Fulcrum: A Top Gun Pilot's Escape from the Soviet Empire

...This book taught me a lot about life. There were so many obstacles he had to overcome. I have always been amazed by the strength and endurance this man had.I never knew a person could endure such hardships and still be so unbelievably focused.When I get depressed and feel I'M having hard times I always think back to his story and feel ashamed of myself for thinking so selfishly. He was truly a sensitive and beautiful soul... This book shows the determined and powerful side of Alex, and his story is truly incredible. I honestly hope you will take the time to read the book. It will take you on a trip that you never though possible. The adreneline rush, the tears, the love, and most important, the incredible adventures of Alexander Zuyev...

I just saw an Associated Press news article telling of the death of Alexander Zuyev on June 10, 2001. He was only 40 years old. He and a friend died last Sunday when the Yakovlev 52 they were flying crashed in Washington state north of Seattle.Read this book. It gives a fascinating description not only of growing up in the Soviet Union but of the difficulty of becoming a military pilot. It also gives a sickening picture of just how badly communism chewed up and destroyed its best people: Zuyev's own mother--whom he rescued--and some of his fellow pilots who weren't so lucky. His decision to defect was not made lightly or easily. The corruption and contradictions he saw were too much to take anymore. He had the courage to leave it all behind and take a chance with a nation he had been told so many lies about. The drugged cake was a stroke of genius.Sadly, a plane crash has done what a sentry's bullet in the arm did not. This world is a poorer place. I never met him but I wish I had, if only to say "Thank you."

I lived in Russia for most of this decade (1990s). While there I borrowed "Fulcrum" from a friend. It was exciting reading, especially while living in Russia. I found that the book accurately reflected the life I was experiencing everyday in Russia (a lot didn't change--even after the fall of the USSR.) This book is an absolute MUST reading for anyone who really wants to get behind the scenes and understand how life really works in the former Soviet Union. It is a pity that this book is no longer available and I seriously wonder if the KGB had something to do with it going out of print, as it is one of the most accurate books I have ever read. I hope that sometime soon this book can again be available and widely circulated.

I had a chance to hear Alexander speak to a full house at EAA Convention 1994. His account of how he could no longer support a government who spent most tax dollars on war machinery while the population stood in line for essentials of life was most revealing. The things we learned about the MIG training from him later as a consultant to the Pentagon enabled our military to develop maneuvers in combat with Soviet Aircraft.

This has to be one of the most engrossing titles I have read in a long time. Zuyev gives all the details of life in the Soviet Union from boyhood to elite fighter pilot. Soviet tactics and technology--particularly that dealing with the MIG-29 "Fulcrum"--as well as the barbaric way the Russian government treated its people are included. Zuyev is a man who risked everything--and lost perhaps more--in his struggle to reach freedom.