From Publishers Weekly
A staff historian for the U.S. Navy, Sherwood (Officers in Flight Suits) offers this compelling presentation of America's fighter pilots of the Vietnam era. His study, though based heavily on interviews with and narratives of just 14 pilots, is by no means impressionistic. It is a presentation of personalities and mentalities in a military community that is becoming increasingly a band apart from the rest of the armed forces as well as from civilian society. Sherwood effectively conveys a central part of his subjects' Vietnam experience: frustration at not being allowed to wage all-out war. He describes in detail such fierce but futile campaigns as Rolling Thunder and Commando Hunt, which, Sherwood writes, "[f]or its technological wizardry... had little impact on the Communists' ability to wage war." Stress was a constant companion for the pilots. But few resigned their commissions or turned in their wings. Not everyone met the standards, and Sherwood is blunt in naming names. Nor was there a common pattern of behavior. Some fighter pilots were like Robin Olds, leader of one of the top-ranked F-4 wing, larger-than-life figures, charismatic iconoclasts. Others, like navy commander Roger Sheets, took pride in their professionalism. But all fighter pilots describe their common ground: the shared knowledge that they would do almost anything to help each other in need, manifested in high-risk rescue missions and again in the POW camps. It was the final element that cemented a community of warriors fighting what many saw as a senseless war. (Feb.) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
From 1965 through 1973, while U.S. and Vietnamese forces in the South dealt with an elusive enemy on the ground, Marine, Navy, and Air Force pilots were pressing a grim series of attacks meant to force the enemy into peace talks. In this kind of warfare, "going Downtown" meant risking life on every mission against the most concentrated antiaircraft fire ever seen. The stories of several of the outstanding pilots of these campaigns, taken from both their recollections and transcripts of their on-site air-to-air conversations, generate a vivid sense of the sort of action they saw and the work they were asked to do. Sherwood, a historian at the Naval Historical Center, has produced an earnest and solid treatment. He presents the all-volunteer flyers as singularly courageous, dedicated, and capable. His book ranks among the best of this type for its sketches of the personalities in the bombing campaigns against North Vietnam. Recommended for public and academic libraries.-Mel D. Lane, Sacramento, CA Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Kirkus Reviews
A tribute to some little-known heroes of our longest and most unpopular conflict. Sherwood (Officers in Flight Suits, not reviewed), a historian at the Naval Historical Center in Washington, D.C., delves into the psyche of jet fighter-pilots (fast movers) and into the warrior virtues of bravery, bonding with comrades, risk-taking, and sacrifice for the unit. Combat offers a unique chance to test character, he argues, depicting his subjects as men with great motivation secure in the knowledge that their comrades would come their rescue even if they were shot down in enemy territory. These proud soldiers fought wherever and whenever they were ordered, even in a senseless war condemned by public opinion. Sherwods extensive research included interviews with 300 pilots and communications with hundreds more by phone or e-mail. Among the most memorable figures to emerge is Col. Robin Olds, Old Lionheart, a WWII ace whose feisty behavior and hell- raising with his men did not sit well with his chair-borne superiors. Olds's innovative leadership, intelligence, courage, and skill earned him a reputation as the finest Air Wing Commander in Vietnam; he later became superintendent of the Air Force Academy. Scared air cadet Ed Rasimus evolved into a superb veteran who survived the toughest, most dangerous 100 missions North while serving three tours in Vietnam. Other notable pilots and airmen whose adventures Sherwood recounts include Roger Sheets, John Nichols, Bob Lodge, and Steve Richie, who attacked the formidable Hanoi air defenses (SAM missiles and the latest MIG fighters, backed by some two billion dollars of Soviet materiel). Of the 801 Americans POEs taken during the war, 501 were airmen. A different view of Vietnam, candidly delving into the experiences of its air warriors, their joys, sorrows, achievements, and sacrifices during the worst of times. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.


Review
"G-pulling combat action."--Booklist

"Compelling."--Publishers Weekly



Review
"G-pulling combat action."--Booklist

"Compelling."--Publishers Weekly



Review
"G-pulling combat action."--Booklist

"Compelling."--Publishers Weekly



Book Description
The story of the air war in Vietnam is really story of the "fast movers", men who flew the jet fighters and fought in the MiG and SAM infested skies of North Vietnam. In this book, the author John Sherwood, an official historian with the U.S. Navy, draws on more than 300 revealing interviews with these courageous pilots and crews, offering an in-the-cockpit perspective on the Vietnam experience never before possible. He profiles fourteen aviators, including such MiG killers as Robin Olds, Steve Ritchie, and John "Pirate" Nichols, and captures the heroism and sacrifice of this truly elite group of air warriors.

From flying through walls of flak in Operation Rolling Thunder to how it feels to shoot down a MiG to the crushing ordeal of capture and imprisonment in the infamous "Hanoi Hilton," every aspect of air combat in Vietnam comes powerfully to life. Fast Movers celebrates these men and their aircraft, chronicling an aspect of the Vietnam conflict too long overlooked.



Download Description
The American air war over Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia spanned twenty-five years. The United States dropped more than eight million tons of bombs and lost more than 8,588 aircraft. More than half the money spent during the war went to air operations. Yet this "war of the skies" has remained one of the least examined and understood aspects of that long conflict.In Fast Movers, John Sherwood, a staff historian of the U.S. Navy, focuses on fourteen pilots, including legendary aces Robin Olds and Steve Richie, and provides the most revealing look we have ever had of the war and its aviators. From their first missions to their years as POWs, Sherwood lets these men tell their engrossing stories and shows how and why, in contrast to the soldiers on ground, they never lost the will to fight.Fast Movers is a penetrating examination of the warriors who always put their squadron first.


About the Author
John Darrell Sherwood is an official historian at the U.S. Naval Historical Center in Washington, D.C., and the author of the award-winning book, Officers in Flight Suits, which tells the remarkable story of the Korean air war. He lives in Washington, D.C.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

The story of the air war in Vietman is really the story of the "ast movers," men who flew the jet fighters and fought in the MiG and SAM infested skies of North Vietnam. In this book, the author John Sherwood, an official historian with the U.S. Navy, draws on more than 300 revealing interviews with these courageous pilots and crews, offering an in-the-cockpit perspective on the Vietnam experience never before possible. He profiles fourteen notable aviators, including such MiG killers as Robin Olds, Steve Ritchie, and John "Pirate" Nichols, and captures the heroism and sacrifice of this truly elite group of air warriors.

From flying through walls of flak in Operation Rolling Thunder to how it feels to shoot down a MiG to the crushing ordeal of capture and imprisonment in the infamous "Hanoi Hilton," every aspect of air combat in Vietnam comes powerfully to life. Fast Movers celebrates these men and their aircraft, chronicling an aspect of the Vietnam conflict too long overlooked.

SYNOPSIS

The war in Vietnam stands as the longest our nation has ever fought. For fourteen years American pilots dropped more than eight million tons of bombs on the Southeast Asian countryside. Here is an authoritative social history of the air war. Against all odds, the pilots spawned a culture of success in the midst of failure and frustration.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

A staff historian for the U.S. Navy, Sherwood (Officers in Flight Suits) offers this compelling presentation of America's fighter pilots of the Vietnam era. His study, though based heavily on interviews with and narratives of just 14 pilots, is by no means impressionistic. It is a presentation of personalities and mentalities in a military community that is becoming increasingly a band apart from the rest of the armed forces as well as from civilian society. Sherwood effectively conveys a central part of his subjects' Vietnam experience: frustration at not being allowed to wage all-out war. He describes in detail such fierce but futile campaigns as Rolling Thunder and Commando Hunt, which, Sherwood writes, "[f]or its technological wizardry... had little impact on the Communists' ability to wage war." Stress was a constant companion for the pilots. But few resigned their commissions or turned in their wings. Not everyone met the standards, and Sherwood is blunt in naming names. Nor was there a common pattern of behavior. Some fighter pilots were like Robin Olds, leader of one of the top-ranked F-4 wing, larger-than-life figures, charismatic iconoclasts. Others, like navy commander Roger Sheets, took pride in their professionalism. But all fighter pilots describe their common ground: the shared knowledge that they would do almost anything to help each other in need, manifested in high-risk rescue missions and again in the POW camps. It was the final element that cemented a community of warriors fighting what many saw as a senseless war. (Feb.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

KLIATT

At first glance, this appears to be just another collection of colorful action stories about combat in war-torn skies. While tales of this sort do have a place in school libraries, the genre as a whole seldom merits much respect. This title, however, is very different: the consummate insider's view of the air war in Vietnam, and its effects upon the personal and professional lives of American pilots. Author John Sherwood is particularly well qualified for the task. A professional historian with the U.S. Naval Historical Center in Washington, D.C., he is thoroughly familiar with the world of flight, including the intricacies of flying modern jet fighters. He conducted more than 300 interviews with Navy, Air Force, and Marine pilots and aircrew while researching this book. In structure, it highlights the stories of five of these men, but so interconnected is the military aviation community that nearly all of the others seem to appear throughout its pages. Although Sherwood does give a nod to the numerous bomber, transport, liaison and helicopter pilots of the war, the book places heavy emphasis upon the elite fighter and attack pilots. The first section of the book, a profile of the famed Colonel Robin Olds and the Eighth Tactical Fighter Wing, illustrates two of the book's strong features: unsparing personality profiles of Olds and his teammates, and a dispassionate study of the effects of a combat tour on an airman and his career. Wartime pilots cope with overwhelming stresses in ways not always comprehensible to outsiders, and the career effects are not always beneficial. Contrary to the award ceremonies and the happy homecomings reported in the media, they often return tounstable family conditions and the divorce rate is extremely high. All of which is a far cry from aerial duels in the wild blue. Needless to add, there is enough of this in the book to satisfy the most discerning young aviation wannabe. But here again, the author is unsparing. War in the air, like anywhere else, is quick, brutal, and very final, and the victors are often left with sights they'd rather forget. This is the best air warfare book by far to come out of the Vietnam experience, and one of the best of the entire genre. Highly recommended to high school, public and military collections. Category: History & Geography. KLIATT Codes: SA*—Exceptional book, recommended for senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 1999, St. Martin's, 324p. illus. notes. index., $6.99. Ages 16 to adult. Reviewer: Raymond L. Puffer; Ph.D., Historian, Edwards Air Force Base, CA SOURCE: KLIATT, March 2002 (Vol. 36, No. 2)

Library Journal

From 1965 through 1973, while U.S. and Vietnamese forces in the South dealt with an elusive enemy on the ground, Marine, Navy, and Air Force pilots were pressing a grim series of attacks meant to force the enemy into peace talks. In this kind of warfare, "going Downtown" meant risking life on every mission against the most concentrated antiaircraft fire ever seen. The stories of several of the outstanding pilots of these campaigns, taken from both their recollections and transcripts of their on-site air-to-air conversations, generate a vivid sense of the sort of action they saw and the work they were asked to do. Sherwood, a historian at the Naval Historical Center, has produced an earnest and solid treatment. He presents the all-volunteer flyers as singularly courageous, dedicated, and capable. His book ranks among the best of this type for its sketches of the personalities in the bombing campaigns against North Vietnam. Recommended for public and academic libraries.--Mel D. Lane, Sacramento, CA Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

Fast Movers is the best thing ever done on the personalities of the men who flew jet fighters in Vietnam. John Sherwood's trenchant analysis of emotions, motives, triumphs, and defeats of the men who fought the air war belongs on every book shelf. — (Walter J. Boyne, author of Beyond the Wild Blue: A History of the United States Air Force, 1947-1997)

The flying, the flak, the SAMs, the brotherhood of rare and honorable men—John Sherwood captures the raw essence of the great American adventure that was the Vietnam air war in this thoughtful, informative look at some of the legendary aerial warriors of that age. Fast Movers is the next best thing to being there. — (Stephen Coonts, author of Flight of the Intruder)

Fast Movers names names, warriors, and wings. The leadership and dedication of its air warriors are brilliantly brought to heroic life by John Sherwood. He has captured the unadulterated essence of air warriors—what makes them tick, and what makes them stick to missions thought impossible. — (Mark Berent, author of Eagle Station and Phantom Leader)

Fast Movers is one of the most intriguing books to emerge from the Vietnam air war. Having known several of the major players since they returned from combat, I can say that John Sherwood portrays them accurately, candidly, and objectively. His selection of individuals, personalities, and tactical aircraft does credit to the Vietnam generation of aerial tigers: men who willingly went Up North, survived flak, SAMs, MiGs, and their own politicians—and came back for seconds. Fast Movers not only describes what they did, but more importantly, it answers Lord Tennyson's fabled question: The Reason Why. — (Barrett Tillman, author of MiG Master and co-author of On Yankee Station: The naval Air War Over Vietnam)