Rating: 
Summary: Slim story but still cut above the rest
Review: "Punk" is the pilot of a massive airplane - a US Navy F-14. So large and complex it requires two men to fly, the F-14 is one of the most powerful airplanes in the sky. How many times have we heard a story like that? Yet "Punk's War", set in the ominous skies of the Persian Gulf, is still a cut above your usual aero-technothriller. The flyboys here are tired, not wired. Instead of the adrenaline soaked yet duty-bound pilots of other books, these guys are so beaten down by the system, by their clueless superiors and the rigors of naval aviation that they actually question the sanity of their remaining in the navy. Most of the charachters are known only by their callsigns. Author Ward Carrol (who flew as a radar intercept officer in the backseat of an F-14) wisely avoids making his hero, the titular "Punk", the squadron Top Gun - that distinction best belongs to "Smoke". While Smoke best deserves command, he actually takes his orders from "Soup" Campbell, whose background in the "Blue Angels" and "Top Gun" mask an incompetent leader whose glory-seeking will put the other squadron members at risk.Though none of these charachters really ring true, they ring loud - Carroll is more interested in them than the machines they fly, something you'll see from few autrhors today. This had the makings of the most original story in naval aviation since "Flight of the Intruder", but what hobbles the book is its own size. It's painfully underfinished, as if Carroll suddenly grew tired of it. The ending is way too pat. A shame, but still a worthy read.
Rating: 
Summary: How global peace is preserved.
Review: For one interested in modern Naval Aviation, Commander Carroll has written a fascinating volume for your information and pleasure. The book is a novel about aircraft carrier operations in the post Desert Storm era, enforcing the no-fly zone over southern Iraq. Here the reader is treated to an insider's look at the workings of an aircraft carrier at sea; launching and recovering jets, night flights, and living conditions aboard ship. But more importantly, Commander Carroll pulls back the cover of glitz and glamor of jet fighter pilots to reveal the inner workings of the mirad of inter-personal relationships that exist in a modern jet fighter squadron, aboard a nuclear aircraft carrier, and ashore in the Pentagon and other command-and-control headquarters that supervise and manage Naval Aviation. The reader is shown how the decisions of one man in a pressure situation can affect the delicate balance that exists between war and peace. But there's more. Commander Carroll has also entertwined throughout the entire 224 pages of this story the stuggle of character that is present at all levels of leadership. We see the difficult tension that always exists between honesty and deception, between integrity and pragmatism. There are many valuable lessons about ethics and leadership in these pages. Don't let the title fool you; this nations needs men like Punk. May his tribe increase!
Rating:
Summary: Unlike Clancy, Not Everything Works
Review: Many of the reviews rightly focus on the military aspects of this book. And yet as a civilian, I found the book immensely satisfying as a character study and a slice-of-life portrait. Yes, they are Naval aviators on "the boat," and yes, the fact they are fighting a war impacts their behavior. But the focus of the story, and ultimately the power of the book, is on these men as men, as human beings. Carroll's gift is the three-dimensional qualities he gives his characters so that you recognize your own friends and pieces of yourself in them (both for good and for bad... we all have a little Soup in us). It is because of Carroll's strength as a writer that you fully experience their frustrations with their jobs, their bosses, and the system. And that experience is universal. We've all been there, and we all need to learn how to deal with our imperfect control over the imperfect systems we find ourselves in. Punk's War is an eloquent statement about life, not just the military.
Rating:
Summary: Punk's War
Review: Punk's War
By Ward Carroll
Naval Institute Press
"Punk's War" is by far and away the best book I have ever read about day to day life in a Navy fighter squadron.
It's near 100% accurate, extremely well written, engaging, amusing, insightful and even thrilling in places.
The author, a Naval Academy graduate and victim of several tours as the Radar Intercept Officer in an F-14 squadron at sea, is currently an English and ethics teacher at the Academy in Annapolis, so he speaks with authority about life on the boat and in a squadron. The fact that he sat in back while the hero, a Tomcat driver with the callsign of "Punk," (having to do with his musical tastes and not his attitude) is a pilot seems to have no adverse effect on the legitimacy of the story.
(For some reasons, backseaters write the best books; pilots fly the best loops.)
Only 224 pages, the hardbound novel grabs the reader from page one and won't let go.
The story begins with the ex-Blue Angel, ego-driven squadron skipper ousting his ready alert five crew - Punk and his backseater - so he can take over the presumed MiG interdiction mission. It won't give away too much to confide that the engagement goes to hell in a hurry.
As the story unfolds, Carroll does a masterful job of combining the day to day minutiae of life on the boat while simultaneously weaving a well-told tale that's said to be fiction but one wonders ...
You'll meet the surface warfare admiral who has no idea how to handle those pesky flyboys, the air wing commander who'd rather be behind a Pentagon desk, the squadron skipper who has let his Blue Angels tour and Topgun graduation go to his head. There's the usual collection of quirky squadron characters, tough missions, dangerous shipboard approaches, a sneaky Middle East country that's trying to start a war and a bunch of likeable guys doing a very tough and dangerous job (and they're still out there doing it now).
You'll gain new insight into what it's like to fly and fight the F-14 Tomcat, how the Navy interacts with the Air Force, what happens on a strike planning mission, and how life with enlisted men (and women, nowadays) can often be tedious and not a little frustrating.
Happily, the only "love story" (which seems to be a requirement of late) woven into the fabric of this multi-colored tail is Punk's remote relationship with his girl, which is touched upon but barely enough to slow down the story. Mostly, its a wonderfully accurate and revealing look at life among the Navy's carrier elite - fighter pilots.
Carroll is also to be commended for not assuming the reader alreadys knows everything there is to know about Navy life. When he writes about life in the ready room, he describes how it looks (and it sounds exactly like everyone I've ever been in). If there's a complicated piece of equipment used by the aircraft crew, he names it and what it does.
But mostly this is a story about people, men who fly and fight F-14 Tomcats, and those who command them. If you have even the slightest interest in the subject, you'll thank me for buying this book.
- Wayman Dunlap
Rating:
Summary: Punk's War
Review: Punk's War
By Ward Carroll
Naval Institute Press
"Punk's War" is by far and away the best book I have ever read about day to day life in a Navy fighter squadron.
It's near 100% accurate, extremely well written, engaging, amusing, insightful and even thrilling in places.
The author, a Naval Academy graduate and victim of several tours as the Radar Intercept Officer in an F-14 squadron at sea, is currently an English and ethics teacher at the Academy in Annapolis, so he speaks with authority about life on the boat and in a squadron. The fact that he sat in back while the hero, a Tomcat driver with the callsign of "Punk," (having to do with his musical tastes and not his attitude) is a pilot seems to have no adverse effect on the legitimacy of the story.
(For some reasons, backseaters write the best books; pilots fly the best loops.)
Only 224 pages, the hardbound novel grabs the reader from page one and won't let go.
The story begins with the ex-Blue Angel, ego-driven squadron skipper ousting his ready alert five crew - Punk and his backseater - so he can take over the presumed MiG interdiction mission. It won't give away too much to confide that the engagement goes to hell in a hurry.
As the story unfolds, Carroll does a masterful job of combining the day to day minutiae of life on the boat while simultaneously weaving a well-told tale that's said to be fiction but one wonders ...
You'll meet the surface warfare admiral who has no idea how to handle those pesky flyboys, the air wing commander who'd rather be behind a Pentagon desk, the squadron skipper who has let his Blue Angels tour and Topgun graduation go to his head. There's the usual collection of quirky squadron characters, tough missions, dangerous shipboard approaches, a sneaky Middle East country that's trying to start a war and a bunch of likeable guys doing a very tough and dangerous job (and they're still out there doing it now).
You'll gain new insight into what it's like to fly and fight the F-14 Tomcat, how the Navy interacts with the Air Force, what happens on a strike planning mission, and how life with enlisted men (and women, nowadays) can often be tedious and not a little frustrating.
Happily, the only "love story" (which seems to be a requirement of late) woven into the fabric of this multi-colored tail is Punk's remote relationship with his girl, which is touched upon but barely enough to slow down the story. Mostly, its a wonderfully accurate and revealing look at life among the Navy's carrier elite - fighter pilots.
Carroll is also to be commended for not assuming the reader alreadys knows everything there is to know about Navy life. When he writes about life in the ready room, he describes how it looks (and it sounds exactly like everyone I've ever been in). If there's a complicated piece of equipment used by the aircraft crew, he names it and what it does.
But mostly this is a story about people, men who fly and fight F-14 Tomcats, and those who command them. If you have even the slightest interest in the subject, you'll thank me for buying this book.
- Wayman Dunlap
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book....
Review: Saw this book in "Proceedings" and I figured I would give it a shot since I like Naval Aviation and reading about it. I will have to admit, it was not quite what I expected. Some of the scenes were exciting but it seemed to capture the boredom and pointlessness of monitoring the then No Fly Zone. It also seemed to hit home the point that it wasn't the money that was causing aviators to leave in droves but other factors.
Rating:
Summary: EAGERLY AWAITING THE SEQUEL
Review: The best book about the real world of naval aviation I've ever read. Truly captures life as a junior officer in a carrier squadron.
Rating:
Summary: Grand Slam by Naval Institute and Ward Carroll
Review: The Naval Institute published two previously untried authors in the past who went on to great success with follow-on editions and movie adaptations. Move over Clancy ("Hunt for Red October) and Coonts (Flight of the Intruder) because Ward has delved into the world of carrier aviation and gone beyond the standard techno-thriller to produce a study of command relationships and tensions against the backdrop of conflict in the Middle East. Ward is adept at revealing the perspective of not only the central character, a F-14 Tomcat pilot at the "junior officer", but that of his commanding officer, air wing commander, flag staff, comrades and maintenance personnel in a fast paced snapshot of life aboard an aircraft carrier caught up in rising tensions and ultimately combat. His narrative also taps the ethos and humor of the junior officer ranks (the most numerous population of officers aboard a carrier) and depicts many rituals and rites of passage such as use of callsigns. If you were too cheap or missed the hardback version, grab the paperback and buckle up for a thriller of a ride.
Rating: 
Summary: A Must Read!
Review: This is a terrific book. For anyone interested in becoming a Naval Aviator/Naval Flight Officer, is a current one, or was once part of this tremendous occupation this is a must read. With unabashed "I've been there" Carroll pieces together a cast of characters and plot that is mostly irreverent and, therefore, completely accurate. With absolutely no hint of "Hollywood" he successfully captures the real experience of Naval Aviation. Like no other book about aircraft carrier aviation, and as a former Prowler guy, reading "Punk's War" had at times the look and feel as of reading a personal journal any of us might have kept. The book is fun, memorable, and most of all successful in paying homage to the demanding and supremely rewarding profession; Naval Aviation.
S. H. Hassett
LCDR USN (Ret)
...
Rating:
Summary: Read this for Realism
Review: This novel is a brilliantly realistic view into the life of Naval Aviators. Carroll is clearly someone who has experienced patrolling the No Fly Zones in Iraq, flying the Tomcat, and living on an Aircraft Carrier with a close-knit unit.
This book is not for the reader who enjoys the Clive Cussler-Tom Clancy hero-saves-the-world-plot, but instead wants to experience what the pilots and NFOs feel when they are out there doing their duty.
A similar book to this, but with a little more fictional and slam-bang plot is James W. Huston's Flash Point, which also gives you a realistic slice of Naval Aviation life.
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