
War for the Hell of It
A Fighter Pilot's View of Vietnam
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Narrated by:
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Eric Martin
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By:
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Ed Cobleigh
About this listen
Ed "Fast Eddie" Cobleigh served two tours of duty during the Vietnam air war, logging 375 combat sorties in the F-4 Phantom fighter/bomber.
In War for the Hell of It, Cobleigh shares his perspectives in a deeply personal account of a fighter pilot's life, one filled with moral ambiguity and military absurdities offset by the undeniable thrill of flying a fighter plane. With well-crafted prose that puts you into his Phantom's cockpit, Cobleigh vividly recounts the unexplainable loss of his wingman, the useless missions he flew, the need to trust his reflexes, eyesight, aggressiveness, and his survival instincts in the heat of combat. He discusses the deaths of his squadron mates and the contradictions of a dirty, semi-secret war fought from beautiful, exotic Thailand. This is an unprecedented look into the state of mind of a pilot as he experiences everything from the carnage of a crash to the joy of flying through a star-studded night sky, from the illogical political agendas of Washington to his own dangerous addiction to risk.
Cobleigh gives a stirring and emotional description of one man's journey into airborne hell and back, recounting the pleasures and the pain, the wins and the losses, and ultimately, the return.
©2016 Ed Cobleigh (P)2016 Ed CobleighExcellent book !
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slow
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Not adrenaline fueled but fully authentic
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Fast Eddie manages to weave a loose narrative of the arrogance, skilfulness and intelligence of the fighter pilot, while bringing the emotionality, fear and ridiculousness of the war to the fore.
Cobleigh is a hell of a writer first and foremost, with a humour to his writing that is irresistible. I got in my car every morning looking forward to his next jape, stream of consciousness or tragedy. And if you know anything about the air war in Vietnam you'll recognise a few famous but unnamed characters.
only 5 stars, because I can't give it 6
a surprisingly funny and moving account
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my favourite audio book.
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Interesting and entertaining
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vivid and evocative
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It’s more of a pilots psychological monologue regarding alcohol and the need for sex, more than anything.
Perhaps too in-depth
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