War for the Hell of It

A Fighter Pilot's View of Vietnam

By: Ed Cobleigh

Narrated by: Eric Martin

Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

Ed "Fast Eddie" Cobleigh served two tours of duty during the Vietnam air war, logging 375 combat sorties in the F-4 Phantom fighter/bomber.

In War for the Hell of It, Cobleigh shares his perspectives in a deeply personal account of a fighter pilot's life, one filled with moral ambiguity and military absurdities offset by the undeniable thrill of flying a fighter plane. With well-crafted prose that puts you into his Phantom's cockpit, Cobleigh vividly recounts the unexplainable loss of his wingman, the useless missions he flew, the need to trust his reflexes, eyesight, aggressiveness, and his survival instincts in the heat of combat. He discusses the deaths of his squadron mates and the contradictions of a dirty, semi-secret war fought from beautiful, exotic Thailand. This is an unprecedented look into the state of mind of a pilot as he experiences everything from the carnage of a crash to the joy of flying through a star-studded night sky, from the illogical political agendas of Washington to his own dangerous addiction to risk.

Cobleigh gives a stirring and emotional description of one man's journey into airborne hell and back, recounting the pleasures and the pain, the wins and the losses, and ultimately, the return.

©2016 Ed Cobleigh (P)2016 Ed Cobleigh

Excellent

An excellent blend of perfectly placed sarcasm mixed with a great story. The orator makes the experience even more enjoyable. You will love this book.

War may be hell, but this listen isn't...

This is an amazing book.
It is so much more than "I got in my plane, flew here, bombed there, and almost got shot down a couple of times."
Ed Cobleigh doesn't shy away from the questionable politics of the war in Vietnam, he also doesn't hide the fact that he very much enjoyed what he did in his F4.
He explores the ethics of his and our countries actions and at the same time made me laugh out loud with some of his side thought explorations.
This is a great listen. An absolute must for any military history or aviation fan.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Boom!

Well told story of a fighter pilots life..........

As an Army officer and being stationed in the delta area SW of Saigon, I have tried to find books that tell the story of the war other men fought, Depending on where you were assigned, your war might have been very different from what another experienced in Vietnam. This is an excellent recounting of a Phantom pilots life during that difficult time.
The narration in this book is what I look for in these Audible books......it feels like the narrator is the author himself sitting there telling you his own story. Well done. Excellent!

Thoroughly enjoyed !

Wonderful hearing a fighter pilots perspective of flying, the war in general and his experiences also the the way. The writer was very well spoken as he entertained me with his language skills. Thank you.

This ebook was given to me in return for an impartial book review.

A Must Read

I listened to this twice since I learned and enjoyed it so much. It is extremely well-written, which I appreciate, poignant, and surprisingly funny at parts. Highly recommended!

Open minded opinionon war.

I first read this book and liked it so much I decided to buy it on Audible. Cobleigh has a fair and openminded point of view about his time as a fighter pilot during the Vietnam war. He doesn't get to political and makes it clear this is only his opinion. He adds a dry sense of humor to his writing and you get to ride along with him while he flies his missions. I have memoized the chapter on the difference between fear and panic, which I use to overcome my fear when trying a new experience. Very entertaining read.

Fantasticly written.

The detailed descriptions kept my mind constantly entertained. Made me appreciate those who came before me and gave my mind a small window into the lives of these men in the USAF. Not being in the military myself, it was a fantastic journey...especially the aircraft carrier portion. Now I need to find a good USN story to supplement!

Very well written personal memoir

Any additional comments?

This memoir was very well written. Most "war" memoirs are written by individuals who are not usually writers by profession. This author is much better than most at drawing the reader into the story. He does not just give the reader a dry description of what he is experiencing, but he successfully paints pictures for the reader that put the reader in the author's mind and allows the reader to "feel" some of what the author is experiencing. His descriptions of flying at night, for example, really make the reader feel it. For most of the book, this artistic style added to the enjoyment of reading his story. However, the author did spend a lot of time on his emotional experiences not related to flying, but relating to his loneliness, metaphorically "crying over his beer" because he can't meet any American women, got old pretty fast for me. He was "living the dream" as they say. He was flying missions over Vietnam, but landing every night in Thailand, and not slogging through some mud hole in Vietnam. Thailand, then as now, is a beautiful country and the Thais are the nicest, most beautiful, friendliest people I have ever been around. It was difficult to have a lot of sympathy for the author when he drifted off into these blue funks. Other than that, this has been one of my favorite "Vietnam memoirs," and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the topic.

Ed's War!

This presentation is from Ed Cobleigh, the USAF pilot of the F4 Phantom aircraft flown in the Vietnam war. The narrator is by Eric Martin, who portrays Ed to perfection. 5 stars for all 3 categories. This story has moments of deep sadness due to losses of airmen during the conflicts in Laos & Vietnam. This is a very personal view of the war and the reasons America ended up in that war. Mixed with the daily challenges, are events that will have you shaking your head over the shear fortunes that occurred in Ed's career. Two specific events that could have easily been Court-martial criteria, but of course never happened. In my opinion, Ed is a true hero, even though he does not portray that image in the audio book. Several amazing events including the "Wild Weasels" and their use in the air combat to take out the Fan Song radar and keep the SAMs at bay. " The Wild Weasels moto was YGBSM, I will let you look that up, as they were the first in and last out of each battle. Pay attention to the Ho Chi Minh Trail that runs from North Vietnam to South Vietnam and through the kingdoms of Laos and Cambodia. The F4 Phantom strikes were at times coordinated with the Weasels. Ed and his wing man would fly together, when possible, sometimes Ed would have to fly alone. Most of the stories are about the flying in the sewer, which meant at night. During listening to this audio, take some time to review the world map, so that you can better understand where these battles took place especially pay attention to the country of Laos. Look at the DMZ and understand why Ed and other Americans were so frustrated by the politics that framed it. Don't be turned off by the flight command names of Satan 1 through Satan 4, that was not their call sign. Fast Eddy is our man, and this story is a view from Ed's war!

From a fellow Vietnam fighter pilot

Outstanding writing into the deep emotion of
Combat flying in a war where most all warriors attempting to deal with returning to face an ungrateful nation. Returning were more pissed at their own government than the enemy sent to fight.