On 4 Feb 2004 09:21:01 -0800, (John Pelchat)
wrote:

Ed Rasimus wrote in message . ..
On 03 Feb 2004 15:05:04 GMT, (Pechs1) wrote:

If it's not too much trouble, a list of VietNam air war books you would
recommend...thanks in advance-
P. C. Chisholm

Some books I didn't like a
Broughton's "Going Downtown", but "Thud Ridge" is pretty good.
Ken Bell's "100 Missions North".
John Trotti's "Phantom Over Vietnam"
Karl Eschmann's "Linebacker"
Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
"When Thunder Rolled"
Smithsonian Institution Press
ISBN #1-58834-103-8

While I am not interested in starting a mud-slinging session or an
excahange of flames, I am interested in why you did not like "Phantom
Over Vietnam". I wasn't there (too young)and only have the accounts
of others to learn from.

Thanks in advance & blue skies . . .

Good question. I know John Trotti and have exchanged emails with him.
Good guy and good combat Marine aviator. I simply didn't like the book
because it compiled mission events into single missions, seemingly
making them more intense and it described some defensive reactions in
areas that such was extremely unlikely. I simply felt it didn't meet
my criteria for contribution to the genre.

I didn't like Broughton's second book because it was almost totally
dedicated to an apologia for the Turkestan incident. Didn't like
Bell's book because it recounts a series of his screwups and doesn't
even acknowledge that they were screwups. Eschmann's work doesn't do
much but recount B-52 missions while totally ignoring the daytime
tactical ops of Linebacker II and the supporting night tactical
flights. Michel does a much better job of shedding light on what went
on.
Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
"When Thunder Rolled"
Smithsonian Institution Press
ISBN #1-58834-103-8