Rating: Summary: well written, engaging, honest Review: mr. rasimus has produced a very well written and compelling book. his writing style is engaging, and it truly brings the reader into a first person view of the air war in route pack 6. rasimus is very honest in his opinions of the war, as well as his struggle with the choice between cowardice and almost certain death. it will really make you think. i appreciate mr. rasimus's honesty, it took a lot of guts to write down his true thoughts for the world to consider. but don't get the idea that this book is stone-cold serious. rasimus sends a healthy dose of wit and sarcasm in the reader's direction. as a student pilot i also appreciate the fact the he expounds in detail on the operation of the f-105 jet. to me the book was worth reading just to find out what it was like to fly such a complicated machine. i finished this book in two days. not since ernest gann's "fate is the hunter" have i found a book so hard to put down. i would recommend "when thunder rolled."
Rating: Summary: well written, engaging, honest Review: mr. rasimus has produced a very well written and compelling book. his writing style is engaging, and it truly brings the reader into a first person view of the air war in route pack 6. rasimus is very honest in his opinions of the war, as well as his struggle with the choice between cowardice and almost certain death. it will really make you think. i appreciate mr. rasimus's honesty, it took a lot of guts to write down his true thoughts for the world to consider. but don't get the idea that this book is stone-cold serious. rasimus sends a healthy dose of wit and sarcasm in the reader's direction. as a student pilot i also appreciate the fact the he expounds in detail on the operation of the f-105 jet. to me the book was worth reading just to find out what it was like to fly such a complicated machine. i finished this book in two days. not since ernest gann's "fate is the hunter" have i found a book so hard to put down. i would recommend "when thunder rolled."
Rating: Summary: Wow and Amazing Review: My grandpaw introduced this book to me and I couldnt put it down. This is the only non-fiction book about the F-105's over North Vietnam that I have read. And was amazing! You are like right there in the cockpit with Lt. Rasimas and I began to understand what the pilots had to deal with the entire flight. It was great. I really like this book! My mom is even reading it now.
Rating: Summary: 5 Stars Review: This book held my attention, is well-written, and interesting. It does what it's supposed to do. No complaints from me.
Rating: Summary: A story of F-105 Thuds and Bulletproof Mustaches. Review: This is a nice edition to the Vietnam literature. Most have heard of the grunts pounding the ground in South Vietnam and maybe an occasional story of a helicopter pilot, but there have been few stories of the pilots flying out of Thailand and going north to bomb North Vietnam and Laos. As for this story, Raz does a good job of keeping the interest of the reader as he recounts his training and deployment in the F-105 Thunderchief.
The Thunderchief was really an aircraft that should have been kept home and the new Phantom sent instead. However the author tells the story of his 100 missions over North Vietnam and his bombing runs in various parts of North Vietnam. He should be proud he served his country in 1966 and later.
The reading is light and the flow of the book kept the interest of this reader. This is a nice story of the difficulties a F-105 pilot experienced in his deployment in Southeast Asia. I hope Rasimus decides to write a follow up book on his later tour in the Phantom. Keep wearing that bullerproof mustache, it helps your writing ability.
Rating: Summary: A workmanlike effort that could have been a masterpiece Review: This is a really nice book - a meaningful story told in a simple and straightforward manner. The author and his colleagues had a very high risk job flying combat missions in the Vietnam war. Every successful mission brought them one closer to their magic number of 100 which would complete their tour and take them to a safer assignment. But every mission carried the danger of death or a POW camp. This book tells that story in a workmanlike fashion. I guess that's why I gave it 4 stars and not 5. The writing is workmanlike; good grammar and proper English, but lacking in the artistry that can be employed by gifted writers who know how to put a reader in the scene and have him truly see the sights and feel the emotions that are there. I think you have to fault the publisher for this shortcoming. If the author had been given some first rate writing help, this book could have been a masterpiece. As it is, it's a solid effort, well worth reading, but not all it could be.
Rating: Summary: A workmanlike effort that could have been a masterpiece Review: This is a really nice book - a meaningful story told in a simple and straightforward manner. The author and his colleagues had a very high risk job flying combat missions in the Vietnam war. Every successful mission brought them one closer to their magic number of 100 which would complete their tour and take them to a safer assignment. But every mission carried the danger of death or a POW camp. This book tells that story in a workmanlike fashion. I guess that's why I gave it 4 stars and not 5. The writing is workmanlike; good grammar and proper English, but lacking in the artistry that can be employed by gifted writers who know how to put a reader in the scene and have him truly see the sights and feel the emotions that are there. I think you have to fault the publisher for this shortcoming. If the author had been given some first rate writing help, this book could have been a masterpiece. As it is, it's a solid effort, well worth reading, but not all it could be.
Rating: Summary: When Thunder Rolled Review: This is by far one of the best non-fiction books about the F-105's over North Vietnam. You are there in the cockpit with Lt. Rasimas and begin to understand what the pilots had to deal with the entire flight.
Rating: Summary: the best combat memoir I've ever read Review: This is the best combat memoir I've ever read--any nation, any war, any service. "Raz" sweeps the reader along, from his terror-plagued flight to the war in the coach seat of a 707 jetliner, to the still-terrifying but now-routine flights over North Vietnam in a Republic F-105 Thunderchief. These were missions so perilous that by some measures a pilot had a 50/50 chance of not completing his tour. Raz doesn't blink at any of it--not his own fear, not the bone-headed rules of engagement--and in the end he goes back for another tour. Why? He loved it. I especially liked the dustcover photo: Raz is a more handsome man now than he was at 23, and his "bulletproof" mustache is fuzzier. This is a wonderful book. Buy it. You won't be sorry. -- Dan Ford
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