Rolling Thunder (Kindle Edition)

by Mark Berent (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Berent is a decorated Air Force pilot who served three tours in Vietnam. His first novel is essentially a series of vignettes and anecdotes loosely structured around the yearlong tours of duty of Air Force Captain Court Bannister and First Lieutenant Toby Parker, with a ground-force counterpoint in Special Forces Major Wolf Lochert. Principal villains are the Washington policy-makers who send men to die in a war they are not allowed to win. Within this intellectually unsophisticated black-and-white framework, however, Berent's laconic, jargon-rich narrative evokes moods eclipsed by later and more spectacular events. Set in the mid-'60s--the last stages of the professionals' war, when career soldiers were still able to believe in what they were doing--the story focuses on ground-support operations over the south of Vietnam. This was a war the Air Force had been unprepared for and was uninterested in fighting, a war of obsolescent fighter-bombers flown by men who had dreamed of becoming astronauts, and of the Forward Air Controllers, the daring FACs, who called them in on almost-invisible targets. Yet as the novel ends, its protagonists intend to return for another tour of duty, which has come to overshadow survival in their minds. Fortunate is the country, Berent tells readers, where such men wear its uniforms; may they never again be so betrayed. The message is no less powerful for being predictable. Literary Guild and Military Book Club alternates; author tour.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
"A taut, exciting tale of good men in a bad war. Berent is the real thing."

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Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 584 KB
• Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons; One edition (May 1, 1989)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0019LNUVA
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #87,465 in Kindle Store (See Bestsellers in Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Vietnam Air War read, July 28, 2004

By	S. G Spires (Huntsville, Al United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Rolling Thunder (Mass Market Paperback)

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.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best Vietnam Air War Author, May 12, 2003

By	"dancerinlv" (Las Vegas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rolling Thunder (Audio Cassette)

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.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Top Read, March 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Rolling Thunder (Mass Market Paperback)

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.