Earl Haney

Mission to Mach 2 provides an inside look at the development of fighter aircraft from the Vietnam War era to the 1980's. Colonel Haney was a career Air Force fighter pilot who served with the Thunderbirds, flew over 200 missions in Vietnam, is an accomplished test pilot, Top Gun instructor, Air War College graduate and was integral in the operational testing and development for high profile programs such as the F-16 and the first evolution of guided weapons. The stories provided by Haney are fascinating, and paint a vivid picture of what it was like, good and bad, being on the forefront of flying missions in high performance jet aircraft. Haney is very frank, honest, and direct with his memoir, even when speaking of difficulties in his marriage.

In addition to providing a personal history of his career, this book also deals with heavy and relevant topics such as the loss of friends and comrades in accidents and war time. He provides an excellent and inspiring message to excel in whatever you attempt, and enforces values such as hard work and integrity. Haney's high school football coach taught him that you don't search for the win; you work hard, never quit, and the win comes with that, and he applied this thinking throughout his aviation career.

Editorially, Haney repeats himself often within each chapter, and the layout of events often jumps around without being chronological, but it didn't detract too much from getting the message he was conveying. I enjoyed this memoir and would recommend it to anyone interested in fighter aviation as a great personal account during the pivotal years of supersonic flight development.… (plus d'informations)

The best description I can give this book is unbalanced. There were many times that I read the same reference to a story that was already read, but yet was presented as new. The skips in chronology are at best confusing, and sometimes even irritating. I thought the explanation of Mr. Haney's early life was over-done. I understand that it needs to be presented to understand his later life thoughts and actions, but I only need to hear about his dog a time or two, not the almost every page description that is presented. (That isn't really accurate, it just seemed that way.) However, the later parts of the book that describe his troubled marriage and his difficult decision to retire from the Air Force, were well done. We get an intimate look into his feelings here, but I would have liked to have had this information as the book went along. I think this would have given me a better connection early and I might have been able to deal with the staggered writing a little better.

The criticism I have is only regarding the writing and is in no way a reflection of how I feel about Mr. Haney's life. The stories he shares are nothing short of remarkable. I have the utmost respect for him and his dedication to service. I enjoyed the technical descriptions of what occurred during several of the incidents. I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys military aviation and it's history.… (plus d'informations)