Black Watch The Men Who Fly America's Secret Spy Planes

From Library Journal The U-2 and SR-71 spy planes are euphemistically called "articles" by the CIA to help keep their existence and use quiet. Pilots of the 99th squadron at Beale Air Force Base in northern California fly these planes and go on high-altitude intelligence gathering missions over the world's hot spots. Popular aviation novelist Gann ( The Black Angel , LJ 9/15/87) provides interesting accounts of the brave pilots, the secret missions, and the aircraft they fly to the edge of space. The result is informative and entertaining--nonfiction that reads like a novel. Flying enthusiasts and general readers as well will enjoy this book. - William A. McIntyre, New Hampshire Technical Coll. Lib., Nashua Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. Product Description Offers a close-up look at the pilots and planes of the 99th Squadron, an elite, intelligence-gathering corps of the U.S. Air Force From Publishers Weekly Gann ( The Aviator ; The High and the Mighty ) here looks at the 99th Squadron of the U.S. Air Force, responsible for flying the U-2 and SR-71 high-altitude reconnaissance planes. After describing the surprisingly fragile crafts, he concentrates on the men who fly them, dedicated, highly skilled and supremely confident; he sketches several memorable portraits, especially of the higher-ranking officers. But the best is reserved for last as Gann follows Cecil Hopper through his training to become a U-2 pilot: his initial interview in which he demonstrates a mix of self-esteem and diffidence, his inaugural solo in the spy plane, his first mission in the Far East in which he comes dangerously close to disaster. The book is stirring and suspenseful. Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.