Rating: 
Summary: An Old Friend
Review: I first read "Stranger to the Ground" while an Air Force pilot training student in the early 1970's. I was such an accurate presentation of the world of high performance military flying that, in later years, as an Air Force Instructor Pilot, I gave each of my students a copy as they graduated and earned their wings. It is what Tom Wolfe's "Right Stuff" tries to be, but, since Wolfe has never actually been there, could never achieve. I now have a young friend just embarking on his flying career and I'm purchasing a copy for him. I've just re-read my highlighted, dog-eared copy and found it as fresh and vital as the first time I read it as a 2nd Lt. A "Must Read" for anyone involved with airplanes.
Rating:
Summary: An Old Friend
Review: I first read "Stranger to the Ground" while an Air Force pilot training student in the early 1970's. I was such an accurate presentation of the world of high performance military flying that, in later years, as an Air Force Instructor Pilot, I gave each of my students a copy as they graduated and earned their wings. It is what Tom Wolfe's "Right Stuff" tries to be, but, since Wolfe has never actually been there, could never achieve. I now have a young friend just embarking on his flying career and I'm purchasing a copy for him. I've just re-read my highlighted, dog-eared copy and found it as fresh and vital as the first time I read it as a 2nd Lt. A "Must Read" for anyone involved with airplanes.
Rating:
Summary: It's great
Review: I'm undergoing training to be a fighter pilot and this is one book which I really felt great while reading. It was almost as if it's happening with me!
Rating:
Summary: A classic book about flight
Review: If the only Bach you know is "Jonathan Livingston Seagull", forget what you think you think you know about the author. This book, Bach's first, is something entirely different. It's a classic in the tradition of great flight books like "Fate is the Hunter" and "Night Flight"Written when Bach was an Air National Guard pilot, "Stranger to the Ground" takes you along for what is in essence a very humdrum and ordinary flight as he ferries an F86 from Germany to England. It's fairly uneventful; he passes through a storm, but he's well equipped to handle it. He even claims that the F86 is so easy to fly, anyone could handle it in level flight. What makes it special is Bach's narration- how he conveys the wonder of it all, and finds the magic in the simple act of flying, and the excitement of those small moments, like finding the coast, sighting the airfield and landing the plane. If you're not one who finds wonder in the simple act of flight, you may wonder why anyone would read this book. But if you're the type who looks up whenever an aircraft passes overhead, or who always takes the window seat on an airliner, or you're a pilot yourself, this is one of the finest books ever written on what it means to fly.
Rating:
Summary: A classic book about flight
Review: If the only Bach you know is "Jonathan Livingston Seagull", forget what you think you think you know about the author. This book, Bach's first, is something entirely different. It's a classic in the tradition of great flight books like "Fate is the Hunter" and "Night Flight" Written when Bach was an Air National Guard pilot, "Stranger to the Ground" takes you along for what is in essence a very humdrum and ordinary flight as he ferries an F86 from Germany to England. It's fairly uneventful; he passes through a storm, but he's well equipped to handle it. He even claims that the F86 is so easy to fly, anyone could handle it in level flight. What makes it special is Bach's narration- how he conveys the wonder of it all, and finds the magic in the simple act of flying, and the excitement of those small moments, like finding the coast, sighting the airfield and landing the plane. If you're not one who finds wonder in the simple act of flight, you may wonder why anyone would read this book. But if you're the type who looks up whenever an aircraft passes overhead, or who always takes the window seat on an airliner, or you're a pilot yourself, this is one of the finest books ever written on what it means to fly.
Rating:
Summary: I was there and discovered Jonothan in the night flight
Review: In 1961 the world was about to go to war over a simple, but deadly game of nuclear bluff. The Russians were about to sign a seperate peace treaty with East Germany. So? Well, since the U.S., Brits, France and the Russians were all allies aftrer WWII, they could not unilaterally do that! In the new cold war era however, the Russians, trying to secure their idiological communist empire, perhaps as a buffer to any future invasions from the West, had taken their sector of Berlin...and East Germany, and made it their own...and to prove it they were going to sign a seperate peace without their allies. So, we called their bluff...and within 24 days of notification in the late summer of 1961, thousands of Guardsmen and allied military were activated and put muzzle to muzzle with the Russians and other Easter Block countries with a deadline of January 1, 1962 for the Russians to blink or unleash the dogs of war. Luckily for all of us, they blinked. I was with the 113th TFS from Indiana that flew the Atlantic in F-84Fs and opened Chambley Field in France. We flew the same skies, missions, and aircraft and lousey weather as Richard. We had mixed emotions about the opportunity to fly and test our aircraft for real, but apprehension about leaving our civilian jobs, homes and families to face an potential enemy that only a few years before had been our ally. We all worried through the cold winter night before the deadline, with a one way flight plan and realization that there would be no field left for us to return to if the baloon went up...and, perhaps no world as we knew it either. I think the world learned a lesson from that experience...more need to read about it...and we must never forget. Richard's detailed and flowing discription of the aircraft, arena, bases, missions, and joy of flight stimulating and nostalgic. Whenever I want to relive that little known and appreciated bookmark in history and the personal feeling of the experience, I reread Stranger...it is like an old friend...it also introduced me to a life of adventure, philosophy, mysticism and awe as a fan of this unique writer...he was, and still is an inspiration for my continuing journey of understanding of life, relationships, self examination and love of aviation. He is every-airman, but relates life better than any-man. Bravo Bach!
Rating:
Summary: I was there and discovered Jonothan in the night flight
Review: In 1961 the world was about to go to war over a simple, but deadly game of nuclear bluff. The Russians were about to sign a seperate peace treaty with East Germany. So? Well, since the U.S., Brits, France and the Russians were all allies aftrer WWII, they could not unilaterally do that! In the new cold war era however, the Russians, trying to secure their idiological communist empire, perhaps as a buffer to any future invasions from the West, had taken their sector of Berlin...and East Germany, and made it their own...and to prove it they were going to sign a seperate peace without their allies. So, we called their bluff...and within 24 days of notification in the late summer of 1961, thousands of Guardsmen and allied military were activated and put muzzle to muzzle with the Russians and other Easter Block countries with a deadline of January 1, 1962 for the Russians to blink or unleash the dogs of war. Luckily for all of us, they blinked. I was with the 113th TFS from Indiana that flew the Atlantic in F-84Fs and opened Chambley Field in France. We flew the same skies, missions, and aircraft and lousey weather as Richard. We had mixed emotions about the opportunity to fly and test our aircraft for real, but apprehension about leaving our civilian jobs, homes and families to face an potential enemy that only a few years before had been our ally. We all worried through the cold winter night before the deadline, with a one way flight plan and realization that there would be no field left for us to return to if the baloon went up...and, perhaps no world as we knew it either. I think the world learned a lesson from that experience...more need to read about it...and we must never forget. Richard's detailed and flowing discription of the aircraft, arena, bases, missions, and joy of flight stimulating and nostalgic. Whenever I want to relive that little known and appreciated bookmark in history and the personal feeling of the experience, I reread Stranger...it is like an old friend...it also introduced me to a life of adventure, philosophy, mysticism and awe as a fan of this unique writer...he was, and still is an inspiration for my continuing journey of understanding of life, relationships, self examination and love of aviation. He is every-airman, but relates life better than any-man. Bravo Bach!
Rating:
Summary: Bach's first and best book
Review: Richard Bach's first book came to my attention when it was reviewed in the WALL STREET JOURNAL at first publication. I re-read it often. As a pilot with time in current fighters, I was stunned by the clarity and power of his depictions of flight. But one need not be a pilot to enjoy this work because it always remains 'grounded' (in the sense of structure and ideas, not literally).
STRANGER got me for a core reason not often discussed with respect to flying; the book meets this criterion resoundingly: it is totally honest. Why does this matter? Because flying, especially complex modern airplanes (the F-84F is not an easy airplane), is fundamentally an honest trade. Make a mistake or be unlucky and you may die suddenly.
Rating: 
Summary: Dull, textbook-like feel
Review: Stranger to the Ground was like reading a miniature text book in that is was so incredibly detailed. Normally, I love details in books, but this was so obviously too much of a good thing. The details distracted me from the plot, making Stranger to the Ground not a joy to read, but a struggle. However, this book gave me a very clear view into the world of flying, and as detailed as the words were, they WERE well-written. For me, this book was boring, but I suppose anyone that has ever piloted a plane will find the author's words poetic and enjoyable.
Rating:
Summary: Dull, textbook-like feel
Review: Stranger to the Ground was like reading a miniature text book in that is was so incredibly detailed. Normally, I love details in books, but this was so obviously too much of a good thing. The details distracted me from the plot, making Stranger to the Ground not a joy to read, but a struggle. However, this book gave me a very clear view into the world of flying, and as detailed as the words were, they WERE well-written. For me, this book was boring, but I suppose anyone that has ever piloted a plane will find the author's words poetic and enjoyable.
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