Storm Center: The USS Vincennes and Iran Air Flight 655 : A Personal Account of Tragedy and Terrorism [Hardcover]

Will Rogers (Author), Gene Gregston (Author), Sharon Rogers (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1992

The captain of the Vincennes and his wife provide a personal account of the dawning of Iranian Air flight 655 and the upheaval that followed.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The tale here is as old as the sea: a sailor at risk, his family at home, constantly worrying. But this husband/wife book then plunges into a technoemotional history of the 1988 downing of an Iranian passenger plane by an AEGIS cruiser. Making disjunctive jumps between the cruiser's metaelectronics and the sailor's all-too- human feelings of duty, remorse, and fear, the authors sail a difficult course. Captain Rogers argues his case: Harassed by gunboats and aircraft, his mindset becomes "Don't take the first shot" but shoot first. His wife's travails are of another world until their family van is bombed. The story exposes the frailty of the man-machine relationship, but the reader must judge the events themselves.
- John Yurechko, Georgetown Univ., Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 264 pages
• Publisher: US Naval Institute Press; First edition (July 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557507279
• ISBN-13: 978-1557507273
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,361,426 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Fiction, December 26, 2000

By 

"lizzieb_23" (San Diego) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Storm Center: The USS Vincennes and Iran Air Flight 655 : A Personal Account of Tragedy and Terrorism (Hardcover)

"Storm Center" is a sad work of fiction. Capt. Rogers still insists that he didn't order the Vincennes into Iranian territorial waters, despite the admission by the US Navy (finally made after 3 years of denials) to the ICAO, the contents video tape made during the incident, as well as the data from the Vincennes itself and also the control towers in the region. This was NOT an act of self-defense, since Rogers was the one who violated his own ROE and illegally crossed into Iranian waters to shoot up some speedboats when he was under no threat. The Vincennes was the one which initiated the fight, inside Iranian waters. She was not coming to the aid of any tankers either. The incident was an act of reckless mass homicide at best, and the fact that the true events were covered up by the US Navy for 4 years until the Newsweek/Nightline expose leaves an indelible stain and taint on the honor of the UN Navy. A lot of patriotic flag waving isn't going to clean this up either.

28 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not really worthwhile., July 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Storm Center: The USS Vincennes and Iran Air Flight 655 : A Personal Account of Tragedy and Terrorism (Hardcover)

This is pure apologia. Readers who are genuinely interested in learning more about the real facts surrounding the downing of Iran Air 655 should read the letter by Capt. Carlson of the USS Sides which was published in the U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, and partially re-printed in the San Diego Union Tribune on September 10, 1989. In addition, there is an excellent article entitled "Sea of Lies" in Newsweek, July 13 1992, by J. Barry and R. Charles.

16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars An Apology for an Inexcusable Action, February 5, 2008

By 

John "BlueM" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Storm Center: The USS Vincennes and Iran Air Flight 655 : A Personal Account of Tragedy and Terrorism (Hardcover)

This book is a pathetic apology from a man who tried to rationalize and justify for what was arguably the biggest military blunder ever that bordered on mass killing, and on top of that, he tried to make few bucks off it by writing a book about the incident. If it weren't for the political circumstance that surrounded the downing of Iran Air Flight 655, William C. Rogers III would most likely been prosecuted for making a colossal blunder that took away the lives of 290 civilian passengers and also contributed to strain US and Iran relations for decades. Despite numerous warning signs, he acted well beyond gross negligence and recklessness and fired on a passenger airliner. His action was inexcusable and reprehensible. Black and white evidence from independent sources is there for anyone who is capable enough to research and see it with their own eyes - which will clearly indicate that William C. Rogers III acted irresponsibly and recklessly. And his actions led to what most independent sources consider as the biggest military blunder ever. At the time, US government had very little choice but to support his action due to the political circumstance surrounding it; however, in these post 9/11 days, maybe we should another look at this incident and bring at least a civil action against William C. Rogers III on behalf of the victims to see the justice done and to remind ourselves that excusing this type of action not only damages our own sense of humanity but also helps to create more and more terrorist who will try to exact their revenge on oblivious US civilians who, for the most part, are largely unconcerned and uneducated about what goes on outside the border.