Rating: 
Summary: PJs Are Hereos
Review: An easy-flowing book to read from start to finish; however, I wish there was more on the pipeline training. For those who expected more on the PJ's lifestyle, I recommend the video, "Pararescuemen - That Others May Live".
Rating:
Summary: PJs Are Hereos
Review: An easy-flowing book to read from start to finish; however, I wish there was more on the pipeline training. For those who expected more on the PJ's lifestyle, I recommend the video, "Pararescuemen - That Others May Live".
Rating: 
Summary: The title is a lie
Review: As to the PJ's (Air Force Pararescue Jumpers) being "real life heroes of the perfect storm," the book only mentions ONE rescue attempt during the Perfect Storm by the PJ's. That attempt failed. In fact, the Coast Guard ship had to come out and rescue THEM. Yes, you can be a hero for an attempt, but let's not go overboard in naming our book after one rescue attempt in a much bigger event, where other agencies have a much better claim of being "the real life heroes."
The book focuses on "a PJ," coincidentally the author, not PJ's in general. The Perfect Storm part takes 30 pages, IF you include the soap opera parts about the wives calling each other for news. A pararescue helicopter and tanker was dispatched during the Perfect Storm to rescue a sailor doing a solo trip around the world. The rescue was aborted due to heavy seas, and the rescue helicopter itself ditched on the way back to base, with the loss of one airman. The helicopter ditched because it was unable to refuel with the existing drogue design. The author, in charge at the base, grounded rescue attempts of this airman due to his orders and impossible conditions. Because his men were angry at him for this, they made life hell for him: They stole his jacket, and snuck a bottle of booze into his luggage as he was about to fly into a Muslim country, which if discovered would have gotten Jack in enormous trouble. There's so much talk of the PJ "teamwork" ethos in the book -- but where did "teamwork" go when his men acted in petty ways, and caused Jack to have to leave command of the unit?
Parts of the book are interesting. Jack, of course, makes almost no mistakes, and his wife is a perfect angel. She understands when he says, "yes, I went to the strip bar, but that's where the debriefing session was held."
The unexamined assumption that OF COURSE men who work hard have to relax by drinking all night, having bar fights, and visiting strip joints is overdone.
The book does provide information about a little-understood group of airmen who put their lives on the line to rescue others in what can be very difficult situations, much like the Coast Guard rescue jumpers. Their main purpose is to rescue downed pilots and personnel in need of medical help, on land or sea, but they're also available to help civilians when civilian rescue agencies don't have the resources available.
There is some understanding of the mentality of repeatedly putting your life on the line -- you might as well die doing something you love, while helping others.
Although the author reports many accounts of mission failure and limitation due to a poor drogue design, making it difficult to for helicopters to refuel from tankers during rough weather, the author doesn't argue for a better, heavier, longer, wider (or whatever) fueling drogue design.
Rating:
Summary: The title is a lie
Review: As to the PJ's (Air Force Pararescue Jumpers) being "real life heroes of the perfect storm," the book only mentions ONE rescue attempt during the Perfect Storm by the PJ's. That attempt failed. In fact, the Coast Guard ship had to come out and rescue THEM. Yes, you can be a hero for an attempt, but let's not go overboard in naming our book after one rescue attempt in a much bigger event, where other agencies have a much better claim of being "the real life heroes."
The book focuses on "a PJ," coincidentally the author, not PJ's in general. The Perfect Storm part takes 30 pages, IF you include the soap opera parts about the wives calling each other for news. A pararescue helicopter and tanker was dispatched during the Perfect Storm to rescue a sailor doing a solo trip around the world. The rescue was aborted due to heavy seas, and the rescue helicopter itself ditched on the way back to base, with the loss of one airman. The helicopter ditched because it was unable to refuel with the existing drogue design. The author, in charge at the base, grounded rescue attempts of this airman due to his orders and impossible conditions. Because his men were angry at him for this, they made life hell for him: They stole his jacket, and snuck a bottle of booze into his luggage as he was about to fly into a Muslim country, which if discovered would have gotten Jack in enormous trouble. There's so much talk of the PJ "teamwork" ethos in the book -- but where did "teamwork" go when his men acted in petty ways, and caused Jack to have to leave command of the unit?
Parts of the book are interesting. Jack, of course, makes almost no mistakes, and his wife is a perfect angel. She understands when he says, "yes, I went to the strip bar, but that's where the debriefing session was held."
The unexamined assumption that OF COURSE men who work hard have to relax by drinking all night, having bar fights, and visiting strip joints is overdone.
The book does provide information about a little-understood group of airmen who put their lives on the line to rescue others in what can be very difficult situations, much like the Coast Guard rescue jumpers. Their main purpose is to rescue downed pilots and personnel in need of medical help, on land or sea, but they're also available to help civilians when civilian rescue agencies don't have the resources available.
There is some understanding of the mentality of repeatedly putting your life on the line -- you might as well die doing something you love, while helping others.
Although the author reports many accounts of mission failure and limitation due to a poor drogue design, making it difficult to for helicopters to refuel from tankers during rough weather, the author doesn't argue for a better, heavier, longer, wider (or whatever) fueling drogue design.
Rating: 
Summary: Great book, very entertaining and moving
Review: I really enjoyed this. The pace was quick and the stories were very engaging. It's interesting to read a book about heroes, written by one of them, when he obviously doesn't consider himself a hero. He sees all of his friends that way, though, and the humility of this view makes the book all the more enjoyable.Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Should Be Titled "A Biography of Jack Brehm"
Review: I thought this book was about PJ's in general, and then some additional detail about Jack Brehm's particular experiences. I was expecting it to cover PJ training, the Pipeline, various missions, etc. That is not the content of this book. This book is a biography of Jack Brehm, who happens to be a PJ. Many of the anecdotes in the book (more than half, it seemed like) are about Jack Brehm's family life and/or his relationship with his wife. There are many, many pages that barely mention his work as a PJ. And there are very few stories or accounts of PJs other than Jack Brehm. It's not necessarily bad, just not what the title had led me to expect. One major anoyance when reading this book is the unabashed hero worship. I certainly feel that Brehm and other PJs are legitimate heroes, but the unrelenting worship, and the "perfect marriage" stories, really detract from the realism of the story. It also becomes very tedious to read. Overall it is still a readable book because the subject is so inherently interesting. Just be aware before you buy it that it is a biography of a single PJ and not a book about the Pararescue service.
Rating:
Summary: Wow
Review: I thought this was a fantastic story, I simply couldn't put it down. The tales of adventure are truly compelling, and I particularly enjoyed the way the author contrasted stories of Jack Brehm "Family Man" with Jack Brehm "Action Man". These guys are true heroes, but they're also people - they have families, feelings, and petty squabbles just like everybody else. I know some people were uninterested in the family stories, but I found them very interesting, and at times dramatic. Frankly, if the entire book were nothing but this guy's war stories, it'd be hard to believe he was a real person. I'd recommend it wholeheartedly.
Rating:
Summary: Wow
Review: I thought this was a fantastic story, I simply couldn't put it down. The tales of adventure are truly compelling, and I particularly enjoyed the way the author contrasted stories of Jack Brehm "Family Man" with Jack Brehm "Action Man". These guys are true heroes, but they're also people - they have families, feelings, and petty squabbles just like everybody else. I know some people were uninterested in the family stories, but I found them very interesting, and at times dramatic. Frankly, if the entire book were nothing but this guy's war stories, it'd be hard to believe he was a real person. I'd recommend it wholeheartedly.
Rating:
Summary: All and all a good book
Review: I thought this was a good book. Obviously that guy Frank who rated it has some serious issues about pararescue jumpers, maybe he washed out of the course and is a little bitter? Don't be mad frank, it's an 80% wash out rate. The book focuses on Jack Brehm, because he is the author, and can only tell the stories from his perspectives. Granted it's kind of slow, but this isn't a Science Fiction book, it's a Military History book, so it's not going to read like a Star Wars book. I work around and with these guys, and they are heroes and I think frank might change his mind if he ever had to be rescued by one.
Rating:
Summary: All and all a good book
Review: I thought this was a good book. Obviously that guy Frank who rated it has some serious issues about pararescue jumpers, maybe he washed out of the course and is a little bitter? Don't be mad frank, it's an 80% wash out rate. The book focuses on Jack Brehm, because he is the author, and can only tell the stories from his perspectives. Granted it's kind of slow, but this isn't a Science Fiction book, it's a Military History book, so it's not going to read like a Star Wars book. I work around and with these guys, and they are heroes and I think frank might change his mind if he ever had to be rescued by one.
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