Customer Reviews

Rolling Thunder

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've read a number of books on the Vietnam War -- fiction and non-fiction. Rolling Thunder is one of the best. This book is the start of a five book series that covers the Vietnam war pretty much from the big American buildup era of 1965 to our last big air battle -- Linebacker II.
For a novel, Rolling Thunder reads like a memoir, and I guess that's because it partially is one for Berent.
His descriptions of air combat are authentic and edge of your seat type stuff. But it is the interactions of the fighter squadron and the wing and big Air Force politics that makes this book a great read.
Rolling Thunder starts with the death of a pilot that was flying with Court Bannister (the hero of these books). The other pilot is not a particularly good stick (or pilot as fighter jocks call them) and manages to prang his F-100 all over the jungle. For Court that's bad, not because he loses a squadmate, but because the guy's a powerful generals son.
The series follows Bannister around for the next seven years and through the last book -- Storm Flight, which ends the war with the Linebacker attacks on N. Vietnam.
Berent manages to weave all the elements of Vietnam -- Saigon dangers, Air Force fighters, Special Forces ground combat and political intrigue in Washington -- all into one story.
The only complaint I had with the series is the inclusion of the obligatory romance in Thailand or some RR spot in every book. The romance element wasn't as entertaining to me, but they are always brief interludes and then its back to work and war.
If you don't know much about the war in Vietnam or the Air Force read these books. They are a good education and entertaining.

I have read most of Mark berent's books and they are without a doubt the very best. I know that thye are based in part for sure of real events that took place. Rolling Thunder makes reference to several people and events that I know for a fact did occur, such as the person from the 354'th who shot back at a ship , the Turkestan in Cam Pha and got hauled into a court martial trial along wioht the C.O. The names and some of the story regarding that were changed. Berent makes you feel like you are there along with those guys that busted their butts to fight a war that they were not allowed to win. He has a way of creating characters and other things that are truly realistic, flight line up cards, Frag order etc. IT is very hard to start one of his novels and put it down. THe only bad thing is that you realize tha tyou are almost done reading before long. His knowledge of airplanes and creating a scen for the reader is unmatched by any writer that I know of. I've read all of the books I own several times.

A great read for air combat fans.... Berent knows his stuff and more importantly knows how to weave a plethora of technical info into a gripping storyline. Higly recommended.

So true, you just know that the author lived the setting and life. The story is dramatic without being smarmy, or ridiculous. A great read -

Mark Berent shares a genuine comprehensive narrative with his reader. He forms a bond with us and gets the reader involved within the personalities of his characters. This book is a real pager turner. Very seldom do I read one book at a time, however, this one I devoured in a very short time. I was sorry to see it come to an end, I enjoyed it very much. I can honestly recommend this book and this author very highly. he knows the technical stuff and mixes in just the right amount. I would like to meet Mark Berent sometime to tell him face to face how much I enjoy his writing.

Mark Berent writes this book with wonderful detail. This truly is a riviting read. I can't wait to get stuck into his next book!

The seller mailed the book off quickly.. and I quickly ordered other books by Mark Berent, outstanding.

"Rolling Thunder" is the best and most interesting book about the life of a fighter pilot in Vietnam that I have ever read. It is clear that the author had personally experienced the events that he was writing about.

Mark Berent has the knack of putting the reader right into the cockpit. While I was reading about a flight of five F-100s making a ground attack to save friendly forces, I could feel my pulse rate rising and my stomach muscles tightening as I imagined the five or six Gs (gravitational units) the pilots were pulling during the attack.

In addition to brilliantly describing air combat in Vietnam, Berent intelligently discussed the political decisions that limited the pilot's ability to fight the war.

Although the book is about the military and political aspects of the Vietnam conflict, there is a bit of romance in the book, just enough to show that fighter pilots are also great lovers.

For many years I have confined my readings about the Viet-Nam War to non-fiction. It was with some trepidation I decided to read this novel about aerial combat and strategic bombing by Mark Berent. I was not disappointed and enjoyed the book.

Mr. Berent has an insider's knowledge of the Viet Nam Conflict from a pilot's perspective having, according to the book's back cover, three tours of duty in South East Asia. This background is on full display as the story is chock full of pilot terminology and period military lingo. I found this layer of realism a big plus in my enjoyment of the book. A word of warning if you are unfamiliar with military pilot talk and terminology your enjoyment of this book could be severely diminished. A glossary of terms would have been helpful.

The story interweaves the Viet-Nam experiences of several individuals. Most are pilots, one is a Special Forces officer and one is a General assigned to the White House. The main story line is the life of a military pilot during his tour of duty December 1965 to December 1966. Interspaced with his experiences are short "big picture" chapters back in Washington with LBJ and McNamara riding heard on the bombing campaign known as Rolling Thunder.

Certainly stereotypes abound in the story after all it is a military novel. Nonetheless I found the tale compelling reading and factual as to events and terminology. If you enjoy these types of novels then I highly recommend this book.

Excellent read, this one, well realised air combat sequences and although the hero Court Bannister seems a little too good to be true, most of his adventures (like the WW1 "Biggles" books) actually happened and the author has taken real incidents and weaved them into a story based around the activities of a single man. The story is well paced and is obviously an homage to those men that flew combat missions in Vietnam, and who probably feel a little under appreciated in comparison to the media output the ground war and the helicopter war generated. This book goes some way to addressing that deficit.