriptwriters was for real.The mentors of the CIA(and its predecessor -the OSS) were their British cousins who have taught their colleagues some useful lessons in the field of espionage.The CIA have surpassed their masters creating for many decades a miscellany of low-and especially high-tech astounding ,innovative technologies.Among them there were cameras, microphones,concealment devices, physical and psychological diguises,ivory letter-opening devices,combustible notebooks, special dead drop rocks,microdot viewers,audio transmitters and bugs.Even animals,such as:bats, cats and rats were employed in this world of clandestine operations.We get a detailed story about the modus operandi of two of the most famous spies who worked for the West:Oleg Penkovsky and his "worthy succsessor" Adolf Tolkachev.Both of them saved the US Intelligence and taxpayer billions of dollars.
The books has two main sections.The first one is about the spytechs and the second is about the fundamentals of the spycraft.
My main reservation about this book is about its editing which was done -somehow- perfunctorily.However,you will enjoy every page of this reliable, impeccably -searched, readable, fascinating and revealing book.The real bonus is an array of never-before-seen photos and diagrams and the authors' message is conveyed clearly:without this kind of James-Bond's-Q-masterminded technology, the West would have lost the Cold War.
The other thing is this:in our Digital Age everything becomes obsolete in a very short time, thus ,those engaged in this trade should never stop racking their brains in order to create novel devices to be used against the adversary.
This book is a must-read for pros and buffs of espionage and Cold War history.

John Reed could describe a thumb tack and somehow want to make you want to keep reading. Even better `A Still Small Voice' is free of thumb tacks and filled with heart. The pacing solid, the storyline is great and it's witty at times with lines like, "It's only a basket -and even the weaver of that basket knew it would eventually be lost." It's the kind of book you want to pass along to a friend.

There's also a line that reads "... but for me it was more of a sense of what was right, like the right amount of cinnamon, or the right amount of wine." And I think for a book, this story was just like that right amount of wine (red).

A must.
Totally transported me to another time.
Such strong writing.

This is the BEST book I have ever read. Ever. Days after I finished it, the simplistic beauty of the writing still haunted me. If this isn't eventually recoginzed as one of the best books of our time, I'll be very disappointed.

I found this book to be very intriguing and thought provoking as well as quite entertaining. The day-to-day details of Civil War era life and lifestyle were fascinating additions to the "love story".

This book is written so beautifully that at some points I found myself reading pages over and over again just for the simple beauty of the words! This book is about love, loss and the hardships and the simple pleasures of life just before and after the Civil War. It is a poetic, funny, sad and romantic story about enduring love and how it haunts us. At times I did become a little frustrated with all the "horse talk" however, the "horse talk" does set the mood so one feels they are sitting on a old farm house porch in Kentucky staring at the horses grazing on the blue grass of that beautiful state! I recommend this book to readers who are tired of the same old historical romance books that grace the shelves of every bargain department store! READ THIS BOOK!! YOU WILL BE CAPTIVATED BY IT!!!

Bob Johnson is one of my heroes. When I first purchased this book, I read it straight through. The next day I read it straight through, again! Since my purchase, I have read this book 5 times, and never tire of reading it. Bob Johnson was the "All-American-Boy," and fighter pilot. I wish that I could've met him. It would have been one of the highlights of my life. I hope someday that I will be able to shake the hands of men like Mr. Johnson, and thank them for their courage and commitment to freedom.

No matter what you say, the best WWII fightyer pilot memoir ever written was The Big Show, by Pierre Clostermann. That said, Johnson comes as a close competition. Written with the aid of Martin Caidin, it is a gripping book.

As someone who has never been tested in the air...I have nothing but admiration for those who have and excelled. What it must have been like to get up at dawn and know that today might be your last? I can not imagine the strength of character those like Robert Johnson must have had?
This book is fantastic ...the Thunderbolt was a massive airplane and took skill and courage to fly over europe in weather that most pilots today would not even go up in period ...even with all kinds of radar and instruments that are the norm today. Read this book and honor a man to who we owe a huge debt.The book is one of finest written about the subject and you will feel as though you are there in the cockpit living it along with Robert!
I am humbled by the courage of those like Robert and this book brings all that in clear focus!Buy it and you will not put it down!

Thunderbolt! was the absolute best book I have read. Why? A good question, it is an extrodinary story of a man and the war that changed the world. This book focuses on world war 2, I am very eager to learn more about the causes and effects of the war, this book helped me learn alot more about fighter planes, and warfare of the U.S and Germany during that time period, (1942-1945) it also had alot of things that you could picture in your mind. "Thunderbolt" is defnitly not for young readers, it has many challinging words, and it was kind of hard to understand. On a scale of 1 to 10, I give this book a 10.

Mark

Republic's P-47 Thunderbolt was a WWII monster of a fighter. Fast, well armored, with heavy firepower, it was a nightmare for its lighter opponents. One of America's leading aces of the European theater, Robert Johnson, takes the reader on combat missions where the outcome is always tenuous. Through 1943 and into 1944, the P-47 was our frontline escort fighter until the P-51 arrived, with its longer range capability. But it was the "Jug" that chewed up Hitler's Luftwaffe and led the way to the air superiority that made the Normandy invasion possible.

Major Johnson came out the victor over 28 opponents and his story as told here is one of valor and determination on both sides of this awesome conflict. Highly recommended.

A colorful, engrossing story where real life is far more interesting than fiction as the author helps us relive his exploits. For war/aviation buffs, an adventure not to be missed.

This is a fabulous book! Incredibly good! Buy this book!

G. GORDON LIDDY

This story takes you back to a time when the world was a much larger place. Men and machines were the means to accomplish great deeds. Computers did not tell you how and when to do everything. Men actually flew by the seat of their pants and when they made a mistake they were quite often the only one's who ever knew. Laugh at the funny side of combat and feel the heat of tears when a friend is lost. Don't miss this wonderful story.

Bill Band has managed to capture the essence of a bygone era and make it live for those of us who weren't there. An exciting read.

Bill Band has told this story in a manner in which the reader understands what went on in this little understood albiet important theater and why it happened that way. It is a personal account which is engaging and well told. I'll bet Mr Band has more stories to tell .. and I hope he does.

It's one of the most important books for me, full of detailed pictures in the classic style of DK publishing.I totally recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the history of armor and guns

I bought this book for my father for a winter hobby. He's a retired policeman and avid gun collector. I wasn't sure how it would go over because he is not a reader. He loved this book, wouldn't put it down on xmas. It was well-organized, and the visual pictures were excellent. Perfect for a weapons-buff who's not a huge reader. It's going to keep him entertained for awhile, which was the point. Highly recommended.

This is a three in one review on the truly splendid books, Warrior, Weapon, and Battle. Or more formally: Warrior, A visual History of the Fighting Man. Weapon, A visual History of Arms and Armor. Battle, A visual Journey through 5000 Years of Combat.

They can be reviewed together because of their kinship in sharing the same visual concept and the same supremely expert author, R. G. Grant. No pilgrim, Grant is the author of over 20 books, most on the subject of conflict, implements of war and the fighting man.

All three books are wonderfully delicious for those of us whose DNA inclines us toward the history of arms, armament and the men who have carried them. These books are chock full of photographs, charts, maps and illustrations on every page to beautifully compliment and expand upon a tightly written, no fluff text. And this text is extremely well researched.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I must confess that I have not read each of these three books in their entirety. I've had them for only 2 weeks and after scanning them from start to finish, I am now devouring them slowly, page by page, like a monk with a holy book, meting out tasty morsels judiciously. I want this to last a long time.

Although, the books overlap to a degree, they are not repetitious in any negative way as they each have their own exclusive focus.

Warrior takes on the subject of the individual fighting man from 600 BCE to the present, from the Greek Hoplite, the Samurai, Zulu, Mongol bowman, American rifleman to the modern western infantry and special forces...and almost everything in between.

Weapon focuses on just about every kind of implement of a fighting man's arsenal of killing tools from Assyrian spears to the AK 47. In some cases, replicas have been photographed but mostly it's the often crusty, old real thing. The photography is first rate. As in all three books, the text and illustrations are intermingled in such an artful way as to make each page a visual smorgasbord.

Battle covers the first recorded major battle which is between the Canaanites and the Egyptians at Meiddo and takes us through conflicts in every age all the way to modern times. Its focus is on the Generals, the strategies, the troops and their weapons.

Battle was published by DK in 2005, Weapon in `05 and Warrior in `07. Highly recommended, all three.

I bought this book as a birthday gift for my dad (A big weapons fan) He loved it. Great pictures and easy read with a lot of information. It's a big book, a really nice coffee table book.

I bought this book as a source book for my D&D games, not only did it meet that goal to perfection but it was actually very interesting and a pleasure to read.

The pictures are great and really give you an idea of size and weight. And speaking of weight, most weapons have weights listed.

Great book, highly recommended!

Great job Frank. Very glad you were able to make it home. The title says it all. Thanks very much for the autographed copy via you golf buddy Luis.

Take care, Jon

In life we regard a hero as someone who has done something great. For example Michael Jordan is a hero to many because of his basketball prowess. In life there's another kind of hero and Frank Anton is one of those.

An extreme pleasure to read the words of a man who spent over five years in the worse kind of hell imaginable, a POW in Viet Nam. Anton's book is more than words on paper it's a living testimony to those who served.

Follow along and you'll find yourself living out the horrific condition he was subjected to. You read about Bobby Garwood and how he turned on his fellow prisoners. Most of all you stop to catch your breath.

From the depths of despair to the ecstasy of coming home, Frank Anton shows that heroes don't always make a thunderous entrance. In fact, those that survived and those left behind are the real heroes. 10 Stars!

This book is quite different from what folks might come to expect from a "war" book. This story brings the raw truth of the personal account of being a soldier and captured. I agree with another reviewer that this account is completely different in that it is about an Army pilot being imprisoned in South Vietnam before being sent up the Ho Chi Minh trail to the North. The years of endurance and emotional drain are hard to even imagine. And then, in the end, find out that your military knew of your locations and only took your picture! Hanoi Jane could do no worse. I served with a sister unit of the 71st in the 178th Boxcars at Chu Lai and was in country when Frank was captured(though we didn't know it that time}. I was getting ready to go home in just a few weeks - Frank's tour got extended by 5 years. Sorry Frank, if we knew where you were it would have been different or we would have been dead. I have the highest respect for this story, the truth, Frank and all the POWs who served their country but the "higher ups" could have done alot more to help but choose only to "observe" instead of have the guts the POWs did. Read this book and put yourself in Frank's shoes and you would ask the same question he did - AND he's right!

This is a powerful book that gets to the heart of what it was like to have been a POW in the jungles of South Vietnam. Anton's account is a remarkable account; a gut-wrenching story that will take you to the edge on a very real nightmare, teach you something about perseverence, and give you hope. It is a story that must be included in any war books you have on your shelves. I urge you to buy this book.

In January of 1968, helicopter pilot Warrant Officer Frank Anton was shot down in Southern Vietnam and spent 5 years in captivity. Many prominent books have been written of U.S. POW's in Hanoi's prisons but this story is a riveting look at POW's held in prison camps in Southern Vietnam which may have been worse.

Frank Anton has written a very detailed and graphic account of severly brutal conditions and treatments he and others suffered at the hands of the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong. For 3 of his 5 years in confinement in the south (he spent time in 4 different camps), he weaves a harrowing tale of torture, starvation, non-existent medical treatment, disease, and barbarity suffered by prisoners. He further adds that during his confinement, he was witness to many Americans dying in the camps and also of betrayal and enemy collaboration by one of their own.

After 3 years of confinement in the south, Anton and the surviving members of his camp, in an incredible display of courage, strength, and determination, are forced to march on foot for an astonishing 6 months to one of Hanoi's prison camps known as the Plantation. For an additional 2 years, this was Anton's new home before being released from captivity in 1973.

Upon arriving home, Frank Anton was debriefed by the military and he eventually found out, to his dismay and horror, that our government know exactly where he was the entire time he was being held and that no serious attempts were considered to rescue him or his fellow soldiers.

In the last chapter of this book, which is absolutely astonishing, you will find out why no attempts were made to rescue many POW's. Additionally, you will learn the current fate of large numbers of POW's that were left behind and are currently unaccounted for in Vietnam. This information is highly disturbing and tragic and paints a very callous and unscrupulous portrait of our government with their regard to our missing servicemen.

This book is exceptionally good and comes highly recommended. As a side note, Pfc Robert Garwood (possibly the most notorious U.S. POW collaborator of the Vietnam war) is featured prominently in parts of this book. For those interested in the complete story of Robert Garwood, you would be well rewarded by reading "Conversations With The Enemy: The Story of Pfc Robert Garwood" by Winston Groom and Duncan Spencer.

First, let me say that the views I am expressing are strictly my opinions and I'm not looking to debate anyone. I have been an avid reader of action/adventure, military and WWII/aviation history as far back as I can remember. This is one of the best books I have read in a long time! I found it to be a fast-moving high-flying adventure. The characters were easy to identify with as they spoke and acted like people you would come across in your (almost) everyday life! As for the villian 'Killer' DeLancey, three-fourths of the way through this book I was so into this story that I was tempted to look in the phone book for someone named DeLancy and pop him a good one in the mouth! I knocked off this book in only 3 days. Bob Gandt's style of writing was, to me, reminiscent of early Tom Clancy (before he got verbose) and early Dale Brown and early Clive Cussler. He knows his military flying and weaponry. I was so impressed I immediately got online and ordered his other 5 books. If you like true fast-moving action/adventure then strap on 'With Hostile Intent' and hit the throttle! You won't be disappointed.

Gandt starts his fiction career wonderfully. He takes his first hand knowledge of life for F/A-18 pilots, tactics and naval life in general and composes a great story with several subplots that allow for the story of Brick Maxwell to continue in future volumes.

Keeping it simple, the main character, Maxwell, returns to a carrier squadron after several years test piloting and as a NASA astronaut. He must deal with a hot-shot commanding officer with something bordering personal hatred for him, gender politics of the new Navy, and an Iraqi threat following the first Gulf War. Gandt neverloses focus despite having so much to contemplate.

If you like this one, try Punk's War and Punk's Wing by Ward Carroll for similar life and battle stories in the Navy.

Naval aviation thrillers aren't just for guys anymore. I'm a twentysomething woman, and a lot of my favorite books have to do with the men and women who fly high-performance jets off of U.S. Navy aircraft carriers.

'With Hostile Intent' is the first book in the Brick Maxwell series. Commander Sam "Brick" Maxwell, USN, is an F/A-18 Hornet pilot who is loathed by his commanding officer "Killer" DeLancey because Brick knows the truth about a kill that Killer claimed to get during the first Gulf War, has a mentor in the ship's CAG (Commander of the Air Group and the highest-ranking pilot aboard) Captain "Red" Boyce, and has to deal with two female pilots joining his squadron, Killer's attempts to get him transferred to shore duty, and the return to his life of his old flame Claire, now a journalist separated from her Australian journalist husband. (Brick was widowed when his wife Debbie died in a space shuttle launching accident.)

Killer is a pain in the six (or tail), but Brick juggles the demands of piloting the Hornet, Killer's rotten attitude, his seesawing emotions about Debbie and Claire, a tragic accident involving his friend and squadronmate Commander Steve "Devo" Davis, and the arrival of the two women pilots, one of whom is hellbent to cause as much trouble as possible and the other of whom just wants to fly Hornets for the Navy.

Brick is a great protagonist and likable hero. He is not infallable and doesn't pretend to be. He makes mistakes and owns up to them, but he's also not afraid to take charge and be accountable for his actions when necessary. The flying sequences are some of the best in-the-cockpit descriptions I've ever read, and they're understandable and make sense to civilian laypersons like myself. The aboard-ship actions and port calls provide just the right counterbalance to the aviation sequences.

And for my fellow romantics, Brick and Claire start to explore future possibilities in this book, and there's nothing rushed or phony about their issues, questions, and hopes.

Being a former naval aviator himself, Mr. Gandt knows whereof he speaks. If you're interested in naval aviation fiction and good, solid storytelling, pick up 'With Hostile Intent.' You won't be disappointed, and you'll be headed back to the store to get the rest of the Brick Maxwell books as soon as possible.

Robert Gandt takes us into the bowels of the USS Ronald Reagan where some of the ugliest of battles are played out between the best and worst of fellow Naval Aviators. Killer Delancey typifies the hotshot, blowhard pilot who ruthlessly works the promotion system and dares anyone to stand in his way. Spam Parker is like the unwanted, unsolicited piece of e-mail crammed into your mailbox, only she is the Navy's Poster Girl for Political Correctness post -Tailhook and she is not going to let anyone forget it! Gandt sets the stage perfectly for the reader to hate these black hats. An absolutely riveting account of air combat in the Persian Gulf and a behind-the-scenes look at the lives of fighter pilots. The lead-in for #2 in the series is palpable! Can't wait!

Robert Gandt's first fictional book is very good, and I'm looking forward to reading the other books about "Brick" Maxwell, the U.S. Navy pilot who is the hero of "With Hostile Intent". I'm a sucker for techno-thrillers that focus on naval aviation, and Robert Gandt does a great job of writing about life on an aircraft carrier and what it's like to be a pilot of an F/A-18 Hornet.

The story takes place in the Middle East, with the U.S. Navy (and U.S. and British Air Forces) enforcing the "no fly zone" over southern Iraq. The year is 2000, 10 years after Desert Storm but before the Iraq war in 2003, so Saddam Hussein is still in power and playing the role of super bad guy.

The major conflicts in "With Hostile Intent" are, however, not the ones between the U.S. and Iraqi forces. Instead, we have several members of the U.S. forces who are so egotistical and ruthless that they provide the greatest threat to the "good guys". (I don't know how realistic this is - for the sake of the U.S. Navy I would hope that people like that would be weeded out very early in their naval career.)

One of the things I liked best about this book were the descriptions of aerial dogfights between the F/A-18 Hornets and MiG-29 Fulcrums. Sidewinders are flying, high G turns being done to evade missiles, chaff and flares being ejected and there's lots of excited chatter between the pilots. "Fox two!" "Bandit on your six!" "Splash one!" Great stuff for us armchair warriors!

So why the lack of a fifth star?

Mostly because the plot is a bit too contrived and thus not very plausible. In order to maximize the conflict between "Brick" Maxwell and "Killer" DeLancey it's necessary for Brick to refuse to reveal something he knows about Killer, but without a reasonable ground for this refusal. Then at the end of the book there's an even more contrived situation, which I'll refrain from talking about here.

Also, the characterizations of the people in the book are rather "wooden", especially in the first part of the book.

Still, I'm definitely looking forward to following "Brick" Maxwell in his further adventures, as chronicled by Robert Gandt.

Rennie Petersen

I must preface my review with the fact that I know Mary Reynolds Powell and was part of her book, A World of Hurt (Chapter 9). Each time I reread her book, I always find new realities about the war and all of those who particapated and experienced the horrors of war. As a retired military officer, I am constantly impressed on how Mary was able to encompass the totality of the war from all the varied perspectives: the combat soldier, the injured and dying, the nurses and doctors (who were on the receiving end of combat), the pilots, and the Vietnamese themselves. I consider this book a "must read" who would like to better understand the tragic events that occurred when young men and women were asked to fight a "political war" with no clear diplomatic or military objectives. While Mary and I may disagree somewhat on the overall concept of having to fight wars, I strongly recommend her book to you. One thing I learned in Viet Nam was how precious life is and how easily it can be taken away. Mary's realistic portrayal of the war and of those who were there clearly articulates what it was like to fight a war that was mired in politics and lack of support by the American people. In the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), we had a saying: "For those who have not fought for it, freedom has a meaning the protected will never know." I know what it was like over there, and Mary's book is a magnificent portrayal of the Viet Nam war and its tragic costs on human lives and souls.

I loved this book! I got so attached to some of the nurses and pilots. The last chapter was the best, I cried through the whole thing.

This is one of those book that I will not sell or give away. I am sure I will read this again.

Mary's book holds a special interest to me since I was one of the original dustoff pilots to come with the 45th Medical Company (Air Ambulance) from Fort Bragg to Long Binh, Vietnam in July of 1967.

Her story is from the heart and is an excellent explanation of a nurses point of view of the ugliness that could only describe what Vietnam was about.

I have the greatest admiration for those who toiled in our hospitals in Vietnam and knowing first hand of the many, many casualties that we dustoff pilots delivered to their front door (in various degrees of trauma), the book was a confirmation of the horrible trauma that the medical staff faced.

A wonderfully written book. Hats off to you Mary!

I met Mary prior to my shipping out to the Gulf War, she told me that she was working on a book about her experiences in the Vietnam War, and also interviewing those that she served with. When the book finally came out I bought the book right away. Upon doing this, I could'nt put it down, I completed it in 2 days. The book had me laughing and on the verge of tears. Many books have been written from the eyes of a men serving in war, but too few have been written about a womens experience in that same war. I have to say her book was easy to read and understand, but at the same time conveys her feelings and alot of the frustration she felt durin her tour in Vietnam. I have to highly recommend this book to anyone that wants to see the war thru the eyes of a Vietnam nurse, or any women serving in a war zone. To all that served with honor in all wars including the one we are now engaged in, May God Bless you all and keep you safe, and also your loved ones.

Mary Reynolds Powell has written a wonderful book titled A World of Hurt: Between Innocence and Arrogance in Vietnam. Some of what she has shared in this book is her own feelings while other parts are those from some of the people she came to know while stationed at the 24th Evacuation Hospital in Long Binh, Vietnam.

Mary interviewed seven other individuals for A World of Hurt besides including her own personal stories of what it was like for her in-country and upon her return to the states. Stephanie Genthon Kilpatrick, John Miller, Frank Chamberlin, Son Dinh Nguyen, Chris Slavsky, Terry Corneil, Doug Powell and Mary shared so much in this interesting perspective 171-page book.

These individuals shared a lot with Mary who has now shared it with her readers. Their stories will amaze you as they all came from different lives as well as parts of the country. They all had feelings about the war before and after they served their country.

Retired Army Colonel David Hackworth wrote in his Foreword "Mary Reynolds Powell's powerful book is the perfect antidote to blow the revisionists out of the water-with the facts eloquently presented....Frequently...I found tears running down my face." I could tell that he had read this book and was as deeply moved as I had been.

In 1965 Mary "marched in a New York City parade backing the war." By 1969 she "wore a black armband in support of the national peace moratorium." After being "a registered nurse for only twelve months" in 1970 Mary found herself in Vietnam at the 24th Evac with the US Army Nurse Corps.

Mary recalled her stopover in Hawaii enroute to Vietnam walking past a group of Marines headed stateside "staring into the oldest eyes we had ever seen....their eyes were ancient, their faces blank." She quickly realized what she was getting into. She described her first night in-country as "Artillery hammered in the distance, mosquitoes feasted on me, and diarrhea induced by the malaria pills...kept me running to the latrine all night. Sleep came in brief, restless spurts."

The hospital's chief nurse asked Mary where she would like to work. When Mary said that she had done most of her work in internal medicine the chief nurse said there was an opening there and she was to start right away. I think this is one of the first books I've read where the author then tells the reader everything you'd ever want to know about the 24th Evac including a map of the area. I found it most interesting.

One of the items she described was the amphitheater where shows were put on. She pointed out something I was well aware of already. The site was where the "annual Bob Hope Show" was put on every "Christmas afternoon....You want to know something? Bob Hope has never spent a night in Vietnam. He flies to Thailand after every show." I'm so glad I wasn't the only one to point this fact out.

Mary explained the first day at Wards 7 & 8. She wrote of her name being added to the DEROS chart "in Vietnam, Marines stayed for thirteen months while Army and Navy tours were twelve-`364 days and a wake-up.'" She now had "359 days left." Mary took the time to describe several patients who stuck in her brain all these years. She also remembered "running...smiles....olive drab fatigues....endless IVs....gecko lizards....the proud, smiling face of a young soldier as I pin on the Purple Heart medal he earned with his body."

Mary's wrote "As a nation, it is time for us to take the burden from the kids who fought our war. All of us were part of the lie that wasted an American generation and devastated an ancient culture half a world away. Until we acknowledge the wrong that we did in arrogance, we will not have learned. And if we have not learned, we will do it again." And sadly I see that happening as I write this with our invasion of Iraq. I only pray our troops will come home quicker than they did when they were sent to Vietnam a generation ago.

This is a book well worth investing in. Mary's interweaving of stories and memories from her friends make it special. It should get more attention than it does but then again it's about an unpopular war and the people who served during it.

Ken Bell's story of a tour flying F105 Thunderchiefs in Viet Nam is a masterpiece of the technique of making things dramatic by being understated.
Although, like a number of military writers, he tends to put exclamation points after quoting an order from somebody, none of his own writing hits you in the head. Not in any one sentence. It's the accumulation that is gripping.
Bell, although an experienced fighter pilot, had had no command time and no combat time when he was ordered to Southeast Asia. So while we don't hear much about his problems just keeping the aircraft aloft, we do see him feeling his way through demanding staff jobs in addition to his flying.
This contrasts with Jack Broughton's book, "Thud Ridge" where Broughton is immediately immersed in the problems of command--he'd had earlier command slots--along with the flying.
Very shortly after arriving, Bell was put in charge of standards and evaluation, a job in addition to his flying. It appears that most pilots had such additional taskings. Stan/eval meant keeping the pilots and their flying up to Air Force scratch, modified for local conditions. This had Bell monitoring and evaluating others, sometimes during combat missions, and some of them his seniors. Later, he was put in charge of developing and selling technical and operational modifications to the higher ups. Obviously, his seniors had confidence in him.
The book gives us, as do Coonts' fictional story of Viet Nam flying, and Broughton's books, one each of various missions. We get to see how it all goes.
Bell sets out the immense effort it took to put some bombs in Pak Six. A dozen and a half tankers, a squadron or two of F4s for Mig Cap, SAR on standby, electronic warfare aircraft, recce either before or after. If it works out right, a couple of dozen Thuds put two or three tons of bombs apiece on a target.
Which brings up a point. Some of these major efforts of a major industrial and military power were devoted to a ferry landing site. A ferry landing site!? You could bomb one of those for generations, and until you changed the course of the river by the accumulation of bomb craters, nothing useful would happen.
Lose guys for a ferry landing site?
Or a steel mill. A generating plant?
This was not Germany or Japan during WW II where they were making their own stuff and the manufacturing assets could be destroyed.
Bell only hints at what Broughton explains in outraged detail. Some or most of the targeting decisions were made by non-military geeks playing war games back in the White House.
While we were pissing away men's lives on ferry landing sites, the important targets, Haiphong Harbor, the Hanoi-Haiphong transportation axis, the railroad up to China, were all left alone. It would seem that the propensity to leave a good target alone was directly proportional to its use to the enemy, to the prospects of victory, and the number of American lives which would probably be saved.
Broughton, having a bigger picture as a commander, got sufficiently outraged about such things in "Thud Ridge" as to make that part of his book, and all of his later book, "Going Downtown, The Air War against Washington and Hanoi".
Another point that Bell makes, not meaning to, I expect, is the incredible complexity of flying combat.
He speaks of landing just behind his lead. Lead reminds him to pop his drag chute immediately and to tell him when the chute is working so lead can pop his. If lead goes first and decelerates quickly, number two runs into him. So Two pops the chute first and tells lead who then pops his. There are a million little ways to screw up and get somebody killed. And you have to be watching all the time. It puts one in mind of Kipling's poem about the extremely young naval officers of WW I, referring to the "drowsy second's lack of thought that costs a dozen dead."
Great book to learn about the war in Southeast Asia and the men who flew in it.
And it also gives us, inadvertently, an insight into fighting a guerilla war with conventional tactics. You end up losing guys to bomb a ferry landing site.

I was mechanic on the F-105 in Thailand when Major Bell was flying his missions there. I believe he has written a superb account of the trials, skills and frustrations the Thud pilots had during Viet Nam. He brought back many memories of the two years I spent in Thailand.

My dad, a Wild Weasel 105 pilot who was there around the same time Bell was, recommended this book to me and once I started, I literally couldn't put it down. As other reviewers mentioned, you really feel like you are experiencing it firsthand. I think it's important to mention that it is written in a way that your ordinary person can understand exactly what is going on (something I feared before I bought it). It is an outstanding book and while I've always respected what my dad did, I feel I have 100% more insight into the extent of what he, and his fellow pilots, were up against-how they were able to face those odds day after day is almost unbelievable. The (physical and mental) strength and bravery of those men leaves me speechless and in awe. Thank you Ken Bell.

I first learned about the F-105 strikes against Hanoi in G.I. Basel's masterpiece; "Pak Six". Prior to reading that book, my concept of the air war over North Vietnam were the B52 strikes that were publicized, in the popular media, in the late sixties. The breavity of "Pak Six" left me hungry for more which Ken Bell delivers in " 100 Missions North" "100 Missions North" fleshes out the details and gives the reader a better idea of what the job, and life, were like for the pilots who flew the dangerous missions into Hanoi. While life, planning and debriefing are covered in more detail, there is still plenty of in-the-cockpit action, rocketing toward earth in full afterburner through clouds of flak to put the bombs on target.

Gen Bell writes it and you feel like you are there with him during the events he writes about. It is similar to G.I. Basel's Pak Six ( another must read). I've also read both of Col Broughton's Books and they are also "must reads" as well, but 100 Missions is a personal view of his experiences. I remembered the name Ken Bell from hearing about a mission he flew together with Col Broughton (and about ran of of fuel if I remember right), so knew that I had to buy this book. I am not quite done with the book and could easily read it non-stop, but want to savor it because it is that good. You get some interesting read ins to some of the personell that were at Takhli. I know I had an opinion of Col Scott ( not a positive one) and it will be interesting to read more about Maj Bell's thoughts of him in the book.
Though a Major when the book begins basically, he had no combat experience; wen to Nellis AFB for the fighter weapons school and then to SEA. His writing shows what goes on in his mind, his fears and doubts about the future and also the excitement of seeing combat. He tells about his mistakes and what he learns as he flys into RP6A and becomes a real weapon for the U.S. Air Force.