Bogeys and Bandits

The Making of a Fighter Pilot

By: Robert Gandt

Narrated by: Thomas Block

Length: 11 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

Americans are fascinated by the undeniable mystique of the elite world of Navy fighter pilots. In Bogeys and Bandits, Robert Gandt takes listeners on a thrilling ride in the FA-18 Hornet, one of the fastest, sleekest, and deadliest aircraft in the world.

Gandt lived and worked with several pilots learning to fly the Hornet: the identical twins from Middle America; the computer nerd with a penchant for speed; the grandson of a Tuskegee Airman, trying to live up to a proud legacy; and two women dealing with the post-Tailhook world of the Navy.

Gandt weaves superb technological details of the Hornet and an insider's look at the highly demanding training program with portraits of the day-to-day lives of these very real people aspiring to fulfill a dream. Bogeys and Bandits will hold listeners breathless as they soar through the skies in the cockpit of the fastest and deadliest fighter plane in the world.

©1997 Robert Gandt (P)2017 Robert Gandt

Great book but the narrator...

The descriptions of each individual progressing through fighter training was great. The narration made listening difficult though.

Great material overcomes less then stellarnarrator

Gandt is an excellent aviation writer. His works are always entertaining, and this one is no exception. It captures an interesting snapshot in time, immediately following the tail hook scandal era.
The material is so fascinating and well written that it overcomes a truly comical production and performance. Take a listen to the short audio clip to get a taste for the narrator's voice and delivery. You'll get a fair idea of what I'm talking about. But there is something else here that truly puzzles me, which are the little musical moments thrown into some of the exciting passages in the book. These appear to be pretty random, since you never quite see them coming... but sometimes during a tense passage, such as a crash or a moment of triumph, the narrator will pause and a musical selection will start. The music is as generic as humanly possible, as if the producer had one CD of public domain material to select from and they did the best they could. It is the most unnecessary thing I've ever come across in an audiobook. Truly comical actually, since the narrator sort of tries to go with it. It is funny to the point of distraction, but should not deter anyone from getting this very worthwhile title.

Impossible to listen to

Worst narrator ever!
I am really interested in this topic but I was so disappointed the narrator entirely wrecked this audio book.

Dang

Horrible music funny, original performance . So and so story Informative but for aviation beginners . Check out

Narration makes aviation story almost unbearable

I will never listen to another story performed by this narrator. Never ever. The sections with the music overlay were unbearable and I had to fast forward through them. I really enjoyed reading this book. I was looking forward to the audiobook, but I will never go down that path again.

Fighter Pilot Insight

Where does Bogeys and Bandits rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This was a decent book, worth reading if the subject of military combat is your thing. The parts where characters actually developed and either flew or failed were great, but there was a lot of telling rather than revealing, so this book felt more informative than entertaining.

Would you be willing to try another book from Robert Gandt? Why or why not?

I would, but I'd read the reviews first.

Which scene was your favorite?

The night carrier landings were exciting, and the camaraderie, competition, and politics within the squadron were entertaining.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No extreme reaction.

Any additional comments?

Kudos to the author's choice of narration. I have listened to many books told by Thomas Block.

Great story. Bad narrator.

The narrator is terrible. I couldn't finish it. The story would have been interesting. Sad.

good story, narrator not so much

As many have stated, the story was good and enjoyable, however the narrator was very difficult to listen to. many times the slurring made him sound drunk.
During several of the books climactic moments, they played some music to add drama, this was VERY over produced

great book and narration.

Narrator pulls you into the book with his excitement.
also has a way of adding sounds that make it even more eclectic

Terrible narration

As others have had said, the narrator sounds drunk. Not to mention a hard accent. And why on earth did they need to play dramatic music at points in the story? It did not enhance the experience. The story overall was OK.