Air Warriors: Summary and book reviews of Air Warriors by Douglas C. Waller, plus links to an excerpt from Air Warriors and a biography of Douglas C. Waller.
Air Warriors The Inside Story of the Making of a Navy Pilot
by Douglas C. Waller
Hardcover: Jun 1998,
496 pages.
Paperback: Jun 1999,
255 pages.
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; high speed 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.
Library Journal
Navy Wings of Gold do not come cheaply. In this fast-moving study of young men and women under stress, Time staff writer Waller takes us into the intricate and intense world of Navy flight training....Recommended for public libraries.
Kirkus Reviews
An eye-opening account of how our new vastly reduced, gentrified navy works, short of recruits, given more global peacetime missions than ever by civilian officials concerned with the military as an equal-opportunity employer.
Publishers Weekly
Once readers catch on they won't want to put down this engrossing saga that will likely become an unofficial recruiting tool for naval aviation. Throughout, the would-be aviators are revealed as supremely talented, courageous and intelligent young people. And by showing how individual aviators have been unfairly tarred by the Tailhook scandal, Waller offers a powerful argument that repercussions from the infamous sex-capade have gone too far. The Navy will love this exemplary book; but so will the vast corps of military supporters and adventure-lovers.
Recent Reader Reviews
Rated of 5
by Kathleen
Air Warriors was one of the best books I have read. It was very specific and descriptive in explaing the training of a naval aviator. If you are interested in naval aviation you would love this book. A must read!!!!
Review (not rated)
by Anonymous Marc Resnick A terrific book! I actually got nauseous during a dog-fight chapter! Mr. Waller has shown me how demanding and dangerous it is to become a Navy Pilot.
Here in his own words is the true story of a forgotten American hero: the cowboy who became our first ace and the first pilot to fly the American colors over enemy lines.
A harrowing, adrenaline-charged account of America's worst naval disaster at sea -- and of the heroism of the men who, against all odds, survived.
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