Aviation Books

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.

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.

Quite simply as my review title indicates, every Division or unit that served in the Normandy campaign, deserves an author of Mark's calibre. I am a working tour guide of the D-Day battlefields, and I wish that every unit was covered in the same incredible detail as Mark Bando covers the 101st Airborne in his books. If you want to really get "under the skin" of a WWII combat division and hear true and verified stories of young men in combat, then this book is a must have. The only danger is that after reading this author's books, works by other authors on other units will seem dull and lifeless in comparison.

If you have gained an interest in the 101st because of computer games or a TV series, then BUY THIS BOOK. There is nothing to compare for personal stories of the men who jumped into the area behind Utah beach on D-Day. Unlike other books, these are not re-hashed anecdotes relayed third-hand from other works, these are fresh, exciting, gripping and moving accounts from the author's 35 year hobby of interviewing and more importantly befriending the veteran Screaming Eagles.

Using the mixture of photography, facts and quotes, 101st Airborne: The Screaming Eagles At Normandy, can serve as a great historical document. Within the pages of this great book, eye-catching photographs bring to light those events from World War II and the Normandy Invasion. The actions and reactions of the soldiers that fought in that war are caught forever through the historical eye of a camera, through famous and infamous quotes and accounts of the heroes from World War II.

The pages show the heightened moral and anticipation of the men prior to the invasion. Then the reader is brought into the middle of the battle with stories and quotes not just eye-opening photographs. This technique brings you side by side with the people of the villages and into the ranks of the soldiers marching off to fight another battle. I believe one of the best chapters is the true story of the movie ýSaving Private Ryaný. This chapter, Saving Sergeant Niland, shows the true-life drama of a man that Hollywood has made famous.

The book brings to light some of the things that are never seen in movies and footage of events of the war. I am sure that this book, as well as its predecessor The 101st Airborne at Normandy, will bring back memories of the way it was behind the lines during that part of the war to those who served. Even though there is a predecessor to this book both stand independent of each other.

When my uncle past away last year, my aunt showed me the 101st Airborne in Normandy, a book by Mark Bando. In the section on combat experiences, the first soldier profiled was my uncle Manny Gesulga. Manny was part of the 101st paratroop drop behind enemy lines at Normandy and his combat exploits read like something out of a GI Joe comic book. After living his harrowing experiences in Normandy, he went to fight in Operation Market Garden (wounded by sharpnel) and the Battle of the Bulge (wounded by sniper fire) and came out to live a full, productive life. He never mentioned his role in WWII but I am glad Mr. Bando gave credence to him and other heroes of the 101st. This book is a must read for all history buffs and really brings home the sense of duty and committment to freedom that is the legacy of the young men of America.

Outragous book, my father was in this book and I had to call him to recount the details to me first hand. Because of this book, I now know more of the war my father fought in.

Mark Bando, the author of this exposition of the bigger-than-life adventures of the fabled 101st Airborne "Screaming Eagles" at Normandy, is an old acquaintance and comrade from the Detroit Police Department. We spent time together years ago as writers for our police patrolmen's union newspaper, the Tuebor. We have happily renewed our acquaintance of late, and while I remember Mark as an astute and accomplished writer, my less-than-passionate interest in military affairs had, until recently, kept me from reading this fine book. Now that I have finally done so, I deeply regret that I waited so long.

"101st Airborne: The Screaming Eagles At Normandy" is a marvelous work on several fronts:

It is beautifully bound and presented; the layout and format are perfect for the subject matter; the photographs (many of them rare and quite beautiful) are heartwarming or bone chilling, as the case may be; the narrative is painstakingly researched from personal interviews of old soldiers and authentic military records; and, most importantly, the writing is masterful...accurate and careful as from a shrewd reporter's practiced and skeptical eye...loving and lyrical as from the pen of a writer of first rate fiction. I suspect Mark's experiences in "combat" on the dangerous streets of Detroit over the years have engendered in him a unique capacity to understand the special sensibilities of the combat veterans depicted in his book. Quite simply, "101st Airborne" is an astonishing accomplishment, worth reading more than once, and worth buying as gifts for the whole family, whether students of military history or not.

Mark has been very kind in his assessment of my own work elsewhere on this website. I am only sorry that I took so long to offer my heartiest endorsement of this first rate book. Get it. Read it. You'll be very happy you did.

An excellent book! It is so rare to find a book on a controversy in history and not have it be biased towards the conclusion the author wants you to believe. The people behind this book spend as much time trying to debunk their own evidence as they do the evidence of others! What a breath of fresh air.
The authors belong to an organizarion (TIGHAR) which research topics related to antique aircraft (and their pilots.) Their biggest project for years has been the Earhart project. Members from around the globe have spent years examining archives and conducting archaeological surveys trying to find out what really happened. This book presents their evidence and was more engaging to me than any fictional mystery book.

Those persistent TIGHARs are back with more suggestive but inconclusive research about what happened to Amelia Earhart, who disappeared in 1937 -- somewhere.
Every so often, somebody shows up in Hawaii with a kooky theory about Earhart, ranging from shot by the Japanese as a spy to still alive and keeping house in New Jersey.
The International Group for Historical Aircraft Recovery is far from kooky.
For one thing, they appear to have managed the trick of being zealous without becoming zealots. As lead author Thomas King puts it, "Most people have more pressing things to do" than hunt for a lost airplane that, given the odds, would more likely than not be under three miles of water.
The TIGHARs work, for free, in their spare time, on the assumption that, despite the geographical odds, Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan didn't just run out of gas and sink under the ocean. They think Earhart missed her target but may have crash landed on an intermittently inhabited (but in 1937 empty) island named Nikumaroro, where Earhart and Noonan might have either survived for a while or been eaten by crabs.
It's "a mystery that can't be put down," King says.
But hard to pin down.
Since the publication of "Amelia Earhart's Shoes" in 2001, the TIGHARs have run down more physical evidence, including things that look a lot like panels from a Lockheed Electra, but nothing definitive yet. The revised, 2005 edition is preferred over the first edition.
The story of the hunt also reveals a great deal of fascinating information about the South Pacific, which is big, mostly empty and weird.

Who says historical research and science have to be boring? In Amelia Earhart's Shoes, Dr. Tom King and others take us on a winding (sometimes loopy, even!) journey that tries to answer the question: What happened to famed aviatrix Amelia Earhart and renowned navigator Fred Noonan in 1937 after they vanished during her around-the-world flight attempt?

Amelia Earhart's Shoes does not pretend to solve the mystery - it does show that by applying the scientific method to a popular event, you can strip away all the myths and fables and assumptions and come up with relatively simple explanations that can be tested to see if they are true or false. That the scientific method may upset a few of those legendary apple carts along the way is proof that it works - something is either true or not true, provable or not provable. In Earhart's case, the truth may turn out to be much more mundane than some of the more colorful "solutions" to her disappearance would have us believe.

There is a lot of information in Shoes, but it is presented in an easy to read, almost chatty style (think ghost stories around the campfire while making s'mores) that keeps you turning the pages to see what the heck is going to happen next. The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR) has now been to the South Pacific eight times to try and prove or disprove their hypothesis that Earhart and Noonan missed their destination, tiny Howland Island, and landed on another deserted island, only to die (or perhaps be completely missed) before the frantic searchers could get to them.

Amelia Earhart's Shoes is a great read that should be on the bookshelf of everyone interested in what really did happen out there in the vastness of the Pacific Ocean almost 70 years ago.

I saw one of the people involved in this project speak at EAA's big national air show in Oshkosh, WI last summer. It was the most popular lecture session I attended while I was there. Interested, I picked up this book expecting a thorough but dry, academic read.

Was I ever wrong! This book is not only fascinating, it's funny! It's written with some dry humor that made me want to keep reading more. And the authors lay out a strong argument, to boot. It does make one wonder...

"Amelia Earhart's Shoes: Is the Mystery Solved?", Udated 2004 Ed., Thomas F. King, et al., AltaMira Press, NY 2001, ISBN: 0-7591-0131-0, PB 374 pgs., plus 23 pg. Notes, 9 pg. Biblio., 20 pg. Index, & 104 B & W photos, illus. or maps., 6" x 9".

This is an academic work by a contingent of skilled scientific experts whose writings & basic investigative work was coordinated, in part & on behalf of TIGHAR (Int. Group of Historical Aircraft Recovery) & updated 2004. The 27 chapters describe a forensic approach to solve the mystery of aviatrix AE's disappearance enroute 2,223 miles to Howland Isle from Lae, New Guinea, July 2, 1937.

The book's format & length makes for difficult reading: -- it is based on best available scientific evidences & hypotheses of multiple disciplines of archeology, geophysics, aeronautics, anthropology, and review of both private & governmental archival information in addition to tabulating their search findings on tiny remote South Pacific Phoenix Isle "Gardner", but renamed Nikumaroro, or "Niku". Author was a principle TIGHAR investigator taking part in expeditions to Niku, & he writes with authority, -- having "been there, done that!"

Inclusion of more than 100 photos, illustrations, maps, etc., makes the reading more easily understood & tolerable: -- for it is not a book one picks up and being enchanted 'reads from cover to cover' without pause. For readers who want an up-to-date analysis of AE's disappearance this book is best read after the reader is thoroughly familiar with AE's character, avocations, skills, life experiences's and accolades by the press, politicians & the powerful, -- for Amelia was a complex person living in exciting, changing times on the cutting edge of new technologies.

Many of the chapters begin with stanzas of word parodies to be sung to certain melodies, attributable to TIGHAR but not author King. The parodies I found to be highly irregular, unsettling & not in best taste, so downgraded book from 5* to 4*.

I am not a typical non-fiction reader, but after reading the book, First Lady of the Air, I could see myself reading more non-fiction. Kathleen Winters creates an easy to read non-fiction account of the life of Anne Morrow Lindbergh. Throughout the book, I could really identify with Anne as a woman and fellow aviator. Winters portrays many sides of Anne, from her days as a young woman, to a woman aviator, and finally to a wife and mother. She makes it easy for any reader to identify with the struggles that Anne faced in each of those times in her life.

Winters describes the historical significance of what Anne and Charles were accomplishing with their many long distance flights in uncharted areas; setting up air routes and paving the way for what future commercial jet liners would utilize on a daily basis. Anne was an active participant in an adventurous situation, which was not typical for women of her time. Very inspirational story showing that women can do the same things that men can do. A good read for anyone interested in aviation history.

This book is a gem. Well written. Informative. It is Anne's story -- the woman who loved to fly and who often was the first to explore some new phase. Because she is such an ethereal writer -- and because she was Charles' wife -- we tend to lose track of her actual aviation accomplishments. Author Kathleen C. Winters has nicely remedied that. Originally in hardback, the book is due out in paperback spring 2008.

Sarah Byrn Rickman, author of the newly released Nancy Love and the WASP Ferry Pilots of World War II (University of North Texas Press).

I thought Anne Morrow Lindbergh-First Lady of the Air was going to be a historical documentary, which would have been interesting. It was much, much more. It is exciting reading that covers the gamut from insight into the personal life of an aviation icon to a unique look into the early days of the flying machines. Kathleen Winters' writing style made me feel like I knew the Lindbergh family personally. Her research is impeccable. I was awed by the challenges of mixing high society and celebrity with the rigors of exploratory flying. We all know about Charles Lindbergh. Now learn about the shy, but brave wife who made him what he was.

"Anne Morrow Lindbergh: First Lady of the Air" illuminates the aviation career of Anne Morrow Lindbergh, who is more often remembered for her literary success later in life. But aviation consumed Anne's time, directed her relationship with her husband, and gave her much joy and satisfaction in the early years of her marriage to celebrated aviator Charles Lindbergh. Author Kathleen C. Winters, aviation historian and pilot herself, approaches this subject that has been largely neglected by Anne Lindbergh's previous biographers with an empathy for Anne Lindbergh's elation at the experience of flying and respect for her many accomplishments as a pioneer woman aviator and as an instrumental partner in husband Charles' groundbreaking survey flights in the 1930s.

We are introduced to Anne Morrow Lindbergh mid-flight during the Lindberghs' 1933 Atlantic Survey flight for Pan Am, for which Anne acted as radio operator and relief pilot, roles she regularly played while Charles' position at Pan Am called for frequent long and perilous journeys all over the globe to chart potential air routes. From there we revisit the early lives of Anne Morrow and Charles Lindbergh to learn how these two people of disparate personalities and backgrounds married and formed a formidable aviation team. Winters follows Anne's experiences and accomplishments in aviation, with and without her husband, from her first flight until Anne let her pilot's license expire and retired from aviation in 1937.

Winters places Anne Lindbergh's aviation career in the context of her personal life. Charles' high expectations of his wife were both liberating and trying for sheltered, insecure Anne. But Anne was buoyed by her husband's confidence in her skills and found strength and respite from the overwhelming media attention in the air. The book is most compelling when it takes us along on the Lindberghs' 10,000-mile Arctic Survey (1931) and 30,000-mile Atlantic Survey (1933). Anne's love of flying is apparent, as is the author's, as she describes the perils and wonders of these extraordinary flights. I never understood the enthusiasm that many people have for flying, but I think I do now. Winters' pleasant, precise prose reveals Anne Morrow Lindbergh's importance in the Golden Age of Aviation and explores her personal relationship with aviation.

There was a time when Charles Lindbergh was the most famous man on Earth. His 1927 solo flight across the Atlantic caught the world's imagination and the public couldn't get enough of him. When he decided to get married he made looking for a wife into a project. Anne Morrow was the daughter of a wealthy and prestigious family and while Anne didn't quite take to Charles at first, it wasn't long until she was caught up in his charisma and the thrill of flying, and they were soon married.

Kathleen Winters has given us a very interesting biography of Anne that necessarily includes material on Charles, but usually from Anne's perspective. The subtitle of the book is "first lady of the air" and most of the book is about Anne's achievements as a pioneering woman in powered flight and gliding. The majority of the book focuses on two major expeditions Charles and Anne made to Asia in 1931 and all around the North and South Atlantic in 1933. Anne was not just along for the ride on these long and dangerous trips to open flying routes around the globe. As Charles noted when asked about taking his wife along on these hazardous flights, "she is crew". Anne operated the radio, used Morse code, and much more. The radio in those days was much more art than the standard technology it has become.

Winters provides great maps of these great journeys along with some terrific photographs. The revolutionary nature of these flights is made clear by the medal Anne was given by the National Geographic Society for her part in opening air routes around the globe.

While the book does cover the major biographical details including the kidnapping and murder of their firstborn with the subsequent trial of Hauptmann, everything but the flying is covered in short form, but all the major points are touched on.

I found Winters' treatment of Charles being given Service Cross of the German Eagle by Goering most interesting. It has become usual to bash Lindbergh for accepting this award, but the accusers rarely put the event in context. It happened only a few weeks after the "peace in our time" four-way pact signing between Britain, France, Germany, and Italy and weeks before Kristallnacht. The Lindbergh's had stopped in Germany for eighteen days after a trip to Russia. The presentation was made without warning or announcement at a men's only dinner at the American Embassy and at the time neither Charles nor the other men at the dinner thought much about it. Afterwards, Anne expressed her concern that the white cross would become an albatross around his neck. After Kristallnacht occurred, Charles wrote in his journal, "My admiration for the Germans is constantly being dashed against some rock such as this."

Winters also provides very interesting information about Anne's efforts and success as an author. I have not yet read any of Anne's writings, but this book has piqued my interest in seeking them out.

This is a most interesting book about a talented an intrepid women who held her own in a marriage to one of the great historic characters of the 20th Century. Her life is instructive, inspiring, and very much worth knowing. Winters' has written an honest and interesting look at her life and accomplishments. I recommend that you get a copy and enjoy it.

Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI

This book is wonderful.
I did not know that the Germans were the first to use helicopters in combat in WW2 and not the Americans!
Now I know this as a fact!
And it is amazing that they flew public demonstrations of helicopters even before 1938, setting speed and altitude records! What amazing craft such as the Fl-185, FW-61, Fa-223, FL-265, FL-282 all flying years before Sikorsky!
And we here in America always assume when someone says "the first american to do something" it means the first person in the world to do something.


How amazing to find out that the Germans had operational combat choppers performing air-sea-rescues and submarine spotting in the Baltic before Sikorsky's craft had ever left the ground .
We in America are always so eager to claim we were the first at everything when after a little investigation it is so easy to find out that our common perceptions of History are mostly wrong.


How wonderful that this book clears up those kinds of misconceptions and sets the record straight, showing that the Burma rescue of 1944 came years after German helicopter rescues at sea. Wonderful to discover that air mobile operations and combat troop transport and transport of artillery and ammunition was carried out from huge twin rotor Focke Achgellis 223 choppers. They even airlifted whole airframes of downed fighter craft and heli airlifted a broken down Fieseler Storch observation plane back to base, something we couldn't do untill post war. They even airlifted light trucks by helicopter.
We always assume we were the first but we should know better.

But Hang on, are all these facts actually mentioned in this book at all, or am I getting confused with Steve Coates' book "Helicopter of the Third Reich"? Perhaps here again an American book about the American military is oblivious to the rest of the world and the priority of foreign achievements. If it didn't happen in America it didn't happen right? Read this book with awareness of those sorts of biases.

Although this book reflects considerable research there are glaring flaws in that research. It is confusing at times and poorly written, because it is full of typographical errors and conflicting and confusing data. I am intimately familiar with two of the stories related in this book and one of them is fairly accurate while the other one has many inaccuracies. I served two tours in SEA in Rescue helicopters and I know a thing or two about the subject matter. It could have been an excellent book if the author had hired a proof reader and considered finding more corroboration for some of the material. Otherwise, it is a great summary of the important role of helicopters in military aviation.

I've known Bob Dorr as a friend for about a decade or more. He and I both share a passion for aviation and aviation photography. Bob, however, goes beyond passion when he writes books. His unique ability is to write books that puts readers into the cockpit of helicopters or other aircraft. You feel exactly what other crews have felt while flying missions. Bob's amazing knowledge of aircraft and history and his dogged research makes for truely unique books.

I enjoy Bob's books and encourage others to try them out.

Dorr's "Chopper" belongs on the shelf of everyone interested in military aviation history and the men who were part of it. Dorr interviewed more than 75 pilots and crewmen and these individuals come to life as their remarkable stories are told in this very readable book.

"Chopper" is laid out chronologically. It starts behind enemy lines in Burma in 1944, when a young American pilot named Harman and a mechanic named Phelan flew a Sikorsky "R-4" helicopter on what was apparently the first ever U.S. military helicopter rescue. From here on out, the role played by "whirlybirds" in almost every major U.S. military operation is examined, including: air rescue missions during the Korean War, troop airlift operations in Vietnam, heliborne assaults in Afghanistan and helicopter attacks in Iraq.

I liked "Chopper" because it lets each pilot, mechanic, and crewman tell his story in his own words, and this makes for a readable, entertaining, and often exciting journey through history. All the services get their due as well---Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine helicopter pilots and aircrew are all part of Dorr's narrative.

From what I can tell, "Chopper" also is a true "first" in the history of book publishing: the first book to compile first-person accounts of helicopter pilots and crews who flew military rescue and combat missions; the first book to tell the comprehensive story of military helicopter operations from World War II to the current war on terror; and the first book to combine these personal histories with technical data on each helicopter flown or crewed.

General readers, amateur historians, and professional researches will find this book well worth the money.

I own and have read a number of books by military author and historian, Robert F. Dorr. Chopper is, by far, the best.

Starting with "eggbeaters" in Burma and continuing through the "snake" in Iraq, Dorr lets the pilots and crews tell their own stories. The stories include a father-and-son combination as well as the memories of fixed-wing aircraft pilots suddenly assigned to fly helicopters. As the pilots and crews recount their experiences, the humor of military personnel in tough situations spreads through the pages.

Dorr has amassed an amazing collection of photographs that accompany the narrative, making it easy and fascinating to follow the development of helicopters from 1945 to the present day. Chapter sidebars telling the reader who's who add to the readability.

This book is a pleasure to read. I recommend it without reservation.

... No psycho-drama authorship trying to turn historical facts into "entertaining history". This book takes the documented history of the Vietnam air war, thoughtfully analyzes the data, and presents rational conclusions that can be used as lessons for the future. This is "intelligent history" at its best. Well-done!

This book is an excellent account of the "corporate" deficiencies of the USAF in the late 60's and early 70's. The deficiencies of the air-to-air missiles in the Vietnam war are strikingly similar to the deficiencies of the torpedos in the USN in the first two years of WWII. Equally striking was the smug attitude of the service about the superiority of US aircraft ("The F-86 had a 13:1 kill ratio over the MiG-15. Who cares that they slaughtered the F-84s?") and the poor pilot training that occurred for both USAF and USN F-4 drivers. The MiG-21 was indeed a nasty surprise. With a higher thrust-to-weight ratio and a lower wing loading, it could both out-accelerate and out-turn F-105s and F-4s. The only American advantage was a higher clean top speed, and external ordinance stores and fuel tanks often abrogated this. The MiG-21 had poor visibility, and a short range, but was an excellent point defense interceptor that transitioned well from bomber defense to dog fighting. (As an aside to the book, with modern electronics, the MiG-21/Lancer and MiG-21/2000 are excellent low-cost fighters today, but each air-air missile will cost you as much as the airframe!) The book details both the combat adaptations that worked (jamming pods, IFF interrogators) and the effective efforts of the USN and criminal negligence of the USAF (and I write as an ex-USAF officer) to improve dog fighting capabilities between the end of Rolling Thunder in 1968 and Linebacker I/II in 1972. The Navy instituted the Top Gun school and made effective modifications to the AIM-9 Sidewinder - the Air Force made a couple of ineffective changes to the AIM-9 and some moderately good ones to the AIM-7, though much of the better performance of the latter during Linebacker was due to higher engagement altitudes resulting from the use of laser guided bombs for the strike packages. He does make the point in the end that the USAF attitude improved after Vietnam when the junior officers of that war increased in seniority and that the introduction of AWACS and trading top speed for maneuverability and visibility in the new generation of fighters cured many of the deficiencies seen in the Vietnam war. A minor objection is that the book does not refer to officers below general rank by name.

Clashes deals with the air war over North Vietnam, something I've had a fascination with for some time. Why, because I wanted to understand why servicemen were put into a dangerous position and what did really happen. To help answer this, Col. Michel takes on the entire air war over North Vietnam (Rolling Thunder, Linebacker I, and Linebacker II). Rather than looking at it from the cockpit view (ala Thud Ridge: F-105 Thunderchief missions over Vietnam or When Thunder Rolled), Col. Michel takes us up to the operations level and provides a good high level breakdown of many of the raids and the engagements between fighters and the North Vietnamese air defenses. The book is divided into two parts (Rolling Thunder and Linebacker) with subsections focusing on different components (both parts use equipment used, early engagements, later engagements, and summary). In each of subsection, Col. Michel does a very good job describing what is occurring and what the Americans and North Vietnamese are doing. In addition to describing engagements, Col. Michel does a great job describing the involvement of EC-121's (College Eye/Disco) and Red Crown (a naval ship controlling the fighters) and their impact on the fight. Unlike other history's, Clashes does not name the pilots involved, rather their radio call signs are used.

Parts I Loved:
Clashes gives us much information about the aircraft involved, the abilities of the men flying them (their training and tactics), and the environment they're fighting in. I loved the drawings, they do an excellent job showing the differences between a fluid four and a loose deuce. I also loved Col. Michel including the technical aspects; performance test of captured MiG's, the Command and Control aspect (often overlooked), and the power and effect of jamming.

Parts I Wish Were a Little Stronger:
Iron Hand missions were a little on the weak side. I have a love and fondness for Wild Weasels and wish that more had been brought out about their support of the missions and how they operated (I'm sorry, this was weak in comparison to the attention paid to Chaff bombers). I also wish more had been brought out about rescue missions and the work they did there.

Bottom Line
Rating wise, this is a very solid 4.5 star book. I am giving it the node to 5 for Amazon purposes, but for my personal rating I can't rate it up there with Fire in the Sky: The Air War in the South Pacific by Eric Bergerud (I'm sorry, Fire in the Sky is my personal favorite or telling the story of an air war. Clashes though is right behind it!). I understand why Col. Michel focused heavily on the air-to-air engagements and for the insight he provides there this a solid 5 star book. No matter, if you want to know about the Vietnam Air War (mainly in Pack's 5 and 6), then this is the book for you.

This is simply the best book on the air war over thenorth. Here you found both technichal datas, doctrinal debate and combat history. Michel style is dry, he ocnentrates on fact rayther than personal memoir or oral history, but reading this book you will have the best picture of the actal missions over the North Vietnam. Tha autohrs follow the history of the air war both from US and DRV perspective comparing airacraft, weapons and doctrines. The book is full of detial form the advantages and disavanteges of the various aricrafts to the dreaded flight four USAF formation. He actually dispel some myths (especially adressoing the real effectiveness of the SAM defense). If you are interested in air war this book is a must.

"Clashes:Air Combat over North Vietnam 1965-1972" is the best book I have ever read on aerial combat over North Vietnam and one of the best books I have read on aerial combat in general. It provides an excellent analysis of what went right and what went wrong in the skies over North Vietnam. I was truly amazed to read how often the air to air missiles, especialliy the AIM-7 Sparrow, malfunctioned. For anyone interested in aerial combat, this excellent book is a must!

I just finished this superb work a few moments ago. Warning: once you start, you will not be able to put this book down.

As others have said, this is a true story which reads like a finely crafted work of fiction of the historical "thriller" genre. The constant tension is palpable as our heroes, the downed American airman desperately seeking help in occupied France, the young, small town schoolteacher who decides to risk all to hide him, the brave French Resistance fighter, all attempt to evade capture and death at the hands of the Nazis. That's all you need to know. Treat yourself...get this book and find out what happens to them. As the story draws to its end, you will truly care. I promise.

I love stories of the WWII era in occupied Europe and have read many, both history and fiction. Alan Furst's works of fiction are good, especially the earlier ones. Robert Ryan's works, The Blue Noon and Early One Morning, are both superb. They are based on actual events and real persons, with additional fictional characters inserted. A central "real" character in the latter, race car driver Robert Benoist, appears briefly in The Shadows of War.

Airey Neave's They Have Their Exits is a thrilling true memoir of escape from a Nazi prison camp. Neave also appears briefly in Ryan's The Blue Noon. Clare Francis' Night Sky is by far the best fictional work I have enjoyed of this genre.


All these books are excellent page turners. If you only read one, however, read In The Shadows of War. Whether you are interested in WWII and/or clandestine operations in occupied Europe or not, you will love this book and be moved by it.

I first encountered Thomas Childers in his excellent courses for The Teaching Company. His full history of WWII and his course on Hitler's Empire are excellent. Childers is a highly regarded U. of Pennsylvania professor of history. I recommend those works as well.

This is a very well written story of both the French resistance and the story of one of our pilots that crashed and was helped to avoid the Germans in occupied France. It also documents the experience of the pilot when he is captured by the Germans. It is a chilling example of the cruel treatment the pilot and other prisoners had to endure.

Thomas Childers has done it again - a truly amazing recount, from a very personal view, of another air war story from WW-II. His previous "Wings of Morning" was spell binding and yet here is "In the Shadows of War", another captivating book to be read over and over.

this book is fascinating as it ties in a captured American pilot's story with that of the French underground. A sobering view of the stranglehold the Germans had on occupied France and the tragic and heroic struggle of ordinary people.

i must say i am not the most advid reader in the world but when i bought this book i could not put it down. this book has it all, great adventures rich with texture and amazing characters!
there are many subplots to this book which also help advance the story to a wonderful ending. what a great movie this book would make and the fact that it really happend makes it even more compelling. thomas childers is a wonderful rich story teller. thanks for a great read!

. . . an illuminating look at the risks involved in flying commercial airliners, from a line captain who spent his career doing just that. . . . Power-Waters uses his captain's eyes and mind to explain why things happen and what can be done to make the skies safer. . . .
Roy Boydston, General Aviation News

Once again Captain Brain Power-Waters had the courage to take on the FAA. I hope his effort is not in vain. The ALPA, IAM, and NATCA need to take a stand and do the right thing. We all know the FAA want. Congradulations Brian for your great book. This is a must read for everyone! Steve Goodman, Line Captain, A&P, I.A.

I thoroughly enjoyed Captain Power-Waters' latest book. Now the truth is out! What a great job of telling the truth, and in such an interesting fashion. Power-Waters' story telling holds the attention while putting out information that is valuable to all in aviation. Is It Safe? covers today's primary concern of the risky business of flying commercial airlines, and what can be done about it. I am recommending my friends read it. Captain Power-Waters continues to do a service for all aviation by telling it like it is. This is overdue in aviation.
Paul E. Stebelton, FAA Accident Prevention Specialist (13 years), Captain USAF Retired.

"Thank you for sending me a copy of Is It Safe? You obviously have done an extensive job researching this topic, and, more importantly, it is clear you have lived the issues. I congratulate you on your effort.
Robert Roach, Jr., General Vice President IAM, the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers.
IAM has over 14,000 mechanics and flight attendants in their association.They also preside over 75,000 other airline employees.

Whether it's airline practices, the two-person cockpit crew, or just plain bad design, Captain Brian is all over it. He's particularly hard on the FAA, from a lot of different angles. He points out that they can't possibly do the job they're saying they're doing, and that their delegates (DERs and airline employee-supervisors) aren't as interested in safety as in keeping the schedules met. He points out that the FAA doesn't follow its own rules, and how, if you're high enough up in the bureaucracy, you can get away with all kinds of questionable actions. He even mentions how some (to his mind, as well as most others' ) "unqualified" FAA officials (they're all "officials") decided to "get" Bob Hoover. . . . .
He sounds alarmist, even -- until you realize he's quoting actual accident reports, actual cockpit recordings, actual GAO studies, actual facts. . . . .
The book reads like a hangar-talk bull session, where you're listening to a guy who knows his flying, knows his airplanes, knows his maintenance, and, well, knows what he's talking about. . . . .
Tim Kern, Aero-News Network

My 2 year old son got this as a gift. Of course, being two he's already tore off half the tabs, but so what! He still loves it! It definitely won't last until his sister is old enough to enjoy it but we've already gotten our money's worth in the short time we've had it. I plan to buy another copy soon.

My 5 year old grandson loves the moving parts in the book and like to pretend while he looks at it. Enjoys it alot.

Another big vote for this book. As a small red plane pilot, I've given out two of these books to friends kids, with very positive results. 90% of the activities are amazingly accurate, from "chocks away" to refueling.

I agree that it is a little fragile, as some of the cardboard effects are a bit ambitious, but worth it for the detailed appreciation of flying.

Captain Brian says "take off!"

I am writing in response to the reviewer who said that the book is especially great for boys. (let's not gender-type!) This is our daughter's favorite book. She is 13 1/2 months now and it has been her absolute favorite since we started reading it to her when she was just a few months old and we just ordered a second copy because hers is so tattered from use. Highly recommended for girls as well! :)

My two-year-old son loves this book but he has already destroyed more than fifty percent of it after two months of use.

This book has many interesting features, from radio sets connected by string, to "radar blips" on a screen in a cockpit, little planes "flying" through the sky, to a steering wheel that changes the view out windscreen as you "come in for a landing--and that isn't even half of the activities in the book.

The problem is that it requires a high degree of fine motor skill to operate many of the activities. The "radar blips" were difficult for me to spin, for example, and the steering wheel kept getting stuck until mommy tore it in one of her many attempts to "Fix it!" under pressure. My son also removed all of the little "flying airplanes" in less than a week of play.

Don't get me wrong--my son still LOVES this book, despite the fact that it is now falling apart! He has a blast using the things that still work, and explaining to me how the things that are broken used to work.

I would recommend waiting until a child is at least four before buying this book for them unless they are very careful players or there will be parental help all the time it is in use.

And, I would like to add that the girls in my son's playgroup loved this book as well--it is DEFINITELY not just for boys!