Going Downtown: The War Against Hanoi and Washington [Hardcover]

Jack Broughton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 6, 1988

In 1966, Col. Jack Broughton led his fighter squadron Downtown--to Hanoi, the most fiercely defended target in history. Here is Broughton's true moving story of their war--of political gamesmanship, personal courage, thrilling air combat and heroism.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Broughton, a Korean War ace, flew 102 missions in Vietnam and was vice-commander of a fighter wing. His suspenseful descriptions here of air combat in both wars is unsurpassed. The emphasis is on the extraordinary restrictions imposed on American pilots in the latter conflict and how they responded. When two of his pilots inadvertently strafed a Soviet freighter in 1967, Broughton tried to shield them from official ire by destroying the gun-camera record of the event. All three pilots were charged by their commanding general with conspiracy against the U.S. government and kept in the isolation ward of the psychiatric facility at Clark airbase in the Philippines. "The whole thing was so absurd," writes Broughton, "that you had to laugh to avoid numbing bitterness." There are many laughs in this book, for its author, in common with other fighter pilots, has a guffaw-provoking way with words; but this account is foremost an indictment of civilian and military mismanagement of the air war in Vietnam by leaders who, as Wolfe puts it in the foreword, "wasted them shamefully by not letting them fight hard enough ." In the final section the author presents an outraged account of the court-martial that followed. Photos.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

According to Broughton, the Vietnam War was fought on two fronts. The overt conflict was with Hanoi, but Broughton contends that the real struggle was with Washingtonbase of an administration determined to control the war in detail and served by a duplicitous and bureaucratized Air Force establishment. Broughton, deliberately and proudly unsophisticated, knew only one way to fightno holds barred at the sharp end; but his superiors, military and civilian, were concerned with managing violence. Failure to resolve the tensions between these approaches contributed as much as other more obvious factors to America's debacle. Recommended. Dennis Showalter, Colorado Coll., Colorado Springs
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 300 pages
• Publisher: Crown; 1st edition (July 6, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0517567385
• ISBN-13: 978-0517567388
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #600,807 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Captures the true spirit of a fighter pilot!, October 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Going Downtown: The War Against Hanoi and Washington (Hardcover)

This book captures the true spirit of a fighter pilot and why they are such special people. His war on Hanoi, waged with one hand tied behind his back by McNamara and President Johnson needed to be told. And he told it as only a fighter pilot could. You could be reading fiction, but it's real. Where do we get men that court death and face losing friends every day. Colonel Broughton is busy telling us about his fight with Hanoi and Washington. But, what also comes through is the daily struggle of men strapping on an airplane and doing their duty against great odds. The rules of engagement are discussed and how they affected the lives of those charged with enforcing them. Colonel Broughton had over 200 missions. He is a true American hero.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The real truth about the air war in Vietnam... uncovered, November 2, 1998

By 

"dancerinlv" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Going Downtown: The War Against Hanoi and Washington (Hardcover)

I've read both this book and the predecessor "Thud Ridge" as well as several book written by Vietnam war era pilots. Col Broughton knows his stuff and tells it like it was. If you ever wondered why we failed in Vietnam ,you will understand why after reading this book. Poor leadership by Air Force Generals( one couldn't be sure whether the enemy was the N.V. or the upper level command) from 5000 miles away, telling wing commanders how to do their jobs ( and having no clue as how a tactical fighter wing works), Washington's tying their hands behind their back with target selection and restrictive rules of engagement, micromanagement from above, all added up to a winnable war that they were not allowed win( except the guys risking their butts flying to Hanoi). I heartily recommend reading this book and also Thud Ridge for some fascinating insight of this era. Also I'd recommend Phantom over Vietnam , John Trotti and PAK SIX by G.I. Basel.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Going Downtown, September 10, 2007

By 

Paul B. Jansen (South Orange County, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Going Downtown: The War Against Hanoi and Washington (Hardcover)

This is an EXCELLENT book written by an amazing pilot about the mess that was Vietnam. So many pilots died as a result of the idiotic "Rules of Engagement" that clearly stacked the deck AGAINST our pilots. This book and "THUD RIDGE" tell the cold hard and ugly facts how Washington made our pilots fight with both hands tied behinds their backs. America would've been out of Vietnam victoriously in a few months if our soldiers had been able to what they have been trained to do, and NOT be told how to fight a war by a bunch of politicians.