Sidewinder: Missile Development at China Lake - Ron Westrum
Hard to believe the AIM-9 has been around since 1955 and was built off the old 5" rocket. Great read, and very technical in some places. Laughed my head off after reading Hughes' attempt at taking the concept and "making it better." About halfway through.
Safari - Bartle Bull
Covers about 180 years of hunting in Africa from all sorts of perspectives. Not bad at all with plenty of very old photos to give you an idea of what it was like. Finished this one yesterday.
Prisoners of Japan - Gavan Davis
Nearly finished with this one. Brrrr, some parts gave me the shivers. Reading about the hellships is enough to make anyone put the book down for a breather. The Thai-Burma railway is worse.
The Few and The Proud - Larry Smith
USMC drill instructors in their own words. Chapters aren't very long from what little I've delved into it. Its still amazing hearing it from the proverbial "Gunny Hartman" perspective.
Just polished off a good stack from the library...
Bogies and Bandits - Robert Gandt
FA-18 training cycle that happened about twelve years ago when female fighter pilots were just being allowed into the fleet. Plenty of funny moments, serious-as-hell mistakes, and one nasty training accident. Read it four times and I still want to buy it.
Eye of the Viper - Peter Aleshire
F-16 training at Luke AFB. Not as colorful as Gandt's book but still a fairly good look at what goes into training a "single-engine, single seat fighter pilot." This one was probably edited by Air Force brass, as several parts are hideously dry.
To Ride, Shoot Straight, and Speak the Truth - Jeff Cooper
Cooper speaks on a variety of subjects from proper technique with both handgun and rifle to his experiences hunting in Africa. Damn fine book!
Out of Nowhere - Martin Pegler
Great history of the military sniper. Plenty of photos of original weapons, sights, and equipment. Some discussion of techniques, and a few quotes thrown in from actual snipers. Not a bad book for a person interested in the history of sniping.
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Flakbait [Delta6]
