Rating: 
Summary: A leadership story
Review: This book is a great antidote to the Clancy-style action thriller where one guy saves the world. Instead, this is one well written tale of "Punk", a naval aviator operating off a carrier in the Persian Gulf, who does his job, has friends and wonders where it's all going to lead him. It's a well written "small" story, full of the feel of leadership and "being there" without the braggadocio. There are a few sections of crude humor that are so well done they'll have you hiding your laughter, lest you have to explain what's so funny. Carroll is an excellent writer.
Rating:
Summary: A leadership story
Review: This book is a great antidote to the Clancy-style action thriller where one guy saves the world. Instead, this is one well written tale of "Punk", a naval aviator operating off a carrier in the Persian Gulf, who does his job, has friends and wonders where it's all going to lead him. It's a well written "small" story, full of the feel of leadership and "being there" without the braggadocio. There are a few sections of crude humor that are so well done they'll have you hiding your laughter, lest you have to explain what's so funny. Carroll is an excellent writer.
Rating: 
Summary: A Must Read!
Review: This is a terrific book. For anyone interested in becoming a Naval Aviator/Naval Flight Officer, is a current one, or was once part of this tremendous occupation this is a must read. With unabashed "I've been there" Carroll pieces together a cast of characters and plot that is mostly irreverent and, therefore, completely accurate. With absolutely no hint of "Hollywood" he successfully captures the real experience of Naval Aviation. Like no other book about aircraft carrier aviation, and as a former Prowler guy, reading "Punk's War" had at times the look and feel as of reading a personal journal any of us might have kept. The book is fun, memorable, and most of all successful in paying homage to the demanding and supremely rewarding profession; Naval Aviation.
S. H. Hassett
LCDR USN (Ret)
...
Rating:
Summary: A Must Read!
Review: This is a terrific book. For anyone interested in becoming a Naval Aviator/Naval Flight Officer, is a current one, or was once part of this tremendous occupation this is a must read. With unabashed "I've been there" Carroll pieces together a cast of characters and plot that is mostly irreverent and, therefore, completely accurate. With absolutely no hint of "Hollywood" he successfully captures the real experience of Naval Aviation. Like no other book about aircraft carrier aviation, and as a former Prowler guy, reading "Punk's War" had at times the look and feel as of reading a personal journal any of us might have kept. The book is fun, memorable, and most of all successful in paying homage to the demanding and supremely rewarding profession; Naval Aviation.
S. H. Hassett
LCDR USN (Ret)
...
Rating:
Summary: Read this for Realism
Review: This novel is a brilliantly realistic view into the life of Naval Aviators. Carroll is clearly someone who has experienced patrolling the No Fly Zones in Iraq, flying the Tomcat, and living on an Aircraft Carrier with a close-knit unit.
This book is not for the reader who enjoys the Clive Cussler-Tom Clancy hero-saves-the-world-plot, but instead wants to experience what the pilots and NFOs feel when they are out there doing their duty.
A similar book to this, but with a little more fictional and slam-bang plot is James W. Huston's Flash Point, which also gives you a realistic slice of Naval Aviation life.
Rating:
Summary: Dear Navy-
Review: Ward Carrol has written a letter to the Navy, that details the good, the frustrating, the unnecessary and the necessary of serving our country. This is a clear vision of the challenges that each sailor struggles with on a personal and professional basis. The title works on two levels obviously alluding to the very real conflict that "Punk" Reichert is engaged in over Iraq. Perhaps more important, and more interesting, is the personal combat Punk is fighting; to make sense of a Navy where senior officers seem more engaged in service to self than to unit or country, and self-aggrandizement takes precedence over mission accomplishment, as well as Punk's internal struggle whether to continue in the Navy he loves but often can't understand.The characters are fresh and ring true from beginning to end. Punk is a great protagonist. Capable of amazing idealism, dogged pragmatism, and a cynical ability to delight in the agony of others, Punk, reminds us of the value of sacrifice, integrity, and being true to one's values. The action moves things along briskly and deftly, without overwhelming the story. The characters are the main thing here, but action fans will get all the insight they could want on carrier air operations and modern air combat. If you have served in the military recently, you immediately feel at home again. If you haven't, Punk's War will connect you to the real wars our sailors fight every day. It is a hopeful, humorous, finely crafted story that should be read and reread by anyone who cares about the military, and the men and women who serve.
Rating:
Summary: Real Naval Aviation
Review: Ward Carroll has done a masterful job of making the complex job of flying sophisticated jets in a dangerous and challenging environment understandable for uninitiated while keeping the story moving and exciting for those who have worked or lived with it. It is filled with characters that get to know and care about. GREAT read
Rating:
Summary: Authentic in Detail and Persona
Review: Ward Carroll joins the short list of modern military novelists who have earned their stripes and who write with authenticity borne from their experience. Carroll's novel "Punk's War" earns highest marks for an exciting story and strong technical detail. But it is the development of the personalities of the VF104 Arrow Slingers that I found the most engaging. Having been a junior officer in the Navy a few years before Punk, I had experienced the same feelings that Punk and his shipmates confront about the Navy and their careers. Each understands the noble cause they serve and the need for sacrifice, but endures unnecessary frustration, boredom, isolation, and danger. I salute Carroll for his FEARLESS account of the experiences of modern naval aviators and for counseling us to never forget why we serve.
Rating:
Summary: The true military aviators' story
Review: Ward Carroll nailed it! This is what military aviation is like...not the 'Top Gun' image of a bleached-teeth million dollar smile and a perfectly ripped torso. Real characters who live their lives believing in what they do...and doing it without glory. Mr. Carroll takes you in the cockpit and into the briefing room; from the cheesy callsigns (Spud??) and frat pranks, to the honest talks over a cold brew, this is the real world of a modern military aviator. It took me back to the cockpit...
Rating: 
Summary: Not a bad first outing
Review: When I bought this book, I thought it was a can't miss story. It missed. I greatly enjoy the history and stories of carrier warfare and there are great books out there, like Lundstrom's The First Team or the Wooldridge oral history or Paul Gilcrest's Feet Wet or even Gerry Carroll's Ghostrider One. Punk's War has lots of action, good insight into service on a carrier, and even the courage to portray some leaders as less than deserving. You'll also like the contemporary feel of the Gulf, no-fly zone duty and F-14s as the principle aircraft. You have to forgive the stereotyping of the characters because NO military story this side of Fields of Fire or The Thin Red Line has even tempted serious character portrayal, but the cool good-guy junior pilots versus the out-to-lunch seniors is overdone. But the most glaring fault is that this book reads like a play. We get a setting, characters and dialogue. The reader is expected to fill in the detail and this reader got tired of doing the author's job for him. The author seemed to have burned out as well since once the action heats up, with a pilot down behind enemy lines, international conflict building, and personal commitment and courage (big themes in the book) on the line, we fast forward to the end. That's because the dialogue petered out and the action--poorly described throughout--had to take over. But its not a bad first outing and I hope Ward continues evolving as a novelist--repeat, novelist. I hope, too, he stays with the fleet and all the great stories to be told rather than switch to a worn-out techno-thriller blockbuster formula for his next effort. That could be a disaster.
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