B Taub

Flight Across America in a Small Plane

Revisado: 02-01-25

Having recently read, and loved, THE CANNIBAL QUEEN, about a trip across the US in a Stearman, with the goal of stopping in every one of the lower 48, I realized that I really like aerial adventures. So, I figured I'd give Vagabond Pilot a try. I really enjoyed it.

In this book the author, Robert Young, describes his flight across the US from Santa Monica to the East Coast, and back in a Grumman American AA1. He's a 70-something guy using the trip to chill out after some disappointments and difficulties in life. Descriptions of these were important but sometimes seemed a bit whiney. (I do wonder how he managed to not lose the plane in his divorces and bankruptcy)

The AA1 was a trainer built in the 70s. For the entire book Young intersperses descriptions of the flight legs with descriptions of his experiences at each destination. In particular, he talks about visits with friends from across America and across his life. He also presents some political opinions which, for those who have read The Cannibal Queen, are pretty much the opposite of Stephen Coonts's.

In the flying portions Young does a great job describing all the steps he goes through to preflight and fly the plane. Being a student pilot, I could envision it all. I'm not sure why, but it's sort of compelling.

Some of his personal experiences were interesting and others were a tad annoying. I wonder if some of his activities might have invalidated his medical certificate, had the FAA known.

Yes, virtual voice did make some humorous mistakes (nm is nautical miles, not nanometers - nanometers would make for very quick trip legs, right?. It's usually pronounced leema, not lime-a. etc.) but even student pilots can grasp what's being said. Think of deciphering the mispronunciations as a kind of quiz.

Anyhow, it was an enjoyable listen about a trip I'd like to take sometime soon. I'd recommend it to pilots who like flying stories.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Interesting F16 stories from\ little covered front

Revisado: 08-24-24

Interesting stories largely from the war in Bosnia. Each focuses on one mission and there were a number of things to learn here. For example, how the international coalition felt about American participation and how it affected individual missions was really interesting.

The author is a bit cocky but, hey, fighter pilots, right?

Anyhow, a worthwhile listen for anyone interested in modern fighter pilot experiences.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Somewhat interesting but repetitive & misses stuff

Revisado: 08-24-24

I guess the title does say, "Skies over the Reich" but I expected the book to be broader than just the Western Front. There were no details from the Eastern Front, Africa, or Italy.

There are a ton of air combat descriptions but they start to feel repetitive over time.

At first I thought the book focused too much on the RAF and their strategy but that does help explain what Luftwaffe pilots were going through.

There were a number of descriptions of the experiences of civilians in the bombings and that was interesting.

Overall, there's a lot to learn here but it's not my favorite book.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

B-25 Strafers - Great Stories

Revisado: 06-04-24

Quick notes for now...
1) The Virtual Voice narration is a bit bad in places but not horribly so.
2) Book started slow and I was ready to give up. The author spends a lot of time describing parties at the base and repartee between the people who flew with. It's sometimes overdone but stick with it, the missions he describes are very interesting.
3) The author occasionally refers to concepts you encounter when taking flying lessons (eg manifold pressure and propeller RPM). As a budding student pilot, those were nice touches.

If you're interested in military aviation action, this is a strong title. It's especially interesting if you'd like to learn more about B-25 strafers later in the war. It doesn't get a lot of attention but flying from The Phillipines in early 1945 sounds very intense, and dangerous.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Japanese perspective of Pacific air war

Revisado: 02-17-24

I found it quite interesting to hear how Japanese aviation figures viewed the air war. While the book dragged at times, it contains a ton of interesting insights.

One commenter noted that the authors did not mention atrocities inflicted by Japanese forces. While true, that's not the place of this book. Overall, the authors express a good deal of remorse for following Japanese leadership and the hardships they inflicted on people around the Pacific. They also discuss, albeit briefly, the factors unique to Japanese society underlying the people's fanatical support for the war.

The authors support the notion that the Japanese government, knowing that the war was lost, was willing to sacrifice its citizens fighting a US invasion. While they don't say it, and they certainly decry the horror of the atomic bomb, they give the impression that they understand why it was used.

So, not a ton of flying (although there are some really interesting personal, stories of particular missions) but, if you'd like to understand how Japanese leadership saw the war, especially the air war, and what they could have done differently, this is a super worthwhile title!

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

The best coverage of the Battle of Britain

Revisado: 11-17-23

WW2 aviation fans will recognize Peter Townsend as an RAF pilot who fought during the Battle of Britain. In DUEL OF EAGLES he covers the battle in more depth than any other version that I've read (and I've read quite a few).

The book actually starts in World War I and charts the courses of the German and British air forces from that point forward. Townsend goes from WW1 through the 20s and 30s, following the major leaders and trends as well as following the lives of some of the airmen who would fight in the battle. Frankly, there was so much of this prelude that I thought I might be listening to the wrong book. But, the background becomes useful when Mr. Townsend covers the actual battle.

He covers almost every day in the battle, detailing how and why it played out as it did. He looks at the strategic level, the tactical level, and the perspective of pilots as they flew missions.

My only disappointment was with the narrator, who certainly enunciated well but had a fairly boring, monotonous way of speaking. Nonetheless, mispronunciations were minimal, and once you got used to his style, the narration was acceptable.

All in all, it's a very worthwhile listen for military aviation enthusiasts as well as WW2 enthusiasts.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

WW2 RAF Nightfighter Tactics w/ Poor Narration

Revisado: 08-22-23

While this book provides a good overview of the evolution of British night fighter tactics during WW2, the narration was quite weak. The narrator had perfect enunciation but no emotion and little variation in his tone.

There was some action but not enough to make the book interesting.

So, if you're deeply interested in the evolution of WW2 British night fighter tactics, I'd recommend this one although, perhaps, the print version. If not, sitting through this is a bit of a challenge.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Monotonous excitement

Revisado: 08-05-23

OK, I love military aviation stories, and this certainly had a collection of them. But, it was essentially a collection of stories about individual flights with little connective tissue between them. So, while each could be interesting as part of a complete story, it just started to feel like the same story repeatedly. Heard once, "I saw them two thousand feet below me, so I dove on them and clobbered the one on the left," could be exciting. But that story, followed by a very similar one and then another, gets repetitive.

And, regarding connective tissue, there was a good deal of rah-rah America but very little emotion. Things like, "Two of our flight were lost that day." is tragic. So, where is the emotion associated with that?

Perhaps, when I was younger, I'd find a book like this exciting, but, having read and listened to many aviation books, I didn't feel there is a lot to learn here, and after a while, all the excitement got a little boring.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Don't overlook this one!

Revisado: 08-05-23

Clostermann's THE BIG SHOW is a great WW2 aviation memoir. FLAMES IN THE SKY is much less well-known and follows a different format, but it's a fascinating, largely overlooked book.

Clostermann picks a few historical situations, most of which listeners won't recognize. He then describes how that situation fits into the overall war and then describes the mission from the perspective of a pilot on the mission. Each mission is in a completely different plane. For example, he describes a raid in Norway from the perspective of a French Mosquito pilot. Another mission is George Beurling's first Spitfire mission on Malta.

Each mission is described from a pilot's perspective, and Clostermann's experience as a fighter pilot and his skill as a writer really keep the stories moving.

Some say there is too much introductory material to each story before the flying, but I found it quite interesting. And it sets up each story.

It's also fascinating to see Clostermann's thoughts from 1948 (49?) when this was written and how feelings about particular aircraft have evolved since then (he seems not to be a fan of P-38s).

My only disappointment with this book is that it's too short. I can tell it took a lot of work to write, but I would have loved more stories. But, with that one shortcoming, I definitely felt this was an interesting listen and time well spent.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Great overview of RFC & RAF in WW1

Revisado: 07-14-23

While many books cover aerial exploits in WW1, this book is far more. It, indeed, did have a good deal of aerial action but it also covered topics not frequently covered, including...

- The birth of the RFC and prewar activities that proved the value of aviation.
- The profound psychological toll that the war took on the pilots. It turns out that even the great ones were deeply affected, even when they didn't show it.
- A look at the senior leadership and how seemingly unfeeling generals, like Trenchard, were actually deeply affected by the war
- The effect on families and the homefront

And a million other things that provide a much deeper understanding of the airwar than most other books.

The narrator was excellent. Overall, I highly recommend this one.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña