Robert Mason, Chickenhawk

Chickenhawk by Robert Mason is a brilliant description of the life of a chopper pilot in Vietnam. As a combat veteran of another war in another jungle (Malaya, 1956-8), I found this book absolutely riveting. I think most people now accept that the war in Vietnam was morally wrong, and that the United States betrayed its people and broke its promises to Ho Chi Minh by handing the country back to its colonial government after WWII; this slowly-growing realization is a quiet underlying theme for much of the book: living among the ordinary Vietnamese people provided insights that perhaps were denied to the "brass" in the rear echelons or in Washington. However, that does not detract from the courage and heroism of the soldiers in the field. Robert Mason writes with great modesty, but he was clearly an exceptionally skilled (and lucky!) pilot who, while he emerged physically unscathed, was devastated by his experiences. Undoubtedly one of the best books to come out of our experience in Vietnam.

I am really into this book, I have only just started reading it, It tells a good story and is written very well. I would definitely recomend this book to anyone who has an interest in flying or the army.

Very good book!