Customer Reviews

Operation Overflight: A Memoir of the U-2 Incident

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Enjoyed it immensely. A hard to put down, revealing look at this historical, military, political event of the 1960's. Covering some of Power's CIA training, U2 overflights, downing & capture, Russian trial(farse), imprisonment, possible Oswald & other defectors connection to the U2 shoot down, repatriation through a trade of a pro Russian, US held spy and some of Power's life afterwards.

The Flt of the U-2 is a most inspiring book. I sat on the edge of my seat while reading it and finished it in one sitting wishing there was more to read, but happy that the Russians got their "just day in court" and finally Francis Gary Powers was exchanged for Rudolph Abel. Such a high flying plane, to be shot out of the skies, is unreal to me - what went wrong? No matter what Powers' wrote, we will never know the complete truth, will we? Thank God he came home safe, as he *almost* gave his life for his country. A well done book and may he rest in peace as his son recounts his father's service to his country. God Bless. Trish Schiesser, whose brother SSGT Phil Noland served in the USAFSecurity Service during the time Powers took off and went missing in Russia.
A fine, well written book. I am glad it is out again.

The book is a great reading however it was no accident that little is said about his boyhood home town. Gary was from Pound, Virginia a town so small you can hold your breath from one end to the other. Very quaint and wonderfull people. Its located on the boarder of Virginia and Kentucky state lines. My family and I were from this area and are well familuar with it. The CIA most likely saw him as a dedicated man that they could mold as they needed and yet still keep him and others on a "need to know basis" only. Thank God they did! Russia new it all the time. Most likely the shock wave resonating on the minamalist wing of the U2 was all it took. A milisecond later he was transformed from his cacoon like cockpits safety to being injected into a near zero atmosphear, subzero climate. He would have been killed instantly "which most likely Gary and others knew however the stars lined up and he was spared by a hairs breath. The book is definately a need to have if you enjoy reading about American war strugles and hero's as Gary Powers was.

This book is certainly a must have for the Cold War, Military Aviation and Spy afficionados out there! While the authors did their best to make the most of what little details Powers did/could provide them - especially about the actual missions he flew for the CIA - they failed to do justice to the historical significance of the event. Powers' actual flights and missions in the U-2 are not discussed in great detail (they never even mention the plane's actual altitude, there are no details about the U-2 except for some hearsay info on its imagined structural integrity (or lack thereof), and they assigned less than a page to discuss the other "special missions"), and there are very few details about the mission the book was actually written about. What you will nevertheless be able to read in detail about are his time spent in Russian prisons, the KGB interrogations, or his kind Latvian roomate Zigurd in Vladimir prison. The final section of the book is spent on the well-justified trashing of the CIA (afterall they gave him the shaft the same way NASA did to the Apollo 13 crew), and Powers provides some great insights into the personal dealings of the Agency. Reading it today, Powers' observations were way ahead of their time! You'll appreciate Powers Jr's epilogue that puts the entire book in perspective. Overall it is a great book, the only first-hand account of the U-2 incident you'll ever have, and as a matter of fact, I'll go and read it again!

I have read lots of books .This book was great in many ways.One way was that a national hero was portrayed as a normal human being,He Mr Powers showed real emotion and true feelings .Felt it was a real and true story not something merely concocted to make a few bucks.I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading about the cold war.It dispells certain vaguries about soviet controlled russia during that time period.Altho it is well written there are several grammatical problems and issues that should have been edited out.Overall a great book about a brave hero with human feelings and human problems.Honestly written.

This book started out very good with some exciting flying stories.. but the whole pace of the book changed once Powers was captured (ok, obviously), but I wasn't expecting the majority of the book to be devoted to his time in captivity. Although interesting to hear the excellent detailed recollection of his time in captivity, I would have loved to hear more about the missions and intricacies of flying the U-2...

I was just speaking to my mother the other night (she is Francis G. Powers sister) and he came up in our conversation. After speaking with her.... (she was at the trial in Russia) I really need to read this book! Based on the reviews, and many family discussions about the time, I will be reading this very shortly!

When I ordered this paper back I thought it would a used copy of this book. When it arrived it was a brand new book. So now I have a very nice copy for my Library. Amazon was a pleasure to do business with.