Customer Reviews

Grumman F-14 Tomcat: Bye - Bye Baby...!: Images & Reminiscences From 35 Years of Active Service

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

George Hall has been a dean in the aviation photography and book publishing business for quite some time and a prince in person. His vision for this book was to gather the best images he could and present them as if displayed in an art gallery. His other inspiration was to include quotes from throughout the legacy of the service of the Tomcat as if those individuals were standing beside you commenting on the images and remembering their most vivid memories. Therefore, the book is not intended to be a traditional reference book at all. There are plenty of those (if Mr Ng is looking for that type book). This is intended to be a very intimate and striking experience visually and emotionally through reading of the text.

It is a terrible shame that George succumbed to heart disease during an emergency operation in April just as he was sending the book to press. All of us who participated in this project, those who know him in the slightest way and I imagine anyone who has seen his work certainly mourns his untimely passing.I know I do.

Here's to George and his finest effort to date. Dave Parsons aka "Hey Joe"

I've seen some spectacular pictures of F-14s over the years, but never so many in a single book. Simply fantastic. A book this beautiful would be reasonable at 2 or 3 times the price. In addition to the incredible pictures, are the anecdotes in the pilots' own words. They're all fascinating. A few are unnervingly frightening -- read page 104! I'm not going to tell you. You'll have to buy your own copy.

This is one of the finest aviation books I've ever seen. If your looking for technical analysis or or line drawings this book is not for you. This book is told by the men who flew and maintained the F-14. The photography is superb, The lay-out is great. This is a fitiing tribute to the greatest fighter jet ever made.

I maintained the Tomcat while I was in VF-1 "WOLFPACK". I loved the old bird back then, and everyday since. The fact that the Tomcat has to retire is sad and very unfortunate. However, if this book serves any purpose, it makes saying "goodbye" a bit easier. While there is a little too little describing the pics, the pics are awesome enough to not really need it. It is very nice to see such perfection in aviation photography and to read the kind and descriptive words of all those former Tomcat drivers and Rio's. This book does the life of the F-14 a great service. If you are out to find descriptive notes and thorough info on the 'Cat, you won't find it in this book (there are hundreds of other books/resources for that). This book is simply a very thorough photo-history of the greatest fighter ever tot ake to the sky. "BYE-BYE BABY" just doesn't sum it up, somehow.

ANYTIME BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not too much to say, other then this is one of the most impressive collections of 200 pages ever.

I have had a long obsession with the TOMCAT and this book does it justice.

I have bought many TOMCAT related books in the past and all of them had the exact same first chapters the already well known beginings of this great fighter.

This book is a nice change, it is something different, instead of the same old story reprinted and repackaged it looks at the TOMCAT from a different angle.

It has pictures from some of the worlds finest and luckiest photographers and the text is made up almost entirerly from first hand experiances from the people who flew, fixed and loved the TOMCAT.

I really love this book and have no regrets in getting it.

Excellent pictures and commentary about the F-14 Tomcat from the pilots who flew them and the people who built, tested, and serviced them. Well done! I loved it!

If you (like me) lovee Tomcats, you simply must own this book.
The pictures are glorious, the comments by the crews are priceless,
the production is flawless.

A must have for all 'Cat lovers.
Favourite quote: "ooooh basic"
Read it and weep and laugh, I did.

I have virtually every Tomcat book that was ever released and this one is at the top of the list. Excellent photography, and the many short stories from air and ground crew are obviously from men (and women) that "walked the walk". There has already been many tech and "history of" books written, so it is very refreshing to read a book of memories from the people that made it the "Best of the Best". Some damn humorous stories included.

This is a tremedous piece of work on what was probably the Navy's most iconic aircraft of the post-Vietnam period. Parsons and Hall found an incredible array of pictures from a variety of names that anyone who follows carrier aircraft will recognize- Lawson, Twomey, Heatley, Potts and Carlson, just to name a few. They matched the photography with comments and insights from the aviators that flew the type through the Tomcat's long and distinguished history. What you read includes the high points as well as the warts and a lot of "insider info" you won't find anywhere else. This isn't a nuts-and-bolts, detail freak kind of book- but will certainly, in the long run, remain one of the best efforts on the type produced.

Rick

I just finished reading this book for the second time, and all I have to say is WOW!!! Excellent work done by all. A fitting tribute to a great aircraft and all the people involved with it over its service career. 35 years and still strong, this book will ensure that the Tomcat is always remembered.