Aviation Books?Novels

[bubba716]

I know I am a huge fan of aviation books/military novels in general and I was wondering if yall had any good ones. A couple I have read recently that are really good are "Born to Fly" its a biography about Lt. Shane Osbourne and the crew from VQ-1 that were help captive in China. My dad flew with VQ-1 in the eighties and early nineties and reading that book was kind of an eye opener to how easily the s#$% could have hit the fan. Another one is called Air Warriors i'm not sure who wrote it but it basically followers a few people through pilot training.

 

[RevnR6]

Faith of my Fathers by John McCain is one that has been mentioned on here before and I just finished it. Good book for sure but not really an "aviation only" type book.

I am currently reading "Vipers in the Storm" by Keith Rozencrantz. Very good book. About an f-16 pilot in Gulf War 1.

Another one I just read was "Angles of Attack" by Peter Hunt. A-6 Pilot in Gulf War 1

Also read "Black Aces High" forgot the author, it is an OK book, but not written by a pilot, it is written by like a reporter who was with the squadron during Kosovo.

Those are it for now. I will look through my book collection and post more in a few hours when I get done with work.

 

[Blutonski816]

"Black Aces High" is by Robert K. Wilcox...

Same guy who Wrote "Scream of Eagles" which covers the story of how TOPGUN came into existence...

 

[Godspeed]

My personal favorite:

 

[Trev82]

i just finished reading BOYD and it has got to be the best book i have ever read on the military. BOYD was not only an amazing fighter pilot (probably the best) but one of the greatest tacticians of all time, up there w/ Sun Tzu. If you want a book with substance a book that changed not only the art of fighting in the air, but that changed doctrines for the army, navy, and airforce, and especially the Marines. Boyd had probably the greatest influence on the development fo the f-15, f-16, and f-18, even though he doesn't receive any of the recognition he deserves.

 

[bcatcher5]

Boyd was an excellent book. It is hard to analyze all the events in that book with a critical eye because of went on behind closed doors that were never mentioned in the book. For the Air Force to disown him, he must have pissed many people off. Anyway, if you want to read more on Boyd and his thoughts, there is a book called "The Mind of War: John Boyd and American Security." Goes into the OODA loop more in depth. Nevertheless, very interesting man and story-

 

[Jedj]

another great book, not totally aviation based is 'In the Company Of Heroes' by Mike Durant. its his personal account of what happened to him during and after he was shot down in Somalia. Quick read too, only takes about a week or two to get through. also, 'bogeys and bandits' by Gandt ( I think ) details a class of RAG students as they go through the Legacy RAG in the Mid 90's. its pretty accurate too and is a decent representation of what the RAG is like.

 

[bubba716]

Thanks a lot guys. I read BOYD about a year ago and I agree it is a great read. It is amazing how, one man could have such an integral part in the development of modern military tactics.

 

[Steve Wilkins]

"Stick and Rudder"

 

[Mayday]

Speaking of "Stick 'n Rudder," another good book is My Secret War. I don't remember the author's name, but it's the account of an A-1 pilot during Vietnam. It centers on shedding the sometimes-constrictive shackles of military beaurocracy (thus the "secret war" title) and concentrating instead on the sheer joy of flight itself, something we can all identify with. The author really notices the details (which I'm sure you do when you miss something), from the smell of the Av oil to doing an NDB approach into in solid muck and somehow coming out alive. The author actually chose A-1's because they were famously going to be the last tactical prop plane the Air Force would have in its inventory, and he loved the freedom of a stick n' rudder prop platform.
In particular, his accounts of the Sandy (SAR) missions were riveting. Pretty well written for a non-writer too.

 

[rare21]

"Chained Eagle" story of the first American POW (Navy LT. j.g. Everett Alvarez) in Vietnam. bogeys and bandits sucked.

 

[Jedj]

bogeys and bandits didnt suck, it wasnt an outstanding book, but for someone interested in getting a general idea of what the FA RAG is like, its an interesting read. although the bases have changed, the overall flow put out in the book is relatively accurate. I guess interests are relative though.

 

[rare21]

i guess let me rephrase..the author sucked... with quotes like:

"helo pukes - were placed here on earth to support the fighter pilots."
"helo pilots were where they were because of an innate difference in quality."
"possibility that a top student - a winner-might actually choose helicopters, but in a way that was even more damning. It meant he had no balls. Can you imagine...some turkey getting helos....because that's what he actually wanted?"

yeah i knew the book was going downhill after that. i know the book is about jets but these statements are just stupid. Airwarriors on the other hand (even though it also focused on jets) was straight and arrow. i hope Gandt one day gets a punch in the face...from a helo pilot.

 

[Jedj]

Good point. I dont agree with those views either. I can see how that can be offensive, doesnt exactly bring him off in a good light. If you can see past some of that then there is some decent info in the book.

 

[Trev82]

boyd pissed off a lot of ppl because he exposed crucial flaws in the system and the mindset behind peoples intentions, creating turmoil in a settled system. there were definitly just as many people who defended him and were very interested in what he had to say. giving briefs to generals, war academy's, etc. but your right it is difficult to assess since most of the real story will never be uncovered.