Walter J Boyne Books in Order

Blends real life adventures of the industry giants with the fictional Vance Shannon and his aviation family. Shannon, a prototypical American test pilot, sees and guides the birth of American jet aviation, while his sons, Tom and Harry fly the new jets in combat.

Their aviation careers are blessed by their skill and courage, and they help usher in the greatest advance in aviation history with the birth of the jet transport

From the first flight of the U-2 to the flashing speed of the famous SR-71 Blackbird, Supersonic Thunder is a portrait of the jet as it comes of age.  Aviation genius is personified in famous engineers such as Kelly Johnson and Ben Rich and in test pilots like Tony LeVier and Tex Johnson in this fast moving story of military and commercial jet aviation.

Under the guidance of test pilot and engineer, Vance Shannon, the reader is present at every major event in jet aviation in the 1960s and 1970s. As the ever-changing industry begins to speed up beyond Vance's grasp, he turns to his two sons, Tom and Harry, to keep the family business on the cutting edge.

Though they've followed in their fathers' footsteps for many years, the stress from trying to stay ahead of the curve is destroying their families--as well as fueling a long hidden rivalry between the two brothers.   As the Shannon family struggles with their personal and professional lives, Supersonic Thunder reveals the great leaps of the aviation industry during this astonishing era, from Gary Powers' U-2 shoot down to the first flight of the Russian Supersonic Transport.

  With historic and dramatic detail, we are taken behind the scenes, revealing the motivations of top Russian, English, and American designers as they push the limits of engines and airframes and confront the difficulties of the pursuit of Mach 2.0 speeds.

From the luxury of the 747 to the abject despair of a cell in the Hanoi Hilton, Supersonic Thunder tells the real story of this amazing chapter of jet aviation in terms of the men and women who lived and died to make it a part of our everyday life.

The jet age began in 1939 with the brief hop of a secret German airplane. Seventy years later, the entire world depends upon the jet engine in every sphere - political, military, economic, and social. In Hypersonic Thunder, Walter Boyne weaves an intricate story of how the jet engine changed aeronautics and astronautics, pushing the frontiers of flight forward and permitting humankind to enter the space age.

 Drawing on his knowledge of the period, Boyne paints a gripping picture of jet aviation from the brilliant supersonic Concorde to the coming challenges of hypersonic flight. Using the fictional Shannons as a vehicle, the author ranges the world of aviation, combining the triumphs and tragedies of great aviation companies with the familiar conflicts of family life.

All of the great names of aeronautics and astronautics appear here as they did on the historic scene, including such luminaries as Howard Hughes, Kelly Johnson, Burt Rutan, and Steve Fossett.   The book thunders with the clash of combat, ranging from the courageous fights of the Israeli Air Force down through the raid on Libya, Operations Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom, and, most important the ongoing war on terror.

And space is not neglected, as Boyne covers everything from Skylab and the Space Shuttle, with its great achievements and terrible tragedies, to the International Space Station.

"Enthralling...Boyne captures the gritty realities of combat and the proud adventures of America's struggle for air supremacy in World War II."W.E.B. GriffithFrom thrilling and intense combat to boardroom explosions and behind-the-scenes scandal, EAGLES AT WAR brings to vivid life the famous planes, aviation heroes, and ruthless villains of the wartorn skies.

It is certainly one of the most compelling fictional accounts of World War II in the air.

Walter J. Boyne, the world's foremost historian on aviation and the former director of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, presents this fascinating, historically accurate, fictional account of all the cutthroat personalities who strived to be the first to take the air.

Of course Wilbur and Orville Wright etched their names in history as the inventors of the airplane, but lost are their contemporaries who shared their same passion. Some spent entire lives and fortunes chasing the dream of flight, including men like the embittered Augustus Herring, the pompous Samuel Pierpont Langley of the Smithsonian Institution, who was backed by the U.

S. War Department, Glenn Curtiss, the Wright Brothers most fierce competition, and even the legendary American inventor Alexander Graham Bell---after all, what these men set out accomplish would surely catapult them into fame and fortune, and drastically alter the course of history for decades to come.

This book is intended to show how the best aspirations of modern men and women can, in today's society, be warped by the pressures of drugs and the free-wheeling ease with which the most moderrn weapons can be used. It illustrates the high level of intelligence and competence in their trade that modern drug cartel leaders have, of their intense rivalries, and of the harm that is inflicted in passing on otherwise uninvolved people.

It also indicates how the best means of combating this 21st century tyranny of evil can be found in the original thoughts of innocents who are "thinking outside the box" and who finally come to terms with the fact that fighting the cartels involves not only intelligence but massive fire power conducted by experts in the field.

No other book on World War II aviation provides so many specifications and details of performance in such a concise format. On one page are a brief description of each aircraft's purpose, as well as photographs and drawings that include fields of fire.

On the facing page are its specifications and performance data, including range, armament, bomb/freight load, and armour. Comprehensive and accurate, it is the ideal quick reference for the airplane buff, the modeler, the computer wargamer, and the air warfare historian.

The Best of Wingscontains behind-the-scenes stories about the most glamorous aircraft of all time, from the Hughes racer to virtual “mystery ships” like the Bell Airacuda and the remarkably successful McDonnell F-4. Each piece takes you through aviation history with little-known details on the designers, the pilots, the records, and the ultimate fate of a wide variety of aircraft.

Hundreds of photos detail the progress of aviation around the world, from trainers to nuclear bombers. Walter J. Boyne has selected an appealing array of stories about famous and not-so-famous aircraft. With his trademark style of combining intricate engineering detail and the human drama of aviation, Boyne, one of the most prolific aviation writers of our time, makes each aircraft literally fly off the pages.

These timeless histories provide inside information, often gathered from the author’s personal experiences with the men and women who designed, built, and flew the aircraft.

Written by more than 100 international scholars and experts, this encyclopedia chronicles the individuals, equipment, and drama of nearly a century of aerial combat.Air Warfare: An International Encyclopedia is the first encyclopedia to document the entire history of aerial combat, from the primitive biplanes of World War I to the sophisticated stealth fighters of the 21st century.

The more than 900 entries, lavishly illustrated with photographs and maps, cover it all-the first, the fastest, the highest, the latest. More than 100 top international scholars and experts-many with personal combat experience-offer thoroughly researched, clearly written articles on the famous aces, designers, battles, air campaigns, weapons, and flying machines of air warfare's first 90 years.

Accessible to student, enthusiast, and scholar alike, Air Warfare provides the reader with argument-settling expertise, lively and entertaining entries, and answers to thousands of questions: Who first used air power against civilians? How did a handful of Royal Air Force aces defeat the mighty Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain? Has bombing alone ever won a war? Where does the future of aerial warfare lie?• More than 900 A–Z entries zero in on the first, the best, the worst, the fastest, the highest, the latest• Contributions from some 100 top international experts―many with combat experience• Lavish set of illustrations with numerous photos including the Mitsubishi G4M equipped with the Okha suicide missile, the Red Baron, and the first all-female aircrew of the U.

S. Air Force• Maps ranging from the Western front as stabilized in 1915 to the Persian Gulf War in 1991

It's usually called the Yom Kippur War. Or sometimes the October War. The players that surround it are familiar: Sadat and Mubarak, Meir and Sharon, Nixon and Kissinger, Brezhnev and Dobyrnin. It was a war that brought Arab and Jew into vicious conflict.

A war in which Israel almost unleashed her nuclear arsenal and set two superpowers on a treacherous course of nuclear escalation. And a war that eventually brought peace. But a peace fraught with delicate tensions, disputed borders, and a legacy of further bloodshed.

The Two O'Clock War is a spellbinding chronicle of the international chess game that was played out in October 1973. It is a story of diplomacy and military might that accounts for many of the dilemmas faced in the present-day Middle East.This is a war that Israel never thought was possible.

Surprised by the fury and excellent execution of the Arab onslaught, and perhaps more than a little complacent, Israel suddenly found itself on the point of losing a war because of a lack of ammunition, planes and tanks. The United States, after much vacillation, finally elected to help Israel, beginning a tremendous airlift (code name: Operation Nickel Grass) which incurred the wrath of the Arab states, and their sponsor, the Soviet Union.

Fortunately the airlift came just in time for Israeli ground forces to stabilize their positions and eventually turn the tide in the Sinai and Golan Heights. And it was all made possible by an operation that dwarfed the Berlin Airlift and the Soviets' simultaneous efforts in Egypt and Syria.

The Two O'Clock War is bound to become the definitive history of a war that quite literally approached Armageddon.

No war has ever had the intensive media coverage of the 2003 war in Iraq, and none has ever had such monumental second-guessing. Months before the war began, domestic and international pundits painted a gloomy picture of a new Vietnam or of a nuclear Armageddon that would see Israel reduced to ruins.

The war started with a brilliant series of pre-emptive bangs that shattered Iraqi leadership and seized the most valuable areas of Iraq. How did the US military machine, assumed to have insufficient air power, too few troops, and little momentum take a country the size of California within three weeks?In the 1991 victory in the Gulf War, the United States lead a much larger coalition force into a heavy air campaign followed by a lightening quick ground campaign.

In the years that followed, the United States military experienced a continuing series of reductions in the national defense budget.What was left unrecorded was the incredible degree of competence with which the US military leadership managed the reduction in resources, balancing force structures against personnel requirements against procurement needs and logistic realities.

Any one considering the great military victory achieved in Iraq must ask the following questions: Who was bright enough to plan to have the weapons systems in the right place at the right time? Who orchestrated this vast complex array of sophisticated military machinery-ships, submarines, missiles, armor, and soldiers-all needing fuel, ammunition and water?The answer is the much-maligned civil and military leaders of the American defense establishment, working in concert with the most advanced defense-based corporations in the world.

While there were those anxious to parade the iniquities of a two-billion dollar bomber, most often failed to appreciated the genius required to conceive of, much less create a system which can use a satellite to send signals to a B-1B to program a precision guided missile to take out a Soviet T-72 tank parked in a mosque-without damaging the mosque! Admittedly, there were lapses in the Iraqi war, such as the looting of museums by members of the Ba'ath party just a day after many had declared Baghdad liberated and the raids on hospitals, another problem that could have easily been remedied by a show of U.

S. presence and force. And there were technological complications as well, including the aching misfortune of death by friendly fire. The author deals with these shortcomings in a straightforward manner.Operation Iraqi Freedom: What Went Right and Why; What Went Wrong and Why gives intimate insight into the way in which the armed services, particularly the United States Air Force, managed to overcome genuine budgetary, political, and military difficulties to create the finest military force in the world, one that operated with the most extreme care to avoid collateral damage and to prevent loss of life.

This volume excerpts more than 25 classic text by experience air war specialists such as Antoine de Saint-Exupery. Eddie Rickenbacker, Bill Mitchell and Paul Brickhill. Each excerpt is introduced and placed into historical context by the editors. The book concludes with a thought-provoking look into the art and science of air warfare, as well as its future.

The helicopter was introduced to warfare during World War II. Since then, it has had a profound effect at both the tactical and strategic levels. This in-depth book by a military aviation expert examines the growth of the helicopter's importance in warfare and argues convincingly that severe flaws in the military procurement process have led to U.

S. troops using antiquated helicopter designs in combat despite billions spent on research and development.

The 25 Most Influential Aircraft of All Time conveys the fascinating progression of flying technology from flimsy wood-and-fabric biplanes to thunderous supersonic wonders. Aviation’s most historically relevant and arguably most influential aircraft – planes like the elliptical-winged Spitfire, the blisteringly-fast X-15, and the ubiquitous Learjet – are dramatically showcased in individual chapters.

Factors like performance, price, operational efficiency, and perceptions in popular culture are examined. People are just as important as hardware in the discussion of the world’s greatest aircraft. The larger-than-life characters who designed and built these aeronautical marvels – men like the reclusive Howard Hughes and the demanding Clarence “Kelly” Johnson – are an indispensable part of the story.

So, too, are the fearless pilots like Charles Lindbergh and Chuck Yeager who gave life to the shining examples of a new and dynamic industry. The authors have flown or flown in many of the featured aircraft and they knew many of the luminous personalities involved, enabling them to share unique perspectives.

The preface is written by William Lloyd Stearman, a former staff member of the National Security Council and the son of famed industry engineer Lloyd Stearman. The introduction is written by Norman R. Augustine, the retired Chairman and CEO of Lockheed Martin Corporation.

The foreword is written by Burt Rutan, the renowned aircraft designer and founder of Scaled Composites. Each aircraft is magnificently illustrated in color, mostly with paintings by leading aviation artists.

The Golden Age of Flight Desk Calendar showcases that special era when propeller-driven aircraft ruled the skies. Detailed captions by best-selling author Walter Boyne accompany color photographs of these venerable warbirds. Featured aircraft include the B-17 Flying Fortress, P-51 Mustang, Supermarine Spitfire, FW-190 Focke Wulf, Douglas DC-3, Beech Staggerwing, A6M Zero, de Havilland Mosquito, and the Flying Tigers’ P-40 Warhawk.

A different photo on each page!