Rating: 
Summary: Still good, but a little sensationalized
Review: Amy Waters Yarsinske must first be commended for her six-part series in The Virginian-Pilot that lead to the reclassification of Michael Scott Speicher, the Persian Gulf War's first casualty, as "Missing-Captured." Those articles eventually formed the basis for the astonishing "No One Left Behind," a chronicle of a military tragedy and an unbroken chain of mistakes."No One Left Behind" works on many levels. The beginning of the book is a detailed look at the opening stages of the first Persian Gulf War. The middle of the book deals with the fascinating forensics that went into investigating and re-constructing what really happened to Capt. Speicher when he was shot down. The final portion of the book dives into the murky world of military intelligence. Mrs. Yarsinske has crafted a very detailed account of every false step in the Speicher mystery, which makes for an engaging story as readers associate with the people who fought the military bureaucracy and continued investigating the Speicher mystery. This story's achillies heel lies in its deviation from the accepted facts regarding the mystery. Mrs. Yarsinske tries so hard to establish an element of coverup and conspiracy that some of her unconventional theories end up clashing with each other. For instance, she actually tells two different versions of her "friendly fire" theory in the opening chapters, and eventually refutes one of them during the middle third. Overall, "No One Left Behind" is a gripping and detailed story about an aviator left behind enemy lines, and still a book that reads as if its a novel. It's a commendable piece of journalism, but readers should balance the author's account with alternate press accounts of what really happened to Capt. Michael Scott Speicher on January 16, 1991.
Rating:
Summary: Still good, but a little sensationalized
Review: Amy Waters Yarsinske must first be commended for her six-part series in The Virginian-Pilot that lead to the reclassification of Michael Scott Speicher, the Persian Gulf War's first casualty, as "Missing-Captured." Those articles eventually formed the basis for the astonishing "No One Left Behind," a chronicle of a military tragedy and an unbroken chain of mistakes. "No One Left Behind" works on many levels. The beginning of the book is a detailed look at the opening stages of the first Persian Gulf War. The middle of the book deals with the fascinating forensics that went into investigating and re-constructing what really happened to Capt. Speicher when he was shot down. The final portion of the book dives into the murky world of military intelligence. Mrs. Yarsinske has crafted a very detailed account of every false step in the Speicher mystery, which makes for an engaging story as readers associate with the people who fought the military bureaucracy and continued investigating the Speicher mystery. This story's achillies heel lies in its deviation from the accepted facts regarding the mystery. Mrs. Yarsinske tries so hard to establish an element of coverup and conspiracy that some of her unconventional theories end up clashing with each other. For instance, she actually tells two different versions of her "friendly fire" theory in the opening chapters, and eventually refutes one of them during the middle third. Overall, "No One Left Behind" is a gripping and detailed story about an aviator left behind enemy lines, and still a book that reads as if its a novel. It's a commendable piece of journalism, but readers should balance the author's account with alternate press accounts of what really happened to Capt. Michael Scott Speicher on January 16, 1991.
Rating: 
Summary: 5 stars for no one left behind
Review: I think all military active and veterans should read this book. Its a shame that the Navy didnt do more to look for Speicher when he went down. AS a Gulf war veteran, this book means alot to me and his name should be kept out there in the public arena until we know what happened to him and what the government failed to do for him. I thought what his wife did was shameless as well. I highly recommend this book. Yarsinske does not speculate, its based on facts, nothing but facts.
Rating:
Summary: A Warriors Oddessy
Review: If you only read one book this year, make it this one. This book speaks to a critical situation that we can still affect. LCDR Mike "Spike" Speicher, now promoted to Captain in the US Navy with his status as Missing In Action, was flying an F-18 Hornet Strike Fighter on the first night of Desert Storm. Despite system failures with his aircraft he took the battle to the enemy. He was forced to eject from his aircraft during an aerial engagement and started the longest mission of that conflict. There is little doubt he is still alive and fighting on as prisoner of war. This is a well written, researched, and organized book. It reads easily with a deep level of technical detail, excellent military depiction, and deep human concepts. It covers the entire spectrum of his experience and the supporting events around his current situation. This is an impressive book worthy of the read. This book will haunt you. No matter what your position on the military or the Gulf War - you will be moved by this book. If you seek to right wrongs, this book will propel you to do more once you finish it. The errors and failures of those in command and control need to be known and fixed. This book will leave you angry, sad, and hopefully resolved to find the truth and bring about the proper resolution of this faithful American warrior's plight.
Rating:
Summary: A Sad Tale, but a Must Read
Review: January 16, 1991 is one of those days that will live in infamy. Unfortunately, it is one of the most tragic days because our government turned their backs on one of their own. When you read this story, it will tear at your heart when you see the bad decisions that were made along the way - including bad mistakes by some good people. It is truly an American Tragedy. Yarsinske does a FABULOUS job in covering all perspectives in this story. She is a hallmark writer in the fact that she takes an objective viewpoint in merely searching for the truth and not reciting the "party-lines" of any particular viewpoint. This book speaks the truth - good, bad, cold, hard, ugly truth - and is definitely a must read.
Rating:
Summary: No one Left Behind?
Review: The book is an investigation about the fate of a US Navy pilot name Scott Speicher. He was the very first pilot to be shot down over Iraq On January 17, 1991 (the day Operation Desert Storm began). He was the only one shot down that night. He was presumed dead. But two years later the discovery of the wreckage and lots of evidence (the ejection seat and canopy found far away from the crash site) proved that he survived the crash. Plus more shocking evidence that he may be held captive. If that is true. Then Scott Speicher may or still be the Longest held American POW in American History beating Vietnam Veteran Jim Thompson's record (he was held for 9 years in Vietnam) As this book shows, this is truly a great tragedy that could have been easily avoided (see "Glory Denied" another great but sad book for more info on Thompson's experience).
Rating: 
Summary: A truly frightening story...but hard to validate
Review: There's a genre out there that is morbid to say the least, but is also compelling. It achieves this because it manages to grab us at a gut level by evoking the equivalent of the boogie man under our bed. We fear it's true. I'm talking about the issue of POWs being left behind with their captors. While it's been a topic for decades, it became a cottage industry after Vietnam, when so few of the reported captives returned. These books posit the premise that American POWs were retained by the Russians, the Koreans, the Vietnamese for their knowledge, or as bargaining chips, or as trophies. The books - Mark Sauter's "The Men We Left Behind" and Scott Barnes' "BOHICA", to name two - present an enormous amount of data that varies greatly on a qualitiative basis (second or third person accounts, assumptions based on foreign articles, or interpretations of classidied documents), and often with thin linkages to other facts presented. Yes, it's a lot like the UFO genre. This is not to say all POW books are like this. McConnell and Schweitzer with "Inside Hanoi's Secreat Archives" used very careful research techniques and documentation to lay out the premise that The North Vietnamese killed most of the POWs that did not return either during torture or heat-of-battle encounters with villagers and/or soldiers just after shoot-down. So, it can be done - presenting the case for what happened to POW's who do not return - in a reasonable manner. "No One Left Behind: The Lt. Commander Scott Speicher Story" does not fulfill this requirement. <... The story drifts along, grabbing a data point here, a personal reflection there, acknowledged poor recollections, then puts it in a pan of government cover-up. After baking it, we have...a half baked story.<... ...
Rating:
Summary: A shocking story
Review: This book tells the story of missing airman Scott Speicher. The author believes that the pilot is alive in Iraqi captivity, and in her own way she takes us behind closed doors. What happened to Speicher? Based on facts obtained in her own studies, she gives us her opinion about what happened and is still going on. She indicates that certain US officials are as much to blame as Saddam Hussein for Speicher's plight, and that is frightening. At the same time it is interesting to learn how Speicher's family and friends reacted to his disapearance. It is touching to read fragments from Scott's last letter to his wife; the letter he had left behind in case something should happen to him. At the same time his friends' desciptions of him as a 'good man' really make you wish that he's alive and soon will be able to come home to a better life. I find the last chapter especially shocking. It made me lie awake and think long after I should have been asleep.
Rating:
Summary: Little fact, lots of speculation.....
Review: This is a masterfully crafted story of the bittersweet story of a Navy pilot lost in the first Gulf War only to become a hot-button story in the second Gulf War action. Today, the American military reports Special Forces assets inside Iraq to help locate this pilot, brought back to the living largely through the work of this author and her meticulous research of his case. The book is brilliantly written narrative nonfiction.
Rating:
Summary: No One Left Behind: The Lt. Comdr. Scott Speicher Story
Review: This is a masterfully crafted story of the bittersweet story of a Navy pilot lost in the first Gulf War only to become a hot-button story in the second Gulf War action. Today, the American military reports Special Forces assets inside Iraq to help locate this pilot, brought back to the living largely through the work of this author and her meticulous research of his case. The book is brilliantly written narrative nonfiction.
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