The Cool Woman by John Aubrey Anderson

The Cool Woman by John Aubrey Anderson is a military action-adventure. The story is set in Vietnam of the early 1970s. The book's main character is Bill Mann. He is a pilot. He flies the Douglas A-1 Skyraider. His primary mission is rescuing downed pilots and military troops in trouble.

Mr. Anderson does a good job of making Bill a realistic character. As you read the book you’ll feel like you are in the airplane on mission. The author does a good job of holding your interest. You'll find your heart fluttering at some of the suspense. There’s a mixture of wit and faith in the book. It’s handled tactfully, getting the message delivered without being preachy. He asks the question and deals with the importance of God. The book held my interest.

Naked in Da Nang by Mike Jackson and Tara Dixon-Engel

I loved Mike Jackson and Tara Dixon-Engel’s “Naked in Da Nang.” Jackson was a Forward Air Controller flying over Vietnam in 171 to 1972.  He flew 210 combat missions.

I appreciated the humanity of the pilots and soldiers that ran through in his book. It was I picture that related more to my own experience in service during the same era.

I enjoyed reading “Naked in Da Nang.” The stories of flying left me feeling I was in the aircraft with the author. I learned respect for the difficulty of just getting the aircraft support on station and the key roll the FAC had to keep friendly fire off the good guys. 

I loved the way this wasn’t a typical hubris memoir. The word humanity kept coming to mind as I read the book. The human story was the thread running throughout the book. I loved the “Other Voices” being included in the story. I was especially touched by his then eighth grade sister’s recollection of Mike’s going into the Air Force after college, his parents crying, and the map she hated in the basement. His sister sharing her outburst at school when the flower child teacher calls the troops in Vietnam baby kills is touching. We feel the fear her family had in not hearing from Mike for two weeks prior and the family love she had in defending him. The chapter that the book draws its title from is humorous. We have the power going out causing the lights to go out while Mike Jackson is stuck outside, naked, in the typhoon.

My research found the book is now in its third printing. That is amazing for a military memoir. It also tells you something is different about this one – it tells the human story. It will touch your emotions. It really felt at times like I was sitting at the dining room table with a cup of coffee and the author sitting across reminiscing about his time in Vietnam, both how he got there, how it touched his family, and what he has done since. I highly recommend the book.

Spies In The Garden: A Novel of War and Espionage by Bob Bergin

"Spies In The Garden: A Novel of War and Espionage" by Bob Bergin takes place during the Japanese invasion of Burma and China. The book centers on the actions of the Flying Tigers (the American Volunteer Group). The book provides a good history of the Flying Tigers wrapped around the story.

The author knows the history of the Flying Tigers. I enjoyed his description of the pilots and their actions. The story begins in November 1941. The fictional hero, Harry Ross, is an American spy working undercover as a writer. He witnesses their early training. The training has with disaster after disaster. The Flying Tigers improve as the story advances into a force feared by the Japanese. Bob Bergin leaves no doubt that he views their performance as far better to the British Royal Air Force.

The narrative commences in Rangoon. Here Ross makes contact with the Flying Tigers. Ross also meets father and daughter Louie and Lucy. Louie is a trader. He supplied lavishness goods to the Chinese Nationalist leaders. Daughter Lucy is stylish and classy as well as beautiful. She and Harry become platonic friends.

Bergin tells a good story. Harry always seems to get out of the jams he encounters. His relationships with Sue and then Tai Li provide information for his work. He receives a Shanghai girl as a reward from Tai LI. She is in bed with the enemy and provides her pillow talk with the Japanese officers to Harry. This endures Harry with his superiors.

By July 1942, the Flying Tigers are winding down. Chennault becomes a Brigadier General. He finds himself working under General Joe Stilwell. We experience the differences between them. We also encounter the differences between the different arms of the Intelligence Services.

Harry does not seem to comprehend all that is happening and its consequences. Ross’ controller Doyle steers him and cautions him about getting caught up with politics.

We are left to contemplate what happens next as the book concludes with the end of the Flying Tigers in July 1942.

There is a final two-page wrap up at the end of the book - "What Became of Them?" It gives a brief winding up of the unanswered questions.

Bob Bergin knows the Flying Tigers. He tells a good story from an American point of view. If you like war, espionage, seduction, and intrigue this book is for you. Moreover, do not be surprised if you learn about the Flying Tigers along the way. I recommend buying the book. Mr. Bergin gives a good story and history of the Flying Tigers for your financial investment.

Reviewed by Jimmie A. Kepler, August 23, 2010.