Anytime, Baby! Hail and Farewell to the U.S. Navy F-14 Tomcat (Hardcover)

~ Erik Hildebrandt (Author), Dale Snodgrass (Foreword), Dave Parsons (Commentary)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

For the past two years, while the sun was setting on the iconic F-14 Tomcat, aviation photographer and author Erik Hildebrandt has been capturing the final defining moments of the few remaining F-14 squadrons in the US Navy Fighter community. Anytime, Baby! is an unforgettable collection of final-phase Tomcat milestones captured and preserved forever in some of the most detailed and dynamic photographic compositions Hildebrandt has ever attempted. From riding along with VF-211, the last squadron to ever fly the F-14A, to flying with VF-32 on the last deployment of the F-14B in the Arabian Gulf in 2005, Hildebrandt has been witness to the end of an era. Anytime, Baby! is an important historic record as much as it is an artistic and beautiful tribute to the most popular American fighter in history. A true "must-have" addition for the aviation enthusiasts as well as former and current Navy and Marine Corp service personnel.

About the Author

Erik Hildebrandt has established himself as one of America's premier producers of world class aviation imagery.  Far more than simply pictures of planes, Erik's photographs are an illustrious combination of natural light, atmospheric conditions, and, of course, men and machines.  His knowledge of each aircraft, passion for flight, and attention to safety affords Erik the trust and respect of his subjects that is critical to capturing such magical and amazing images.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 180 pages
• Publisher: Cleared Hot Media; illustrated edition edition (October 30, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0967404053
• ISBN-13: 978-0967404059
• Product Dimensions: 11.7 x 9.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #661,190 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Last Days of a Now Retired WarBird, January 22, 2007

By	John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I must be getting old. I remember when the F-14 Tomcat was just being designed and adopted by the Navy. Now we are telling them 'Good Bye.'

The F-14 entered service with the Navy in 1972. It was retired from the U.S. Navy fleet on 22 September 2006, having been replaced by the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. As of 2007, only the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force still flies the aircraft. Where did those 34 years go?

This book is a memorial to the Tomcat. It's a photographic essay of the last seven squadrons (down from over thirty) to fly the big bird. The photography is beautiful, mostly in the air, but quite a few on the deck of the big ships, and a couple very sadly showing the old birds sitting out in the field, stripped of unit ID, stripped of their soul.

It's a beautiful book, and an excellent tribute to the men and their very beautiful, very high performance machines.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Anytime, Baby!, January 16, 2007

By	William Powers (Virginia Beach) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

A great book on the F-14 for anyone who loves airplanes. Great pictures, great human interest stuff, facts I didn't know.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Photos Make The Book, But Copy-Editing Non-Existent, November 15, 2006

By	Gregory P. Prete "F-14D Software Guy" (Merrick, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am a long-time F-14 aficionado since I was a kid. I was also fortunate enough to have worked for Grumman/Northrop Grumman during the late 1980's on the software/systems development for the F-14D - one of the best times of my life. The photos in this book are about the best I have seen - Hildebrandt certainly knows how to work his magic with the camera. It is a shame that it seems there was no copy-editing on the written part of this book, however. Almost every page has some kind of spelling, sentence structure, or syntax error. One or two errors you can almost excuse, but this book is mostly photos - the entire volume could have been copy-edited in one sitting. I don't understand how the author(s), Hildebrandt and Dave "Hey Joe" Parsons allowed this book to go to the publisher with so many blatant grammatical errors. It detracts from the professionalism of this otherwise incredible photo-essay.