It put me back in the skies over Vietnam.
586757
Very accurate rendering of the war we did not fight.  The pilots rose to every challenge, but we were severely handicapped by the lack of civilian and military leadership.  I flew the night missions like Berent did in his second book.  We actually won the "conflict" in December 1972, then Congress and the President gave it all away along with the lives of my brothers.
1777471
This game took me back to when I was 10 years old all over again. My eyes lit up as soon as my plane left the ship as if I was in the arcade all over again!!
1367045
This novel found its way into my hands in 1969,when, as a nine year old boy, I read half of it before misplacing it. Thankfully for me, Amazon was able to let me find out what happened 45 years later! This story about a great battle in Vietnam was told with breathtaking skill and I was flabbergasted at the understanding of the writer of the complexities of the war there. I want to thank this writer for opening my eyes about the battles, dramas, and irony of Vietnam when I read this book as it was newly published in 1969.
472917
I bought this book because the 116th Assault Helicopter Company was part of the 11th Combat Aviation Battalion when I joined it in January 1967, 3 years before Denny flew with it.  Shortly afterward we traded th 116th for a fixed wing unit (184th Avn Co) which was on our Phu Loi base.  Cu Chi was just too far away and all our other assault helicopter companies served 1st Infantry Divn units, not the 25th Infantry (which was at Cu Chi).

I found the writing style a bit rough in places at the beginning, but soon became used to it or was so engrossed in the events related that I overlooked them.  WO2 Denny certainly flew in some of the most dangerous operations of the war, and to be named to the left seat and then an Instructor Pilot, must have been one very accomplished chopper pilot.  Thanks for sharing your adventures, Ed, and I'm glad that you got to become an architect as you hoped.
3785536
Fifty years after first arriving in Vietnam as a "newby", and after fighting and living there the following six years, this is the first book I've read that I feel truly gives an account of what it felt like to be Vietnamese and growing up during the "American" war in Vietnam!
4485339
Having performed maintenance of the L-19 (OV-1) from 1959 thru 1963 at Ft. Indiantown Gap, Camp AP Hill, and Ft. Knox Kentucky, this book brought back many memories.  We were able to bum rides with the pilots then, and there was a spare stick you could place in the socket of the back seater to maneuver the aircraft, which I did some of.  As to the book it keeps you on the edge and is very hard to put down.  It recreates the conditions of the Vietnam War and allows you to appreciate what these young men went through.  I take my hat off not only to the author, but to the other brave men living and dead who flew these light very vulnerable aircraft.  I'm sure this was a life marking experience for all of them.  Reading the book you can nearly hear the rockets wooshing and the AAA firing back.  If I had a choice to buy this book over again, I would buy the book edition instead of the Kindle edition, just to have it available and to lend.  There's also something about having a book you really treasure in the form of a regular book rather then stored in electronic memory.
1157304
Stoffey's book has you from page one.  This is goose-bumps material.  One of the best 1st person accounts of the air war over Viet Nam that I have read, & I have read a number of them.  I'd recommend this book to anyone.  It'll take you there.
1937617
The author gives a compelling account of his experiences going from the Air Force Academy through a terrible crash landing and his rehabilitation.  It kept my interest with his personal experiences and memories from a war that many people want to distance themselves from and forget.  Readers who are looking for a description of what it was like to be combat pilot flying missions into North Vietnam will find this book will not be a disappointment.  Mr. Warner also captures a lot of the technical aspects of flying some of the U.S. Air Forces most lethal weapons from the 1960 era.  I enjoyed this book and recommend it.
2825780
I did not just read this book, I inhaled it. I am about "Toby's" age and in fact was a US Marine serving in Vietnam at the same time. As I write this review I am sitting in the Rex Hotel in Saigon visiting the country for the first time since 1968. I finished his book as I sat in a little bar in Vang Tau. The irony was not lost on me.  The book brought back a swarm of emotions. I absolutely loved it. As for some of the earlier reviews who said he learned nothing about the Vietnam war reading "Pharaoh" all I can say is "not true." The book is about every war. If you read it closely you will feel what young men in every war feel, not just Vietnam.

This is going to be one of those books I give away and tell everyone who will listen to read.

Mr. Wolfe, my tip of the hat to you. I am your new best fan. I've already been to one bookstore in Saigon looking for more, alas it appears I'll have to wait until I get back to California!
4798471
I found this book to be very easy to read. I never felt myself searching for the end of the book but wanted it to go on and on. The relife experiences that he shares make you feel as if you are part of his flight crew. In the book, Gross was able to just tell his story the way it happened to him with out all the political nonsense that you find in other books about the vietnam war. I would recomend this book to anyone that is interested in the Vietnam war or in History. It truly gives you a real life experience of what it was like for a helicopter pilot.
1213505
Great story and career. 5 years of flying over Vietnam in a multitude of aircraft. I found myself saying numerous times, " what a badass" especially the end mission. My hat is off to you Captain.
1588770
Was in Vietnam during this era, it really captures the unique language, craziness of the military and what really is going through the minds of the characters. Ending is accurate. Unknowingly, a group in the book was called "Shadows," my call sign as a fighter pilot was Shadow.  Also, first day in Saigon they were mortared, I was also (my only day there in 3 tours).
2143880
Ive never flown a helicopter, but after reading Chickenhawk I reckon I have the experience.

The author is at his total best when hes recalling his maneuvers getting in and out of hot LZs (to you and me, thats landing zones where the enemy is shooting at you) and I could probably read about every single landing and takeoff detailed in here ten more times and not feel its been a waste of time.

So this is first and foremost a story of derring-do and an ode to flying.  Anti-war it may be, but Im pretty sure Chickenhawk has inspired generations of pilots.

Its that good!

Its anti-war, that said, and never better than in the following passage from pages 445-446:
While the First Cav slipped unceremoniously back to An Khe, the 101st decided to end the operation with a parade.  There would be no spectators except for the news reporters  unless you want to count the men in the parade as spectators, and of course they were.
Hundreds of bone-weary soldiers gathered at the artillery emplacements and began the five-mile stretch back to the airstrip.  They marched, in parade step, along the dusty road.  Insects buzzed in the saturated air.  No virgins threw flowers.  No old ladies cried.  No strong men wept.  They marched to their own muffled footsteps.

And its cynical, witness this passage from page 361:
The platoon leader, a skinny second lieutenant, came over and shot the sh1t for a while.
Find anything, Riker asked.
Just some old campsites.  The lieutenant patted his blouse for cigarettes.  I offered him a Pall Mall.
Thanks.
We hear the VC don't want to fight the Cav.
Cant blame them, can you? said the lieutenant.  Every time they do, we clobber the sh1t out of them.
Yeah, as long as we have helicopters, Phantoms, and B-52 bombers, I thought.  I said Maybe the war is almost over.

And its about anti-heros.  Its very title, comes from pages 242-243:
Do you ever think about quitting? Gary asked.
Sometimes.
Me too.  Sometimes.  Guess that makes us chickens.
Maybe.  But we do go fly, don't we?  Thats got to make up for feeling chicken.
Yeah, I guess it does.  He paused.  And when Im flying the assaults, I start feeling brave, almost comfortable in the middle of it all.  Like a hawk, maybe.
I do, too.  When Im in the middle of it.  But times like now, Id quit at the slightest excuse.  So what am I? A chicken or a hawk?
Youre a chickenhawk.  Gary smiled.
Yeah.  There was silence.  Yes, I thought.  Were both scared out of our minds.  It felt like we were near the end of our wait on death row.

What sustains the book, what connects the flying and the thinking is the authors humor.  Youre reading a book about war, devastation and rotting human flesh, but most of your time reading Chickenhawk is spent laughing out loud.

A lot of it is in the style later perfected by Quentin Tarantino, whereby improbably good, complex English is put in the mouth of people in everyday situations, like this dialogue from page 80:
Just remember, said Farris, of the thirty-three kinds of snakes over here, thirty-one are poisonous.
How do you tell them apart? asked Resler.
I think that with those ratios, you could afford to come to a prejudicial, sweeping generalization  like, kill them all.  Farris turned and left.

A lot if it is pure slapstick, like this little gem from page 118:
You cant get the clap, Mason.  Youre immune.
What do you mean immune?
Its one of the advantages of being an officer.  We get nonspecific urethritis. Enlisted men get the clap.

All the humor notwithstanding, you cant help noticing that the book gets darker as it progresses.  Youre not only witnessing the authors flying and derring-do, you're also there as he is being broken as a human being, succumbing first to the various temptations, suffering the consequences and losing his mental health and of course eventually dragging his family into it.

You won't be envying his wife, Patience (how poignant is that!) by the time youve finished Chickenhawk.  And you won't think war is glorious.

Regardless, you may well feel this urge to go fly.

I did!
4163993
I would endorse this book to anybody of the over 50 years old who can remember Cambodia or Vietnam
All I can say as a pilot I am pleased I never went as the ability of these guys to fly and control the action is astounding.
43191
As an A-4 pilot at Chu Lai during the same period as Capt. Lathrop, I can relate to the 1st 2/3 of the book in which he recalls his flying in Vietnam. The last 1/3 of the book details his struggle with "PTSD"  I cannot relate to this because I don't have PTSD nor do any of the  100's of veterans that I know.  Capt. Lathrop clearly had some significant mental struggles, but he comments himself that he probably had PTSD even prior to arriving in Vietnam.  The connection of his struggles to his experience in Vietnam were likely, in my opinion, an exacerbation of a pre-existing problem.  Never-the-less,  this is a great read to describe the crazy conditions in which a group of wild and courageous pilots found themselves.  Many either extended their tour or volunteered for a 2nd.
p of p
4975202
I felt like I was the guy flying in the "Peter Pilot" seat with Mr. Trout at the controls.  A great read for anybody who is a Viet Nam war history buff and/or anybody who ever wanted to fly a helicopter.
3297013
Wow,  this book brought back so many memories.  Things in this book brought back things I've long forgotten about.  So many memories, so many friends forgotten.  I arrived in country in April of 67 just in time for operation Union II.  We supported 2nd battalion 5th Marines out of An Hoa, 25 miles southwest of Danang.  I rember counting down the days waiting to go home and on my last day in country hit by mortar shrapnel.  This good should be read by everyone that ever wondered what Vietnam was like.  5 Stars all the way.  My only criticism is Marines called them sea bags, not duffle bags.