Customer Reviews

WINGS & WARRIORS (Smithsonian History of Aviation and Spaceflight Series)

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

 

 

Military memoirs are kind of a tricky category. The authors usually aren't professional writers, but that's often a bonus rather a drawback. Donald Engen's book is perhaps somewhat of an exception to this rule.

"Wings and Warriors" is well worth reading, but it required a bit of grit to make it through to the end. Engen has a remarkable career as a naval aviator and test pilot, and goes on to become a Captain in the "black shoe" Navy. But his account often threatens to bog down in a welter of detail. Engen includes a lot of facts about a lot of different aircraft, and salutes a great many of his comrades and commanders, but the momentum of the narrative tends to suffer as a result.

I found myself wishing the book had an appendix with a field guide to all the aircraft Engen describes. As Engen notes, there were many different types of jets produced in the early days, and he seems to have flown most of them. But it's hard to keep them straight, especially because Engen refers to them mostly by their original Navy designations, which are somewhat obscure today. (Engen gripes about the Pentagon-imposed "uniform" aircraft designations which eliminated the Navy system in the early 1960s.)

Despite some excess baggage, "Wings and Warriors" has enough great stories along the way to make the trip worthwhile. As a test pilot, Engen relates why it isn't necessarily a good idea to turn off your jet's engine at high altitude just to see what happens. (Hint: the engine also keeps the cabin pressurized.)

Test pilot Engen also flies a series of attempts to set the altitude record. He manages to best the Soviet mark, although not by a wide enough margin to make the record books. But he does a really nice job of relating the experience, and it's pretty clear there's no major disappointment involved.

There are many other gems here as well. Mrs. Engen devises an unusual method to remind her flyboy hubby that he drove off with *both* sets of car keys that morning. The Engens move so frequently that one move is cancelled halfway to make way for the *next* move. Given command of an ammunition ship, black-shoed Captain Engen reveals himself as a world-class scrounger. It's not hard to understand why a crew would be intensely loyal to a skipper like that.

I did find one minor factual error: during his carrier qualification, Engen refers to Point Oboe as the "large mausoleum" on the shores of Lake Michigan. The "mausoleum" is in fact the Bahai House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois, not far from the former NAS Glenview. But Engen was there for all of one day over fifty years ago, so I suppose we'll give him a "fair pass" on that one.

After the Navy, Engen went on to become the FAA adminstrator and the curator of the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum. As this memoir makes clear, Engen is unusually well-qualified for both jobs.

Don Engen always was number one in any command he served. He was the classic leader by example. My very own personal hero and mentor. He was what everyone else wanted to be like. As an author he told it the way it was and included even the most junior officers and was honest in his appraisal of the many events in his fantastic career. One of a kind.

This book is both a engaging autobiograph--in which the author takes us from his days as a naval aviation cadet learning his trade in the "Yellow Peril" biplane trainers in 1942 through to his command of USS AMERICA in 1967--and a fascinating first-person narrative history of naval aviation during its period of most rapid and fundamental change. This era saw the development of all the technologies that form the foundation of naval aviation as we know it, including jet propulsion, angled flight decks, fresnel lens optical landing system, steam catapults, TACAN, supersonic flight, and air-to-air missiles. And Don Engen was in the thick of it all. This is a highly personal tale, a fast-paced collection of anecdotes, vignettes, and confessions. His recollections vividly convey the sense of adventure in exploring the unknown frontiers of new territory that infused the naval aviation in the "golden age" of its transition to jets.

This Naval Aviator's personal memoir is also an excellent history of Naval Aviation from the battle of the Phillipine Sea to Viet Nam. It was almost voyeuristic - peering not only into the exciting and sometimes mundane activities of his flying career, but also seeing how he and his family adapted to the nomadic life of a career Naval Officer. It was particularly enlightening to read the story behind how some of the great innovations in Naval Aviation came to pass from the author's perspective. His very survival to achieve all that he accomplished in his life alone is a miracle. While some might criticize the inclusion of the names of almost aviator or commander with which he served as detracting from the narrative, for me that was personally satifying as I too served in Naval Aviation and recognized some of those individuals. All in all an enjoyable memoir of a great and not particularly well known American hero.

On the personal level, very satisfying read. I served in one of the author's commands (CAG 11), but before he took over. It was particularly enlightening to read the story behind how some of the great innovations in Naval Aviation came to pass and the human cost. On the down side, the narrative included almost every aviator and commander with whom the author served, which while great for the ego did not help the narrative. All in all an enjoyable memoir of one of our nation's great unsung heroes.

This book blends real life drama with a highly factual account of the development of modern naval aviation as seen through the eyes of a key contributor. Enjoyable and educational.

Donald Engen has written a detailed book about a fascinating period in naval aviation history. He was there to help make things happen in those formative years when the jets were new. This book does even more than give credit to those who dedicated their lives to the advancement of Carrier based Naval aviation during the transition from propeller to jet aircraft. It also shows the delicate balance which occurs when juggling a military career and a personal life. As a reader, you are there with him. I give it a solid review rating of 10 for pure enjoyment.

Donald Engen had a career in the U.S. Navy that rivals Stephen Coonts' legendary Jake Grafton. But, for someone who no doubt led a life filled with more danger, and who saw far more of his friends and fellow officers and sailors killed than any fictional character Stephen Coonts could ever come up with, Donald Engen tells a rather bland story.

I must admit that I became more interested in this book the more I read it. Still, the way most things are presented in a perfect chronological manner leads to a book that reads more like a polished diary than a good autobiography.

I expected to read about the introduction of jets into the U.S. Navy, but the technical information I sought just wasn't there. What I did read was the story of a very interesting career, and I learned what it took to advance in the post-WWII Navy. It's an educational book, but it could have been a great story if Donald had loosened up a little and poured a little more of himself into the book.