I find that this book is a exceptional historical depiction into the legendary leader of the Hawaiian Islands. From his years as a youth, to the pinnacle of his reign as the most powerful and famous of kings to rule and unite all of the Hawaiian Islands. This book brings the reader back in time to when the Hawaiian Islands were under the rule of many kings and the events that transpired to create a one Hawaiian Nation, governed by one ruler for the prosperity of all of the Hawaiian people. This book is a must for avid individuals who want to learn about the historical events that built a nation known as Hawaii.

if you've always wanted the full x-15 rocketship/plane story, then here it is. i have the 1961 first edition but was ticled pink when i learned that amazon.com has a new edition. this is a must for x-15/space/rocket buffs like me! tells story of how north american aviation, now rockwell international, paved the way for project mercury,gemini and apollo; not to mention project dyna-soar. i knew fomer apollo 15 astronaut jim irwin and he told me of how very important the x-15 was in his project, the sr-71 blackbird and project dyna-soar! also paved the way for space shuttle . the x-15 records and data are still used today! she is still the fastest aircraft/plane of all time, along with several altitude records. she flew mach 6.7/4520 mph!!!!!!!!! over twice the speed of a rifle bullet. and flew over 452,ooo high, on the fringes of outer space. i cant wait to order my copy. a must have. i feel that the x-15 is what helped neil armstrong qualify a a top contender for apollo 11. in order to qualify for astronau status, the pilots at edwards air force base took x-15 above 16 miles high and gained astronaut status automatically. another friend , scott crossfield who flew x-15 first for north american aviation before goernment/naca/nasa stepped in; flew all first flights of x-15. project lasted from 1959-1968. a truely good work this book is indeed. this book will cover the later missions/flights which i dont have in my 1961 edition. must read! tony

Wow, great book. i was very impressed with the way Tregaskis reported the story. He does an excellent job in entertaining the reader while putting forth the facts. Great book for ANYONE of almost ANY AGE.

Read Tregaski's description of Red Mike Edson (paraphrase - the mouth smiles but not the eyes)...his account of the Tenaru River and Bloody Ridge....and marvel how the long road back started. Consider spending a few bucks on a first edition - surprisingly affordable. Then re-read every couple of years.

Richard Tregaskis, a 24-year-old reporter, went ashore with the 1st Marine Division on Guadalcanal. He lived with the men, sleeping on the ground and eating the same chow. He remained on that nightmarish piece of coral for 50 days, usually under combat conditions. His retelling of the engagement along the Tenaru is as good or better than other first hand reports. His description of the several days of combat on Edson's Ridge was excellent, as he had moved his tent to that elevated location the morning of the first day. With an eye toward the readers' morale, losses of flights at Henderson Field were not reported as accurately as they could have been. As many as seven aircraft had crashed on take off while he was still on the island. Tregaskis left the island before the major battles on the Matanikau or the desperate fight for Henderson Field, but he had his story. He had seen the boys of democracy turn back the seemingly invincible Japanese Army; he had seen some of our flyers defeat the unstoppable Zeros; he had seen our navy hold their own against the designers of the attack on Pearl Harbor and he hurried home to tell the American public. This book was started aboard a B-24 before he returned home and was an instant best seller. This was a first hand reporting of our first offensive engagement of WW II. A nation hungry for news of the front greeted it eagerly. Not even the casual reader of WW II can bypass this major work, if for no other reason than the place it holds in the history of the war in it's own right.

This is so early a book written about the Vietnam War, that it has become almost meaningless. It is just too early in the game; it does reflect how short in duration this conflict was supposed to be, and shows the Marine and Army helicopter units as they originally deployed and worked together. The author just had to scurry around quickly from unit to unit before this "war" completely evaporated, it seems.
This book has value from that perspective. So many valorous men from previous wars showed up in the early stages of the Vietnam War to capitalize on combat experiences there, that it becomes largely funny to observe from this point in time. So much changed so soon...
This era was even before my unit, the A/502nd Aviation Company, showed up at Vinh Long in the Mekong Delta. The "Outlaws" soon changed their designation to the 175th Avn. Co. (AML) by 1965. I arrived in October, 1966 and that becomes my story as told in OUTLAWS IN VIETNAM. Buy this Tregaskis book for your collection, however, it shows where things stood in the beginning. But what is that Blackhawk doing on the cover page??

I came to Amazon to order a personal copy of this book arterreading it for school. The book itself is a well documented eyewitnessaccount of the author, Richard Tregaskis, who was an American Warcorrespondent during vietnam. Set up in a journal form, it uses an easy to read, narrative approach to telling his story. If you are looking to find out anything about Vietnam, then finding out directly from someone who has been there is the best way. If you can't hear there storys from thier mouth, from there pen is the next best way. This book gives you that. It is a must for any Vietnam Buff. END