Rating: 
Summary: A real page turner.
Review: Although it started out very technical, all of it above my head, it was worth it to keep on reading. What happened to him as a teenager you'd never know anything happened to him. And what he had to endure while in China, it's a good thing that they train for that kind of thing(s) to happen. Once you get into the book, it's very hard to put down because you want to find out what happens next.
Rating: 
Summary: A must read
Review: An awesome book for anyone who has ever had any interest in Naval Aviation. A story of courage and heroism. Very easy to understand and a great short read.
Rating:
Summary: A must read
Review: An awesome book for anyone who has ever had any interest in Naval Aviation. A story of courage and heroism. Very easy to understand and a great short read.
Rating: 
Summary: A great story but a questionable book
Review: As a military pilot, I'm of course drawn to stories such as these. A family member got the book for me as a gift, and upon seeing the front cover of the book, something immediately just said "generic". However, that being said, I would actually recommend the book to someone who isn't intimately familiar with flying or the military. Despite the skittish storyline, it's actually a quite readable and inspirational book that will likely invoke a bit of patriotism.Nevertheless, I think some people, especially professional aviators, might find it hard to like this book, even if they want to. To me, every page seemed to be written with the intent of someday being read in front of a camera for a bad made for TV movie...but maybe I'm just being overly crtical. The story, in and of itself, is a great one (although covered almost in its entirety in the news), but I thought the literary qualities of "Born to Fly" just left much to be desired.
Rating:
Summary: A great story but a questionable book
Review: As a military pilot, I'm of course drawn to stories such as these. A family member got the book for me as a gift, and upon seeing the front cover of the book, something immediately just said "generic". However, that being said, I would actually recommend the book to someone who isn't intimately familiar with flying or the military. Despite the skittish storyline, it's actually a quite readable and inspirational book that will likely invoke a bit of patriotism. Nevertheless, I think some people, especially professional aviators, might find it hard to like this book, even if they want to. To me, every page seemed to be written with the intent of someday being read in front of a camera for a bad made for TV movie...but maybe I'm just being overly crtical. The story, in and of itself, is a great one (although covered almost in its entirety in the news), but I thought the literary qualities of "Born to Fly" just left much to be desired.
Rating:
Summary: A great story but a questionable book
Review: As a military pilot, I'm of course drawn to stories such as these. A family member got the book for me as a gift, and upon seeing the front cover of the book, something immediately just said "generic". However, that being said, I would actually recommend the book to someone who isn't intimately familiar with flying or the military. Despite the skittish storyline, it's actually a quite readable and inspirational book that will likely invoke a bit of patriotism. Nevertheless, I think some people, especially professional aviators, might find it hard to like this book, even if they want to. To me, every page seemed to be written with the intent of someday being read in front of a camera for a bad made for TV movie...but maybe I'm just being overly crtical. The story, in and of itself, is a great one (although covered almost in its entirety in the news), but I thought the literary qualities of "Born to Fly" just left much to be desired.
Rating:
Summary: A New Classic!
Review: Born to Fly is destined to become a new aviation classic, in the same league as "The High and the Mighty" and "Island in the Sky." Lt. Shane Osborn is a true American hero, an inspiration to us all in these difficult times. Through his incredible flying skill and sheer gut-courage, Osborn saved his crew and his country's honor after a Chinese fighter collided with his EP-3 recon plane. We can all be proud of these fine young Americans. Read this book.
Rating:
Summary: A New Classic!
Review: Born to Fly is destined to become a new aviation classic, in the same league as "The High and the Mighty" and "Island in the Sky." Lt. Shane Osborn is a true American hero, an inspiration to us all in these difficult times. Through his incredible flying skill and sheer gut-courage, Osborn saved his crew and his country's honor after a Chinese fighter collided with his EP-3 recon plane. We can all be proud of these fine young Americans. Read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Born To Fly, the Official Version
Review: Born To Fly
By Shane Osborn
With Malcolm McConnell
Lt. Shane Osborn was the mission commander and pilot of the U.S. Navy EP-3E AIRES II reconnaissance aircraft when it was rammed by a Chinese F-8 Finback II fighter over the South China Sea on April 1, 2001 during a routine recon mission.
As the world knows, Osborn heroically managed to pull his severely damaged four-engine turboprop out of a near vertical, inverted dive and somehow keep it flying long enough to land on the F-8's home base at Lingshui Air Base on Hainan Island. It was there that he and his crew of 23 were imprisoned by the Chinese for 11 days before the U.S. issued a statement that it regretted the loss of the F-8 pilot and the emergency landing on Chinese soil.
This 262-page book, an "as told to" military writer Malcolm McConnell, is a quick read but one gets the impression it was sanitized by the U.S. Navy, if not higher ups. That's to be expected, of course, as the aircraft was on a sensitive electronic intelligence mission and the airplane was packed with cryptologic technicians and others on "special missions."
Osborn, as far as we know, is still in the Navy so you won't find any criticisms of fellow crewmen, superiors or political higher ups. Everyone performed magnificently, everyone was brave and the politicians are all magnificent individuals.
Nevertheless, it was worth reading, even though Osborn tends to be a little too kind to himself in telling his life story preceding the collision. There's quite a bit of detail about his early years and how successfully he endured the toughness of his Navy training.
He makes a special point to let you know that he could have flown jets if only the Navy had some openings (in the Navy's hierarchal system, land-based four engine transport pilots are only a step above helicopter drivers in aviation status).
The real meat of the book, the events leading up to the collision and the resultant terrifying attempt to save the aircraft, are what makes it worth the price of admission. Osborn also has an amazing memory as he was able to recount the day to day experiences of himself and the crew once they were under house arrest by the Chinese.
What's not mentioned is much of how the other crew members got along, especially those crypto techs who must have been shaking in their boots because of their highly sensitive knowledge of classified information, who suddenly found themselves at the mercy of the Chinese.
No, this is Shane Osborn's story alone, although he does credit a special few of his crewmen with exemplary behavior (he did make note that one female crewmember seemed to freeze up at a particularly bad time; take that for what it's worth).
Osborn was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions that day (other crewmen received Air Medals) and no one can deny that he deserved it. McConnell deserves proper credit for how well he interpreted Osborn's memories to give the reader a taste of what it was like in the cockpit of that beleaguered aircraft.
The Chinese mind games - in which they repeatedly tried to get the crew to admit they "rammed" the fighter - while exhausting, were to be expected. What's surprising is that there was no violence and only some mild threats ever made against them.
In fact, after the decision was made to allow them to go home, Osborn said he was congratulated by the Chinese base commander for his loyalty to his crew. The Chinese interrogators and guards even requested pictures of themselves with the crew.
Rating:
Summary: Born To Fly, the Official Version
Review: Born To Fly
By Shane Osborn
With Malcolm McConnell
Lt. Shane Osborn was the mission commander and pilot of the U.S. Navy EP-3E AIRES II reconnaissance aircraft when it was rammed by a Chinese F-8 Finback II fighter over the South China Sea on April 1, 2001 during a routine recon mission.
As the world knows, Osborn heroically managed to pull his severely damaged four-engine turboprop out of a near vertical, inverted dive and somehow keep it flying long enough to land on the F-8's home base at Lingshui Air Base on Hainan Island. It was there that he and his crew of 23 were imprisoned by the Chinese for 11 days before the U.S. issued a statement that it regretted the loss of the F-8 pilot and the emergency landing on Chinese soil.
This 262-page book, an "as told to" military writer Malcolm McConnell, is a quick read but one gets the impression it was sanitized by the U.S. Navy, if not higher ups. That's to be expected, of course, as the aircraft was on a sensitive electronic intelligence mission and the airplane was packed with cryptologic technicians and others on "special missions."
Osborn, as far as we know, is still in the Navy so you won't find any criticisms of fellow crewmen, superiors or political higher ups. Everyone performed magnificently, everyone was brave and the politicians are all magnificent individuals.
Nevertheless, it was worth reading, even though Osborn tends to be a little too kind to himself in telling his life story preceding the collision. There's quite a bit of detail about his early years and how successfully he endured the toughness of his Navy training.
He makes a special point to let you know that he could have flown jets if only the Navy had some openings (in the Navy's hierarchal system, land-based four engine transport pilots are only a step above helicopter drivers in aviation status).
The real meat of the book, the events leading up to the collision and the resultant terrifying attempt to save the aircraft, are what makes it worth the price of admission. Osborn also has an amazing memory as he was able to recount the day to day experiences of himself and the crew once they were under house arrest by the Chinese.
What's not mentioned is much of how the other crew members got along, especially those crypto techs who must have been shaking in their boots because of their highly sensitive knowledge of classified information, who suddenly found themselves at the mercy of the Chinese.
No, this is Shane Osborn's story alone, although he does credit a special few of his crewmen with exemplary behavior (he did make note that one female crewmember seemed to freeze up at a particularly bad time; take that for what it's worth).
Osborn was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions that day (other crewmen received Air Medals) and no one can deny that he deserved it. McConnell deserves proper credit for how well he interpreted Osborn's memories to give the reader a taste of what it was like in the cockpit of that beleaguered aircraft.
The Chinese mind games - in which they repeatedly tried to get the crew to admit they "rammed" the fighter - while exhausting, were to be expected. What's surprising is that there was no violence and only some mild threats ever made against them.
In fact, after the decision was made to allow them to go home, Osborn said he was congratulated by the Chinese base commander for his loyalty to his crew. The Chinese interrogators and guards even requested pictures of themselves with the crew.
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