"YOU CAN ALMOST SMELL THE JET FUEL AND GUNPOWDER. You attack the world's fiercest defenses at 500 knots and share the ultimate thrill of hurling yourself against almost impossible odds-and winning. -JACK BROUGHTON, author of Thud Ridge Ed Rasimus straps the reader into the cockpit of an F-105 Thunderchief fighter-bomber in his engaging account of the Rolling Thunder campaign in the skies over North Vietnam. Between 1965 and 1968, more than 330 F-105s were lost-the highest loss rate in Southeast Asia-and many pilots were killed, captured, and wounded because of the Air Force's disastrous tactics. The descriptions of Rasimus's one hundred missions, some of the most dangerous of the conflict, will satisfy anyone addicted to vivid, heart-stopping aerial combat, as will the details of his transformation from a young man paralyzed with self-doubt into a battle-hardened veteran. His unique perspective, candid analysis, and the sheer power of his narrative rank his memoir with the finest, most entertaining of the war. "A story that reflects the bravery of the men who flew over enemy territory in a perilous time." -The Baltimore Chronicle "[A] MODERN-DAY RED BADGE OF COURAGE ." -JOHN DARRELL SHERWOOD, author of Fast Movers: Jet Pilots and the Vietnam Experience
Look for these remarkable stories of American courage in the Vietnam war DOWN SOUTH One Tour in Vietnam by William H. Hardwick LOST IN TRANSLATION Vietnam: A Combat Advisor's Story by Martin J. Dockery MEDIC! The Story of a Conscientious Objector in the Vietnam War by Ben Sherman WE WERE SOLDIERS ONCE . . . AND YOUNG Ia Drang: The Battle that Changed the War in Vietnam by Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore and Joseph L. Galloway
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 5.0 / 5.0
At the controls of a jet during the Vietnam war:
A good book from a pilot who made two tours in Vietnam. Initial fears. Courage. The unconsciousness. The youth involved in this conflict viewed from the sky. Not bad at all.
A Fighter Pilot's story:
For some time now I've had a fascination with the F-105 Thunderchief and the men who went Downtown during the Vietnam war. To further my knowledge on the aircraft and the men who flew her I picked up When Thunder Rolled. Overview
When Thunder Rolled is a pilots view of the F-105 and the missions he flew during the Vietnam War. In this book our Fighter Pilot (I mean this a complement to Mr. Rasimus. I believe it would be a greater honor to call him a Fighter Pilot than by his retired rank, read... more info
When Thunder Rolled:
This is the best book along with Jack Broughten's "Thud Ridge" that I have read concerning the Air War in the North, especially as it relates to F105's.If I were to write a book on this subject, this is what I would have written.
Thoughtful, insightful, well written, very good.:
Whilst putting you very much in the cockpit Mr Rasimus has at the same time managed to produce a thoughtful, insightful, and instructive book that gives an excellent view of the experiences, feelings and thoughts of what it meant to be a fighter pilot in the early years of the Vietnam war. Highly recommended.
