Firebirds: The Best First-Person Account of Helicopter Combat in Vietnam America's Presidential Family

As a Vietnam War buff and a student helicopter pilot, I absolutely loved this book! The accounts are very engaging; I never wanted to put the book down. Carlock's writing is great: my "mind's eye" always had a running image of the book as I read. Definitely recommend it!

I'm the Burroughs in the book. Congratulations Chuck on a job well done.

Firebirds is the best military aviation book I have ever read. It pulled me into the action both in the air and behind the scenes. The use of real names and photos gave me confidence in the basic accuracy of the stories, something often missing in other helicopter pilot books. Mr. Carlock's credentials as an aircraft commander in both gunships and slicks reveals a pilot that had the experience, leadership, and stamina to know and understand what was really happening. There's a big difference between logging a few hours as an acting aircraft commander and living with the responsibilities of being one. I noticed one reviewer said he had a hard time following the storyline. Novels have storylines. This book instead, tells a reader what flying helicopters was really like and puts the reader inside the cockpit as well as the pilot's head. This is the one to read!

Chuck Carlock is a veteran of the Vietnam War and a member of a military helicopter pilots association, which gives him access to both his memories and those of his buddies. Fly with him as he takes you out on missions in Huey gunships and slicks (so named because they carried no guns, hence their sides were 'slick') as he crisscrosses some of the hottest spots in the theatre. And when he's done with you, his buddies step in and take you on med evac hops and Special Forces inserts deep inside Cambodia. Hands down, this is the best book of 'Nam chopper flying I've read (except for perhaps 'Chickenhawk'). And after you've read this book, pop 'Apocalypse Now' or 'Platoon' in the VCR (or DVD) and get the total 'Nam experience.

The book Firebirds tells of the dangers of being a firebird helicopter pilot. This book tells of both the comical side and the cold hard truth about flying helicopter gunships in vietnam