Life on the Line: Stories of Vietnam Air Combat

According to received wisdom, the grunts slogging through the jungles of Vietnam and fighting their way out of ambushes tended to envy their brothers in the air as above the battle, literally and figuratively. This disservice toward the air war is put to rights here by 36 airmen whose reminiscences are collected by Aeroplane Monthly contributor Chinnery. There are tales related by pilots of jets and helicopters of fighter, bomber and photo reconnaissance missions in which fliers tell of narrow escapes, of failures as well as successes, of ejecting from their craft into the jungle and the sea, and of POW camps. So much of the material is technical, however, that the book will appeal primarily to military history buffs and Vietnam veterans of the air. Photos. (Mar.)