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(More customer reviews)If wings are in your makeup, whether in the past, present or future, you are or should be familiar with Col. Walter J. Boyne. This is the second book of a trilogy covering the world of aviation, which remarkably is only a bit over one hundred years old. The third, Hyeprsonic Thunder is promised to be out later this year.
Let's start out by acknowledging that no one is going to confuse Col. Boyne with Tom Clancy as a writer. However, what he has done is to try and give some understanding and insight into the development of aviation through the vehicle of a fictitious family by the name of Shannon. Vance is the patriarch. Tom and Harry are the sons. If you mistake Tom at one point in this book for Robin Olds, you can be forgiven, for this is what the author does. Takes real events and real people, calls a spade a spade and in doing so weaves a creditable and readable history of aviation that many of us have lived through.
Boyne also uses the book to make some telling points about choices that were made in the past and some yet to be made in the future.
Hauntingly, he reproduces the words of John F. Kennedy in a graduation address to the USAF Academy. "When there us a visable enemy to fight, the tide of patriotism runs high. But when there is a long, slow struggle with no immediate visible foe, your choice will seem hard, indeed. Your choice, ladies and gentlemen, to take on the problems and possibilities of this time, to engage the world, not to run from it, is the right choice." A little over five months later, Kennedy was dead.
As I said at the beginning; if wings are in your makeup, you most likely know of this author and you will want to get and read this book.
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From the first flight of the U-2 to the flashing speed of the famous SR-71 Blackbird, Supersonic Thunder is a portrait of the jet as it comes of age. Aviation genius is personified in famous engineers such as Kelly Johnson and Ben Rich and in test pilots like Tony LeVier and Tex Johnson in this fast moving story of military and commercial jet aviation.Under the guidance of test pilot and engineer, Vance Shannon, the reader is present at every major event in jet aviation in the 1960s and 1970s. As the ever-changing industry begins to speed up beyond Vance's grasp, he turns to his two sons, Tom and Harry, to keep the family business on the cutting edge. Though they've followed in their fathers' footsteps for many years, the stress from trying to stay ahead of the curve is destroying their families--as well as fueling a long hidden rivalry between the two brothers. As the Shannon family struggles with their personal and professional lives, Supersonic Thunder reveals the great leaps of the aviation industry during this astonishing era, from Gary Powers' U-2 shoot down to the first flight of the Russian Supersonic Transport. With historic and dramatic detail, we are taken behind the scenes, revealing the motivations of top Russian, English, and American designers as they push the limits of engines and airframes and confront the difficulties of the pursuit of Mach 2.0 speeds. From the luxury of the 747 to the abject despair of a cell in the Hanoi Hilton, Supersonic Thunder tells the real story of this amazing chapter of jet aviation in terms of the men and women who lived and died to make it a part of our everyday life.
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