Punching Out: Stories of High-Speed Ejections

Compiled by Air Force veteran and broadcast journalist Cross, and with a rousing foreword by Voyager Commander and three-time ejectee Dick Rhutan ("Sometimes, gravity doesn't work."), this adrenalin-fueled anthology of more than 50 first-hand accounts of high-speed ejections told from the perspective of the surviving test pilots, fighter pilots, air show fliers, and war veterans%E2%80%94both before and after the invention of ejection seats%E2%80%94is fascinating and shocking. Relayed with book-gripping tension and surprising detail, each near-death experience is more terrifying than the last, from LT. Sean Brennan's fight for life after he's seriously burned in a two-man bail out; to CDR. Wynn Foster's frenzied attempts to save a dying aircraft after his right arm is severed by a 57mm shell tearing through his cockpit in Vietnam; to LT. Keith Gallagher's unintentional daredevil stunt%E2%80%94straddling a still-airborne A-6 during a botched routine exercise; to Gen. Chuck Yeager's infamous "punchout" after his aircraft%E2%80%94the first fighter to break the sound barrier in a climb%E2%80%94freefalls into an irrevocable tailspin. Military and aviation buffs will relish the post-op analysis, and helpful translations of military jargon like "IROK" help make this accessible for novices. Photos. (Apr.)