Ed Rasimus straps the reader into the cockpit of an F-105 Thunderchief fighter-bomber in his engaging account of the Rolling Thunder campaign in the skies over North Vietnam. Between 1965 and 1968, more than 330 F-105s were lost, the highest loss rate in South East Asia and many pilots were killed, captured and wounded because of the Air Force's disastrous tactics. The descriptions of Rasimus one hundred missions, some of the most dangerous of the conflict, will satisfy anyone addicted to vivid, heart-stopping aerial combat, as will the details of his transformation from a young man paralyzed with self-doubt into a battle-hardened veteran. His unique perspective, candid analysis and the sheer power of his narrative rank his memoir with the finest, most entertaining of the war.

"YOU CAN ALMOST SMELL THE JET FUEL AND GUNPOWDER. You attack the world's fiercest defenses at 500 knots and share the ultimate thrill of hurling yourself against almost impossible odds-and winning.
-JACK BROUGHTON, author of "Thud Ridge"
Ed Rasimus straps the reader into the cockpit of an F-105 Thunderchief fighter-bomber in his engaging account of the Rolling Thunder campaign in the skies over North Vietnam. Between 1965 and 1968, more than 330 F-105s were lost-the highest loss rate in Southeast Asia-and many pilots were killed, captured, and wounded because of the Air Force's disastrous tactics. The descriptions of Rasimus's one hundred missions, some of the most dangerous of the conflict, will satisfy anyone addicted to vivid, heart-stopping aerial combat, as will the details of his transformation from a young man paralyzed with self-doubt into a battle-hardened veteran. His unique perspective, candid analysis, and the sheer power of his narrative rank his memoir with the finest, most entertaining of the war.
"A story that reflects the bravery of the men who flew over enemy territory in a perilous time."
-"The Baltimore Chronicle"
"[A] MODERN-DAY "RED BADGE OF COURAGE" ."
-JOHN DARRELL SHERWOOD, author of "Fast Movers: Jet Pilots and the Vietnam Experience"

Look for these remarkable stories of American courage in the Vietnam war
DOWN SOUTH
"One Tour in Vietnam
"by William H. Hardwick
LOST IN TRANSLATION
"Vietnam: A Combat Advisor's Story
"by Martin J. Dockery
MEDIC!"
The Story of a Conscientious Objector in the Vietnam War
"by Ben Sherman
WE WERE SOLDIERS ONCE . . . AND YOUNG
"Ia Drang: The Battle that Changed the War in Vietnam
"by Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore and Joseph L. Galloway

Picking up where his acclaimed When Thunder Rolled left off, Palace Cobra is the story of Ed Rasimus's return to Vietnam to fight a war that many Americans tried to forget
When F-105 pilot Ed Rasimus completed his 100 missions over Vietnam, he returned stateside to a normal life: sitting at a desk and teaching student pilots. Two years later, he volunteered to go for a second tour of duty. Determined not to die in a losing cause, and relentlessly searching for that next adrenaline rush, Rasimus and the other F-4 Phantom pilots continued the ferocious air war in the North--dodging SAMs and gunning for MiGs--and routinely cheated death.
When America finally got serious about ending the war, Rasimus and the other pilots put it all on the line, pounding Hanoi with everything they had, and flying above POW camps to let the troops know they were not alone. Gripping, earnest, and unforgettable, Rasimus's combat memoir is, in the end, a heartfelt tribute to those who never made it back.