cover image The Last Blue Mile

The Last Blue Mile

Kim Ponders, . . HarperCollins, $24.95 (304pp) ISBN 978-0-06-084706-7

Air Force Reservist and former fighter pilot Ponders (The Art of Uncontrolled Flight ) explores the future of a scandal-plagued Air Force Academy. In the wake of an embarrassing rape scandal, Gen. Susan Long is appointed to reform the academy. Her initiative—a "Culture of Transformation"—causes resentment among cadets and alumni and is opposed by the Commandant of Cadets, Brig. Gen. John Waller, a former fighter pilot whose apt call sign is "Balls." When a cheating ring is exposed, Waller wants to expel Cadet Paula Snowe, the ringleader, but is overruled by Long, who argues that Snowe is "a perfect candidate" for transformation. Meanwhile, Cadet Brook Searcy's future at the academy is threatened by her fragile emotional state. Waller finds himself increasingly at odds with a politically savvy Long, and the death of Brook's friend and fellow cadet in a glider crash forces both Brook and Waller to reckon with their tormented pasts. While Ponders is most eloquent when describing the joys and perils of flight, she also manages to deftly capture the tension between the old and new guards. (June)