Supersonic Thunder: A Novel of the Jet Age

If wings are in your makeup, whether in the past, present or future, you are or should be familiar with Col. Walter J. Boyne. This is the second book of a trilogy covering the world of aviation, which remarkably is only a bit over one hundred years old. The third, Hyeprsonic Thunder is promised to be out later this year. Let's start out by acknowledging that no one is going to confuse Col. Boyne with Tom Clancy as a writer. However, what he has done is to try and give some understanding and insight into the development of aviation through the vehicle of a fictitious family by the name of Shannon. Vance is the patriarch. Tom and Harry are the sons. If you mistake Tom at one point in this book for Robin Olds, you can be forgiven, for this is what the author does. Takes real events and real people, calls a spade a spade and in doing so weaves a creditable and readable history of aviation that many of us have lived through. Boyne also uses the book to make some telling points about choices that were made in the past and some yet to be made in the future. Hauntingly, he reproduces the words of John F. Kennedy in a graduation address to the USAF Academy. "When there us a visable enemy to fight, the tide of patriotism runs high. But when there is a long, slow struggle with no immediate visible foe, your choice will seem hard, indeed. Your choice, ladies and gentlemen, to take on the problems and possibilities of this time, to engage the world, not to run from it, is the right choice." A little over five months later, Kennedy was dead. As I said at the beginning; if wings are in your makeup, you most likely know of this author and you will want to get and read this book.

In arguing against the likelihood that the fictional Shannon family in 'Supersonic Thunder' would be involved in so many of the key moments in the history of jet aviation, the previous review entirely misses the point of this excellent piece of historical fiction. What Mr. Boyne does--and does masterfully--in Supersonic Thunder is tell the story of the jet age using the fictional Shannon family as a story-telling vehicle. This has been done by historical fiction writers for decades, and some of our best historical fiction writers have employed this method (Herman Wouk's Winds of War and War and Rembrance, for example). Legendary test pilot and visionary engineer Vance Shannon and his two sons form the core of the narrative, much as Pug Henry and his sons did in the Winds of War series. Instead of being criticized for using this tried-and-true method of telling history, Mr. Boyne should be praised, for the story he tells is an important one, and he covers a lot of ground in the book. Reading the book is like reading history come to life. Readers will get in a behind-the-scenes look at the history of the U-2 program, the quest for a jet fighter in Korea, the competition between Douglas and Boeing for the commercial aviation market, the race to develop the first supersonic transport, the development of the 747, the strategies and tactics of aerial warfare over Vietnam, the SR-71 Blackbird, and more. The story includes industrial espionage, excellent aerial combat scenes, the dramatic story of Russian engineers charged with flying a supersonic transport by the end of 1968 (or face death or imprisonment), and a sensitive analysis of what went wrong in Vietnam from an Air Force standpoint. Walter Boyne is perhaps one of the only men alive who could pull off a book of this complexity. A former Air Force pilot, he is one of the nation's leading authorities on aviation, a former director of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, and one of the few writers to have his books on aviation sell well in both fiction and nonfiction. If you or someone you know is fascinating by the history of the jet age, then this book is a must-have. The characters are real--whether arguing for or against the latest fighter or airliner or enduring torture in the infamous Hanoi Hilton. You will care about them and will want to see what happens in the next book. This is book two of a trilogy. Book One was called "Roaring Thunder" and covers the early development of the jet in World War Two and the history of the post-war years and Korea in both military and civilian/commercial aviation. I expect Book Three will cover the new Stealth technology, the Space Shuttle, the Gulf War and perhaps arms dealers (just a guess).