Victor Padrini: A Novel of the United States Air Force Academy (Paperback)

by Mark Pizzimenti (Author) "Later that evening, following the first day of summer duty that June of '92, Victor returned to the apartment in the city that he and..." (more)
Key Phrases: Captain Carpenter, Air Force, Major Wantom (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Victor Padrini is the story of a passionate young man who quickly sees the imperfections of his own life, and the imperfections of a system touted to be beyond reproach; but this is more than one young man's journey into adulthood and initiation into a military brotherhood. This is the story of a soul inquiring about its very reason for existing." -- Major Hector Chavez

Product Description
Victor Padrini is a novel of the United States Air Force Academy an allegory of the modern military in the post Cold War, corporate age.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Acedia Press (November 25, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0966663500
• ISBN-13: 978-0966663501
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,566,812 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars the names have been changed to protect the guilty, December 8, 1999

By	[e-mail] (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

As a fellow graduate of USAFA, I can relate closely with many of the sub-plots in Victor Padrini. Perhaps that is because almost none of the stories Mr. Pizzimenti tells are fiction. Be that as it may, the author appears to express these events accurately. His criticisms of a system rife with contradictions and unfairness are right on the money.

However, anyone looking for a complete survey of the Academy will not find it here. I cannot speak for the author, but, despite many negative memories, I also benefited from the academy experience. At the academy, I learned how to leader, developed the ability to think and act under pressure, honed my time management skills, and established many life-long friendships. I also witnessed a desire of many Academy officials to make real reforms.

USAFA was certainly a flawed institution when I attended, and I wouldn't be surprised if graduates of other universities feel the same way about their alma maters. Mr. Pizzimenti's book should indeed be read by anyone considering attending one of the service academies, but they should also try to discover some of the benefits of an academy education before making a decision. The more a candidate understands the school before signing up, the less likely he or she will be to suffer from the same dilemmas of Victor Padrini.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The truth hurts, October 25, 2001

By A Customer

This book is about Mark Pizzimenti's senior year at the Air Force Academy. The book is labeled as fiction, but it is only fiction in so much as the names have been changed--and in some cases the names are very similar.

It is impossible to fully appreciate this book unless you too have attended a service academy. I first read the book as a junior at the academy. I'm now a senior and the similarities between his experience and mine are striking. It is for this reason that this book should be considered non-fiction. I can find nothing in this book that doesn't happen here still, eight years later.

If one wants to find out what USAFA is all about, read the propaganda, the admissions literature, and all the rest--but definitely read this book.

14 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars How do I select zero stars?, March 2, 1999

By A Customer

Besides the mistakes in the typeset and the grammatical errors by the author, the story was possibly the worst I have ever read. Please do your best to ignore the ill-advised remarks on the back cover (and in the Amazon.com page for the book) made by Major Chavez; he must have owed the author a favor.

It is evident that the author has a beef he never resolved with his Academy experience, and thus he makes the reader suffer.

Please take my word as an officer in the US Air Force and a graduate of the USAF Academy, this book by no means accurately represents the Academy experience and administration. While some of his points and critiques are valid, the author blows them out of proportion with his obvious grudge. I love Amazon.com, but nobody deserves to profit further through sales of this terrible, low-quality drivel.