Synopses & Reviews
Veteran journalist Douglas Waller, who wrote "The Commandos" after observing the training of special forces soldiers, chronicles his rare and intimate experience with the training program for Navy pilots in "Air Warriors". Waller, who was granted permission to participate in the pilots' grueling training regime, has written an absorbing behind-the-scenes account of the physical and psychological trials endured by the most specialized group of pilots in military history.
From his bird's-eye view in the passenger's seat, Waller follows pilot trainees through two years of intense preparation. He offers vivid illustrations from the fray: hair-raising aerial dogfights; stomach-swallowing dive-bombing runs; highspeed tactical maneuvers grazing the desert floor; and numerous nerve-twisting aircraft carrier takeoffs and landings. In addition to his own experiences and those of the group of trainees he joins, his research is based on interviews with hundreds of other students and their instructors. Hurtling through the air at death-defying speeds, these pilots-in-training struggle to maintain their composure while withstanding conditions that are designed to challenge them to the very limits of human endurance.
Waller's deftly drawn portraits of the men and women he encounters in this singular culture of elite pilots are as satisfying as his adventure narrative. The pilots, whose grit, determination, and mental agility operate on an elevated threshold, come into sharp focus behind Waller's keen lens: their aspirations, awe inspiring. "Air Warriors" combines an examination of the modern Navy, recovering from past sex scandals, with a portrayal of a privileged cadre of men and women whose ambition and commitment coexist within a tightly knit group. Waller is able to capture images of these pilots training, living, and fighting with an acuity and intelligence that are often absent from Hollywood and television treatments of this diverse and fascinating subculture. "Air Warriors" takes the reader for the first time inside the cockpit and behind closed doors for the real story of the making of a Navy pilot.
Synopsis
A thrilling, behind-the-scenes account of a remarkable group of male and female Navy Top Gun pilot trainees, whose stories provide an intimacy never captured in movies or on the television news.
Investigative journalist Doug Waller, who wrote The Commandos after observing the training of special forces soldiers, now chronicles the training of Top Gun pilots in Air Warriors. This time out, Waller provides even more exhilarating, you-are-there details -- because he was granted permission to actually participate in the pilots' grueling training program.
From his birds-eye view in the passenger seat, Waller follows each Top Gun trainee through two years of intense preparation, documenting aerial dog fights that leave the pilots reeling with nausea; stomach-swallowing dive-bombing runs; high-speed tactical maneuvers that graze the desert floor; and one heart-stopping landing and take-off after another.
Hurtling through the air at death-defying speeds, these pilots-in-training struggle to maintain their composure while surviving exercises that are designed to challenge them to the very limits of human endurance. In the tradition of George Plimpton, Waller offers a gripping and utterly extraordinary story that will inspire and amaze military readers -- or anyone who loves a heroic human interest story.