Storm Flight [Hardcover]

Mark Berent (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1993

In the fifth and final novel of his Vietnam air war saga, the daring raid on the Son Tay POW camp starts a chain reaction for two USAF fighter pilots, and a Special Forces Major.

Pilots, politicians, Pentagon generals, biased reporters, communist spies, and life in the hell of the Hanoi Hilton for a black fighter pilot are woven together in a spell binding plot.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In the bitter year of 1972, deep inside Vietnam, American POWs with special knowledge or skills have been secretly removed from camps, their names hidden from official records. After a daring American raid exposes Soviet complicity, American airmen must try to free their comrades. In this fifth and final novel in the series that began with Rolling Thunder , Lt. Gen. "Whitey" Whisenand leads a varied group of men in this mission. Among them are Air Force Lt. Col. Court Bannister, who must leave his beloved fighters and learn to drive a "bus" (a B-52 bomber); Special Forces Lt. Col. Wolf Lochert, who designs and carries out a heart-stopping parachute drop; and fighter pilot Capt. Toby Parker. Meanwhile, Major Flak Apple and his buddies bravely manage to send coded messages from Hoa Lo Prison ("Hanoi Hilton"). The mission is further complicated by the anti-war movement, Kissinger/Nixon politicking and the men's emotions as they lose friends in the relentless air war. Genre aficionados will relish the wealth of military detail and the technical explanations; all readers will be rewarded by the ultimate mission, when planes, men and tactics are tested to the spine-tingling limits. Berent, whose 20 years in the Air Force included three tours of Vietnam, has developed a loyal following of military aviation buffs (including many Vietnam aviators) all eager for this conclusion to his saga.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Not since Stephen Coonts's Flight of the Intruder has there been a novel as interesting and authentic on the subject of air combat over Vietnam. Like Coonts, Berent is a Vietnam vet; he served two tours as a fighter pilot, logging more than 1000 hours. Storm Flight is the fifth and final novel in a series that includes Rolling Thunder (Putnam, 1989); it depicts characters ranging from inmates in a starkly depicted POW camp to such actual U.S. government officials as Henry Kissinger. The book's chief action involves a raid on a North Vietnamese POW camp, and of course there are abundant scenes in the air, with aircraft ranging from OV-10 observation planes to the mighty B-52 Stratofortress. Recommended for public libraries and any library with a general or military fiction readership.
- Jim Cunningham, Illinois Mathematics & Science Acad., Aurora
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 383 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Adult (October 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399138145
• ISBN-13: 978-0399138140
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,828,589 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lt Col Mark E. Berent, USAF (Ret), was born in Minneapolis, graduated from Cretin High School in St. Paul, and Arizona State University with a BSME.

Berent began his Air Force career as an enlisted man then pilot training at Columbus and Laredo. He served three combat tours, completing 452 combat sorties, first in the F-100 at Bien Hoa then the F-4 at Ubon. He spent two years in Cambodia flying things with propellers and, through a fluke, ran the air war for a few weeks.

He has logged over 4300 hours of flying time, 1084 of those in combat missions in the F-100, F-4, C-47 and U-10 over South Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. He has flown 30 different aircraft.

His decorations include the Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross with one oak leaf cluster, Bronze Star, Air Medal with twenty-four oak leaf clusters, Vietnam Cross of Gallantry, Cambodian Divisional Medal, and numerous Vietnam Campaign ribbons. He also earned US Special Forces and Cambodian jump wings.

Since retirement, he established international operations for the sale of spares for combat aircraft; flew foreign aircraft such as the Swedish Viggen and RAF Jaguar and Hawk; wrote numerous articles for the Air Force Magazine; and was a pilot/reporter for the Asian Defense Journal. He wrote five Vietnam airwar novels (Rolling Thunder, see www.markberent.com). Recently flew his T-6 in airshows.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Heart stopping book that you wont want to put down!!, April 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Storm Flight (Audio Cassette)

This was a great ending to a terrific series by Mark Berent. I found myself unable to put this book down. Wold Lochert, Court Bannister and Toby Parker were amazing characters and were so life like I was sad to see the series end. I definately recommend reading not only this book but this great series.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fitting conclusion to a Fabulous series., February 11, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (St. Louis, MO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Storm Flight (Audio Cassette)

Following the exploits of Court Bannister, Wolf Lochert, Toby Parker and the gang showed me believable action; let me observe the transition of young hotshots into responsible adults through experiences with war and life; taught me history, the real thing I didn't get from the media in the 1960s; focused me on geography, with which I'm getting better. Not so very different from the young people I see at our USO where I volunteer each week. Most of all, it let me come to some resolution and peace in my own mind about VietNam. Those young men I knew in the 1960s who willingly went to serve were right in their intent, despite an Administration and press who failed to support them. Those who didn't come back did not die in vain, and are remembered fondly. My only regret is that it's the last of the series. I hope Mark Berent is not finished writing! More! More! Another series! Something!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best Viet Nam novels., March 11, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Storm Flight (Audio Cassette)

Having finished the final volume in Mark Berent's exciting series of Viet Nam ficton based on fact books, I'm moved to write the following. Looking back on how politicians and peaceniks played into the hands of the communists, I think I know how America's fighting men felt when they where sent to a war by a country that didn't really want to win. Mark Berent gets you into the heads of his protaganists, and you're left shaking your head at the lies that were fed to us while our boys were fighting and dying. A great, exciting set of tales. My thanks to him for making me remember the sacrifice given by so many.