Book ReviewsTom Clancy's Op-Center Into the Fire
Dick Couch
George Galdorisi
Leave No Man Behind
George Galdorisi
Tom Phillips
Life Inside the Dead Man's Curve
Summary: Travis County STAR Flight, in Austin, Texas, is recognized as one of the premier public-safety helicopter programs in the United States. Life Inside the Dead Man’s Curve is a firsthand account of the tragedy and triumph witnessed by STAR Flight crews as they respond to a myriad of emergencies, everything from traumatic injuries to rescues and more. The author, Kevin McDonald, recounts how he turned his passion for flying into an extraordinary career, filled with real-life twists and turns that will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. From his early days as a naval aviator, to his twenty years as a STAR Flight pilot, Kevin takes the reader on an emotional roller-coaster ride. Even if you’re not an aviation enthusiast, you need to strap in for this read. This is more than a book about flying helicopters-it’s a book about life, life inside the dead man’s curve. Click here to learn more... Kevin McDonald
Forgotten
Marc Liebman
Hover
Anne A. Wilson
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Summary: Tensions flare in Northwest Asia and Op-Center races to prevent World War III in this chilling, ripped-from-the-headlines thriller from the authors of the
About the Author: A 1967 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Dick Couch served as a Surface Warfare Officer. while a platoon leader with SEAL Team One in 1970, he led one of the only successful POW rescue operations of the Vietnam War. On release from active duty in 1972, he entered the Central Intelligence Agency, where he served as a Maritime Operations Case Officer. Dick retired from the Naval Reserve in 1997 with the rank of captain and has served as an advisor on military and tactical ethics for the component commands of the US Special Operations Command
About the Author: George Galdorisi is a career naval aviator who began his writing career in 1978 with an article in the U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings. His Nay career included four command tours and five years as a carrier strike group chief of staff, as well as three years leading the United States delegation for military-to-military talks with Chinese navy. He is currently the Director of the Corporate Strategy Group at the Navy's C4ISR Center of Excellence in San Diego, California. 
Summary: Beginning with the birgh of combat aircraft in World War I and the early attampts to rescue warriors trapped behind enemy lines, Leave No Man Behind chronicles in depth nearly on hundred years of combat search and rescue (CSAR). All major U.S. combat operations from World War II to the early years of the Iraq War are covered, including previously classified missions and several Medal-of-Honor-winning operations. Authors George Galdorisi and Tom Phillips highlight individual acts of heroism while telling the big-picture story of the creation and development of modern CSAR.
About the Author: Commissioned in 1969, Tom Phillips earned his wings in eleven months and served his first tour flying attack helicopters in Vietnam in HA(L)-3: the Seawolves. After that one-of-a-kind experience (560 combat missions in one year), he embarked on what has now accumulated to 44 continuous years of tactical ASW focus in operational, instructional, educational service in squadrons, ship’s company, embarked and ashore operational staffs, NPS, continuing after retirement in tactical development and evaluation, NWC, curriculum development, CSI tactical instruction in both the SH-60F and SH-60B, and today as a tactics operations analyst at SCORE. In addition to this book, he has had published about 50 articles on tactical and operational history: 20 Wings of Gold, 25 Rotor Review, The Hook, and the VPHA Aviator. Combat Rescue has long been a particular focus and led to the collaboration with George on Leave No Man Behind.
About the Author: Having received a journalism degree from the University of Texas at Austin, Kevin McDonald was commissioned into the United States Navy as an ensign in 1982. Two years later, he graduated at the top of his Navy flight school class and spent the next eight years flying as a naval aviator, logging most of his time in helicopters. In 1992, during the drawdown that followed the First Gulf War, he left the Navy and became a public-safety pilot for Travis County STAR Flight in Austin, Texas. As a native Texan, Kevin was a perfect fit for STAR Flight; and his literary background made him the perfect person to document the tragedy and triumph he would witness from the cockpit of his helicopter. By the time his career ended in 2012, he had flown more missions, logged more hours, and completed more rescues than any pilot in the history of the program. Now retired, he lives in Austin with his wife, Nancy, who was by his side for most of his thirty-five-year flying career. 
Summary: The Forgotten are six Americans who did not come home at the end of the Vietnam War. Four – Navy Lieutenants Randy Pulaski and Jeff Richey and Air Force Captain Greg Christiansen and First Lieutenant Karl Kramer were seen captured by their fellow aviators. The other two – Army Captain Ashley Smith and First Lieutenant Hank Cho – were already declared MIA. To the U.S. government, they’re MIA until five years after the war ended when they are declared KIA. Kept hidden in a remote camp in the jungle near the Laotian/Vietnamese border, their captor – a People’s Army of Vietnam lieutenant colonel - has them converting raw opium into morphine base. His goal: keep them alive and ransom them back to the Americans for millions years after the war ended. Before she married Randy, Janet Pulaski was an anti-war activist and a member of the Students for A Democratic Society’s Action Wing. After he’s shot down, she’s sent to Cuba by the society to learn a set of deadly skills and makes an interesting life style choice. It is not until 1982 when the U.S. learns of their existence and two men, one a former POW and the other a CIA operative want the POWs dead. Their existence will send one to prison and lead to a court martial for treason. Janet’s conundrum is how does she protect Randy? 
About the Author: Marc retired as a Captain after twenty-four years in the Navy and a career that took him all over the world. He is a Naval Aviator with just under 6,000 hours of pilot-in-command/co-pilot flight time in a variety of tactical military and civilian fixed and rotary wing aircraft. He is a combat veteran of both Vietnam and Desert Shield/Desert Storm. Captain Liebman has worked with the armed forces of Australia, Canada, Japan, Thailand, Republic of Korea, the Philippines and the U.K.
Summary: Helicopter pilot Lt. Sara Denning joins a navy battle group with little fanfare—and that’s just the way she likes it. After her brother Ian’s tragic death, her career path seemed obvious: step into his shoes and enter the Naval Academy, despite her fear of water. Sara’s philosophy is simple—blend in, be competent, and above all, never do anything to stand out as a woman in a man’s world. Somewhere along the way, Sara lost herself—her feminine, easygoing soul is now buried under so many defensive layers, she can’t reach it anymore. When she meets strong, self-assured Lt. Eric Marxen, her defenses start to falter. Eric coordinates flight operations for a Navy SEAL team that requests Sara as the exclusive pilot. This blatant show of favoritism causes conflict with the other pilots; Sara's sexist boss seems intent on making her life miserable, and her roommate and best friend, the only other woman on the ship, is avoiding her. It doesn’t help that her interactions with Eric leave her reeling. The endgame of the SEALs' mission is so secret, even Sara doesn’t know the reason behind her mandated participation. Soon, though, the training missions become real, and Sara must overcome her fears before they plunge her into danger. When Sara’s life is on the line, can she find her true self again and follow the orders of her heart before it is too late? 
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