Bogeys and Bandits: The Making of a Fighter Pilot

Rating:
Summary: Well Worth the Read
Review: A great read. Don't miss this book if you like to read factual accounts of interesting people. Very educational also.

Rating:
Summary: One of the Best Fighter Pilot Books out there
Review: After I read the book, Bogeys and Bandits:The Making of a Fighter Pilot, I felt very good. This novel deals with the life of a fighter pilot from many different perspectives. From the LSO to the rude instructor Barnes. This book has it all and I recommend it to anybody who likes action and adventure. Also, it is good for people who are not familar with the life of a fighter pilot. It gives useful information to the readers and good pictures of the students (e.g. Heckle and Jeckle). To have a good time, read this amazing book that is a personal favorite.

Rating:
Summary: Brutally honest and most certainly UnPC
Review: As a former Naval Aviator, I can say that Mr. Gandt's book is right on target. His descriptions are vivid and bring back the smell of the aircraft, the sound of the engines and the raw emotion of the human interplay. Because he chose to include gender intergration in this book, there will be those who will be offended. There are those who stand ready to be offended. I did not view this book to be in anyway derogatory to our female Naval Aviators, as have some who have reviewed this book. In fact, I view it as a total acceptance of this present policy of females flying combat aircraft. The females are held to the same high and harsh standards the male Naval Aviators have always been held to. Hey Ladies, welcome aboard. But for those who cannot take the critique along with the guys, you don't deserve to call yourselves Naval Aviators. Fighter Pilots don't whine and they don't associate with those who do. A real Fighter Pilot lets his/her flying speak for it self

Rating:
Summary: SWEET BOOK
Review: As an aspiring Navy aviator and hopefully astronaut one day, this book has given me a great inside look at the world of Naval Aviation. Gandt shows it as it is; for all it's glory and includes the shortcomings. Overall this was a kick ass book. If anyone wants to contact me about their experiences as a pilot or something please do.

Rating:
Summary: Bogeys and Bandits is an excellent non-fiction book
Review: Bogeys and Bandits by Robert Gandt is without a doubt the best non-fiction book I have read. It follows a group of men and women right out of college going through flight school. It goes through each phase of training, and tells how each student did, what they did, and how their lives change going through training.The book is very detailed. In every page, there is such good elaboration that you can paint a picture in your mind of every scene. It tells how the pilot feels in the jet, and what their state of mind is. The book is not sugar-coated at all. It tells EVERYTHING. I recommend this book to anyone interested in flying a jet. But it probably should not be read by anyone under 11. The book contains many quotes, and many contain profanity. The book deserves five stars and 2 thumbs up. It's awesome!

Rating:
Summary: Shift your career into high gear
Review: Bogeys and Bandits gives the real life accounts of the training of F/A-18 Navy fighter pilots. The book jumps around each of the characters as they progress through their training -- from accomplishing difficult missions to getting medically disqualified. To anyone that wants to be or dreams to be a pilot or astronaut, this is a must-read. Perhaps the only downfall is that the story begins with all the characters already set for jet training. Personally, I would have liked to know how the characters also got into the training program for jets. Overall, the book is very fast paced and will surely enthrall you with the unbelievably exciting training and manuevers that these men and women have to go through to become FIGHTER PILOTS.

Rating:
Summary: Shift your career into high gear
Review: Bogeys and Bandits gives the real life accounts of the training of F/A-18 Navy fighter pilots. The book jumps around each of the characters as they progress through their training -- from accomplishing difficult missions to getting medically disqualified. To anyone that wants to be or dreams to be a pilot or astronaut, this is a must-read. Perhaps the only downfall is that the story begins with all the characters already set for jet training. Personally, I would have liked to know how the characters also got into the training program for jets. Overall, the book is very fast paced and will surely enthrall you with the unbelievably exciting training and manuevers that these men and women have to go through to become FIGHTER PILOTS.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent story----well and factually told.
Review: BOGEYS AND BANDITS is the first factual accountof naval TACAIR in the Post-Tailhook "PC Era".Gandt's research is both extensive and accurate. His sources are unimpeachable (contary to what one critic here imagines). The main characters are better than any fiction could produce---because they're real people, real Naval Aviators. Best of all, Gandt does not shy away from the "women in combat" issue, as many would in today's PC-liberal climate. Refreshingly, he engages the issue head-on and up-front. Specifically he reveals some painful truths about preferential treatment in womens' flight training. He takes no position whatsoever---but he reports the facts with brutal honesty. Because of this I predict great whining (and the usual slander) from certain radical feminists, but the fact remains: Bob Gandt has done his homework, and has written a most excellent and enjoyable account of some true American Heroes.

Rating:
Summary: REVIEW AND META-REVIEW
Review: First the review: I found this a GREAT book documenting the trials and tribulations of training people who go into very high-tech fields. Though it describes the training of fighter pilots, it could as easily describe the making of surgeons or engineers. The same things that we see in medicine occur in this community: the sieve gets finer, the best get through it, and usually the unworthy don't. Tragedies can and do happen along the way--that happens in both fields as well--but in fighters, the loss is usually more personal than it is in medicine. What Gandt did was to bring enormous amounts of warmth and humor into the fray, and he managed not to be judgmental when he could easily have done so. It stands as one of the best books on or near the subject that I have read. META-REVIEW: Reading over the other reviews posted here is fascinating. All reviews are either raves or total pans, the former outnumbering the latter. Objections seem to be from the uninformed--or those who, for reasons of their own, want Gandt not to be correct. Alas, he is. But it remains a mark of a great book that it excites strong passions.

Rating:
Summary: I WAS THERE FROM START TO FINISH.
Review: For all you nay sayers, and well wishers alike you can contact me directly for my review. I can attest the the story is true. I have been attached to VFA-106 for the past 8 years. I was there before Mr. Gandt, while he was there and after he left. In fact I'm still in the squadron training students. If you have any questions I can answer them. [e-mail]