As a child, Robert Mason dreamed of levitating; when he grew up, he longed to fly helicopters, and the U.S. Army finally gave him his chance. They sent him to Vietnam, where from August 1965 to July 1966 he flew more than 1,000 assault missions in a UH-1"Huey" helicopter. In this widely read 1983 memoir, Mason shares his devastating bird's-eye view of the war, as his courage and idealism give way to fear and doubt. Mason also discusses his postwar civilian life, which proved to be nearly as remarkable and turbulent as his experiences in the jungle.

"Mason's gripping memoir … proves again that reality is more interesting, and often more terrifying, than fiction."—LATimes