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Book reviews for "Caidin,_Martin" sorted by average review score:

Flying Forts
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Author: Martin Caidin
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The forte of WWII bombers
Excellent compilation of legends and facts surrounding the most famous bomber of WWII. Caidin's love of aviation, particularly the history of warbirds, clearly influenced this book. From the opening tale of a haunted bomber landing at an English airbase, to the tragic accident during the plane's development and testing stage and beyond, Caidin faithfully and fittingly pays tribute to the men, and this marvelous machine, who fought for victory in the skies over Europe.

A Veritable Handbook on the Flying Fortress
Martin Caidin's "Flying Forts" is an engrossing tale of the history of one of the great flying machines of World War II. Caidin traces the history of the Fort from its original design and construction through its many modifications. If you are interested in the history of research, development and production of an aircraft, then this book is up your alley. The story of the Flying Fortress in WWII doesn't start till page 163. Caidin follows the plane through the war years, and ends by taking us on a ride in a vintage fortress. This is a good book, but has several drawbacks that could be remedied if the book ever goes into print again. First, it needs an index. There is no way to find specific information without one. Second, addition of a small selection of photographs would be nice, although perhaps not feasible from a cost standpoint. The edition I have is filled with pen drawings that depict all the major aircraft of the war, which is a plus. This book is hard to find. I picked mine up at a thrift store for a dime. But it is worth the search and I recommend it to die-hard Flying Fortress fans.

I've been RE-reading this book for almost 20 years...
I found Flying Forts at age 12 in my parents' bookcase. In the years since, I have read and re-read this book so often, I had to buy a used copy as mine disintegrated.

This might seem a bit much, but here is the truth:

The power and masterful language with which Caidin paints the Fort's history portrays not so much the story of a machine as a profile in human spirit. The men who designed, built, flew, and especially fought in the B-17 are profiled here in a remarkable alternation of big-picture history and the individual tales of a crew or a mission.

Reading Flying Forts at that young age was the first I learned of WW II. I can say without doubt that my appreciation for the dignity, heroism and tragedy of that mighty conflict, were all first engendered in me as a child by this one book. As an adult,I can trace my pilot's license, my aviation library and my deep love of history directly to the day that I first read Flying Forts.

If you read only the prologue and the epilogue, this book is worth whatever it costs. If you ever had an interest in history, airplanes or flying, find a copy, and keep it forever.


Exit Earth
Published in Mass Market Paperback by Pocket Books (1990)
Author: Martin Caidin
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The end of our Earth and the hope of a second chance.
Exit Earth is an interesting tale of the distruction of earth and the atempt of the human race to save itself from certain disaster. Filled with great characters and inspiring events, this epic fills out the genre with style but often looses its contininuity. Caidin works too hard to complete this work and forgets that the reader has yet to reach the end. A good story and some realy good imagary, but the ending comes too quick for the amount of pages that it took to build up to it (600+ pages paperback).

What would you do if Earth was doomed?
This was one of Caidin's best works. He takes the reader step by step through his characters' thought processes as all life on Earth is about to be extinguished. A chosen few are trained, and sent off world to await a time when the planet could sustain life again. He tells the story in such a realistic way that you believe that humanity *could* prepare for a calamity, and survive off-planet using today's technology. A very engrossing novel.


Night Hamburg Died
Published in Paperback by Bantam Books (1990)
Author: Martin Caidin
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Descriptive and Thought-Provoking
This book tells of the July 1943 bombing of Hamburg, Germany. Many graphic details are provided. For instance, did you know that the firestorm is a type of artificial cyclone. Its inrushing winds are so forceful that trees can be uprooted.

Vividly describes the horor of a fire storm bombing.
Althought somewhat technical it sure makes one feel sorry for those caught on the ground and even question the decision to firebomb cities.


Thunderbolt
Published in Paperback by Ballantine Books (1983)
Authors: Robert S. With Caidin, Martin Johnson and William N. Hess
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An average American boy who became an ace pilot.<P>
Thunderbolt! is ace pilot Major Robert S. Johnson's own account of his days with the celebrated 56th Fighter Group over Europe during World War Two. Johnson's very personable narrative takes the reader from his boyhood days in Lawton, Oklahoma, where his fascination with aviation first developed, through flying lessons, his enlistment and training with the air force, and his many missions over Germany behind the stick of a P-47 Thunderbolt.

The cockpit of the large, sturdy and power Republic P-47 is the setting for a large portion of the book. Missions flown over Germany against the deadly Luftwaffe pilots and their superb planes are covered in the first person in gripping fashion. Though his recollection of events after ten years cannot be completely accurate, the author nonetheless describes tense battles in remarkable detail, down to the combat technique of each adversary. Besides his own experiences, the author also relates hair raising stories of colleagues who ditched at sea, bailed out over enemy territory, suffered catastrophic equipment failures or were in fact killed.

Though military pilots are often categorized as arrogant and self-centred (necessary traits as the split-second demands of aerial combat require the pilot to be unhindered by self-doubt), Johnson's storytelling is uniquely free of pretense and self-adulation. In fact, using his easy and informal writing style, Johnson has included his misfortunes and blunders for the reader's amusement. It should be said however, that Johnson's descriptions of battle are a little too fond, and he sounds entertained by killing. A disappointment is that Johnson does not tell curious readers what personal qualities, habits, or techniques he thinks caused his spectacular twenty-eight vietories with zero planes lost. The book also lacks the technical content which a nostalgic reader would enjoy.

Thunderbolt! is an enjoyable autobiography of an otherwise ordinary boy who, despite failures, went on to become a very gifted pilot. Perhaps Johnson's story says what kinds of fellows a large number of Air Force youths were, and so gives a more personal description of the military pilot to supplement one's historical knowledge.

The men who flew the P-47
Bob Johnson describes more than the P-47, he describes the men who flew them and the things they did to get into battle. Johnson, a top scoring ace, in the league with Dick Bong and Eddie Rickenbacher failed the gunnery test at the end of fighter school with a score of 4.7 percent but was sent to battle with his unit. In his first battle he pulled off, thinking his plane had a problem because he had never fired all six of the guns on the plane at one time. He tells of how men died when the P-47 went into compressibility dives, a condition unknown before and how they met the ME-109 and FW-190 fighters, head to head and won. He tells how he came to love the fighter that could bring him back, with hundreds of bullet holes and some cannon shells imbedded in the seat armor, certain death for the pilot in most planes. But not in the heavy P-47.


Cyborg IV
Published in Hardcover by Arbor House Pub Co (1975)
Author: Martin Caidin
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The last of a great series
Cyborg IV (4)is the last of the "Six Millin Dollar Man" books writen by Mr. Caidin and the last based purely on the characters in the first book. This book takes Steve back into space in the Asp, which is a space fighter, in which Steve is merged through connections with his bionic limbs. Fighting Russian space fighters for the control of the ultimate 'High Ground'. This is also the first time that Steve is able to see (in a sense) with his bionic eye. The story is the shortest of the the set, but also one of the most action packed. It a great read if you can get your hands on it.


Planetfall.
Published in Hardcover by Putnam Pub Group (1974)
Author: Martin, Caidin
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An Entertaining Introduction to Planetary Exploration.
Author Caidin introduces the non-specialist reader to solar system exploration as it looked in the early 70s. Through a voyage on board the fictional L. Gordon Cooper, named after one of his astronaut pals, Caidin pleasantly conveys both information and a sense of wonder at the marvels of our planetary neighbors. At this stage, however, the book is seriously dated.


Zoboa
Published in Paperback by Baen Books (1986)
Author: Martin Caidin
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keeps you on the edge of your seat!
I found this book in a used bookstore. If you can find the book it is worth it. The book is about four atomic bombs getting hijacked by a terrorist group headed by a leader named Zoboa. The incident esclulates into a war. The Americans must prevent the bombs from being dropped on their cities. It is an excellent book well worth the read.


The tigers are burning
Published in Unknown Binding by ()
Author: Martin Caidin
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Look somewhere else.
The book, while entertaining, has very little historical accuracy. If you wnat a good book about that battle go to Nipe or Glantz.

History or Fiction?
This book, while a very good read, is of very little use to any military historian. More recent books, like the excellent book my Nipe and Glantz are must reads.

Read it for Shershavin
Historians will be disappointed with this book. I read it looking for particulars and details and was disappointed to find that it was essentially an adventure story filled with generalities and superlatives. But it was late at night, I wasn't sleepy, and I kept reading.

I'm very glad that I did because, despite any flaws in the author's historical methodology, he is a wonderful storyteller. If you are not too sophisticated to allow yourself, when encountering an issue of Reader's Digest, to immediately turn to the "Drama in Real Life" section, you must read this book simply for the chapter detailing the bridge-demolition mission of a Soviet sapper named Shershavin. The story is well-told and unforgettable.


Maryjane Tonight at Angels Twelve.
Published in Hardcover by Doubleday (1972)
Author: Martin, Caidin
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Mediocre fiction
It's not a bad book, but not a "keeper"; worth getting from the library, but I wouldn't go out of my way to buy a copy.

Caidin knows more about airplanes than I ever will, but in reading this book I had to wonder whether he has ever seen a Twin Bonanza (the 'plane flown by the book's hero); it's described as being a lot bigger than the aircraft actually is.

Countering drug smuggling during Florida's golden days
This was one of Caidin's best novels. Set against the backdrop of the pre-developed Florida coast, he writes knowledgeably about law enforcement's efforts to stem illegal drug traffic. The characters are multi-dimensioned, and the senarios are believable. Caidin's hero proves once more that he can out-gun, out-fly, and out-think the bad guys.


Indiana Jones and the White Witch
Published in Paperback by Bantam Books (1994)
Author: Martin Caidin
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