Tag Archives: book review

Book Review: Highest Duty – My Search for What Really Matters

HarperCollins, 2009.

Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters is the autobiography of the now-celebrity pilot who landed American Airlines Flight 1549 in the Hudson River on 15 January 2009.  Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger is both an Air Force Academy graduate and a former Air Force fighter pilot.

From the perspective of a pilot, Highest Duty is a fascinating read.  The book is well written, managing to string the 3 minute ordeal through 330 pages of Sullenberger’s life without becoming slow or overly tedious.  While his celebrity status was cemented by the ordeal, the book covers not only the emergency landing but also his life story.

One of the more intriguing parts of that “life story” has been the element of faith, but not for the reason most might expect.  Read more

Review: Fighter Pilot, Memoirs of Legendary Ace Robin Olds

Robin Olds
St Martin’s Press, 2010

Robin Olds is a legend in the fighter pilot community, though he may not be recognized outside of it.  Many people may remember, for example, the famous Operation BOLO during Vietnam, which used F-4s to impersonate F-105s and succeeded in destroying a third of the North Vietnamese MiG-21s in a single mission – but few know then-Col Robin Olds was responsible for it.  Fighter Pilot is his story, and it is explicitly delivered as a memoir, rather than an autobiography.  Thus, it is not a detailed birth-to-death retelling of his life, but a first-hand recounting of the things he wishes to convey.  (The book was completed after his 2007 death by his daughter, Christina Olds, and Ed Rasimus, himself a retired fighter pilot.)

The book starts off somewhat slowly, almost as if (despite its status as a “memoir”), Olds (or his co-authors) felt obligated to include some stories from the early parts of his life.  He mentions his early pilot training days and a few significant events briefly, but provides little detail or introspective.  For example, he casually mentions, without further insight, that he attended the Air Corps Tactical School, which would ultimately form the basis for all air doctrine in the Army Air Forces and eventually the independent Air Force.  He also covers his entire training, from his early wartime graduation from West Point through becoming a pilot, in a scant 20 pages.  Some of the lack of detail may be for a very understandable cause: he simply didn’t remember much from those early days.  Another may be more pragmatic: Olds is known for his time in Vietnam, not pilot training.

Unlike some other fighter pilot books, Read more

Book Review: Refiner’s Fire, A Fighter Pilot’s Journey

CreateSpace Online Publishers, 2009.
Douglas Haig Jenkins, Jr.

The title of Refiner’s Fire makes it sound as if it is the perfect book for examining the integration of faith and the fighter pilot profession.  While it has potential, it regrettably falls short.

Refiner’s Fire is Jenkins’ autobiography.  It is literally written chronologically, with the first chapter talking about childhood dreams of flying and Read more

Book Review: The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict

Josh McDowell
Thomas Nelson, 1999.
Topic: Apologetics

Famous for his conversion to Christianity as a result of his attempt to disprove it, Josh McDowell presents a logical and organized layout of the Christian faith.

Recommended for those who desire advanced insight into apologetics.

This book is available from Christian Book Distributors and Amazon. (This site is an Amazon Associate and may earn from qualifying purchases made through Amazon referrals.)

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Book Review: When Faith Takes Flight

When Faith Takes Flight was written by Jim Walters, a Pastor, civilian flight instructor, and former US Air Force fighter pilot. Walters became a Christian in a military chapel in Vietnam, and was quickly taken under the wing of a Christian in a local military Bible study.

When Faith Takes Flight isn’t an autobiography or memoir, however; it is an instructional book on Christian doctrine. The author is both a faith instructor and a flight instructor, and both perspectives are evident throughout the book.

Each of the 10 chapters covers a basic Christian doctrinal element (the existence of God, sin, grace, the Bible, etc.). The chapters (or “lessons”) begin with a flight related story, draw an analogy to a Biblical concept, and then relate a Biblical lesson — complete with a “quiz” and questions for group discussion. Each lesson is, in many ways, a miniature sermon.

The book’s primary objective is to teach theological concepts using Read more

Book Review: In His Service

Rick Bereit
Dawson Media, Colorado Springs, 2002.
Topic: Military life, Christian living

Col. Bereit wrote a good overall view of the military for those who know little of it or are considering joining it. The book is somewhat light on behavioral details and is not service specific (though the author is a USAFA graduate), but it is well referenced to Bible. His most in-depth chapter is that of discipleship. Col. Bereit relates the potential for hidden moral dangers in the military to “moral minefields.” He makes good use of this analogy to communicate the dangers of sex, drugs, profanity, lying, and then summing it up in a section of “How to Live Right.”

Recommended for any Christian interested in military service.

This book is available from Amazon. (This site is an Amazon Associate and may earn from qualifying purchases made through Amazon referrals.)

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Book Review: Yeager

Chuck Yeager and Leo Janos
Bantam Books, 1985.
Topic: Autobiography

Yeager’s book is interesting for several reasons. Yes, he is famous for piloting the Bell X-1 through the “sound barrier.” Perhaps less famously, he was also a World War II P-51 pilot and F-86 and F-100 squadron commander. (He was fired from that last one.) In many ways his book describes the “standard” antics of a fighter pilot and can help an aspiring fighter pilot understand the “history” of the fighter pilot culture.

The book is by no means completely factually accurate and is obviously biased by the author. Nonetheless, it is an interesting read, particularly for those with an interest in military aviation, flight test, and military history. It should not be read as gospel, but it is worth the read.

Recommended. While not specific to the Christian fighter pilot, it can provide a greater understanding of the the stereotypical fighter pilot life. This recommendation should not be interpreted as an endorsement of Yeager’s actions or attitudes, some of which are contrary to what a Christian should exhibit.

This book is available from Amazon, as well as from Yeager’s own site. (This site is an Amazon Associate and may earn from qualifying purchases made through Amazon referrals.)

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Book Review: Never Surrender

LtGen Jerry Boykin
Faith Words, 2008.
Topic: Military/Christian Experience

Never Surrender is the memoir of Lt Gen (Ret) William G. “Jerry” Boykin, a name familiar to many even outside of military circles. It documents his military career and much of his personal life, in his “journey to the crossroads of faith and freedom.”

In a career that spanned more than three decades, General Boykin was predominantly a member of Special Operations units, including being one of the initial cadre (and ultimately a commander) of the Army’s elite Delta Force. He was involved in virtually every combat action since the early 1980s, from the aborted rescue attempt of the Americans held hostage in Iran to the hunting of war criminals in the Balkans.

According to the book, Read more

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