Top Guns

the long version

Twenty-seven aviators here relate combat experiences. Starting with WW I and ending with Vietnam, Foss, himself a WW II hero and ex-governor of South Dakota, and Vietnam veteran Brennan ( Headhunters ), base the book on personal interviews, published autobiographies and articles. Unusual are the reminiscences of 94-year-old Capt. Arthur Brooks, who flew Curtiss "Jennys" and Spads in 1917 and 1918, but the bulk of the volume is devoted to WW II aces, including several winners of the congressional Medal of Honor. Most tell of their victories, but a few relate adventures after being shot down in German- or Japanese-held territory. The no-win war in Korea still rankles the veterans interviewed for the book, and the single entry by a Vietnam navy pilot shows how badly prepared were our airmen for that conflict. A stirring work.