- Hardcover: 160 pages
- Publisher: Naval Inst Pr (April 1994)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1557501165
- ISBN-13: 978-1557501165
- Product Dimensions: 22.9 x 14.5 x 2 cm
- Shipping Weight: 340 g
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Carl's life story is the stuff of film scripts and TV miniseries. At Midway and Guadalcanal he became the first Marine ace of WW II. He was a test pilot in the pioneer days of jet aviation, flying early versions of almost every model of fighter adopted by the U.S. armed forces and flew clandestine reconnaissance missions over China in the 1950s. More than a pilot with the "right stuff," Carl, as a brigadier general, commanded the first Marines to land in Vietnam; in 1973 he retired as Inspector General of the Marine Corps. Unfortunately, Carl's cursory, lifeless narrative reads like a collection of after-action reports. Even the collaboration of Tillman, a leading aviation writer, fails to give Carl's career its appropriately dramatic impact. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Kirkus Reviews
A blunt, spare autobiography from a past president of the American Fighter Aces Association. Carl neither minces nor wastes words in recalling a distinguished career as a US Marine Corps aviator, which began immediately after his 1938 graduation from Oregon State and ended 35 years later when he retired with the rank of major general. Having earned his wings in 1939, the author (now 78) was an early- bird arrival in WW II's Pacific theater. Flying F4F Wildcats in the unfriendly skies above Midway and Guadalcanal, he downed 16 Japanese planes. Sent stateside to be showcased as the USMC's first ace, Carl wooed and won his wife (then a Powers model). He survived a second tour in the Solomons, adding two more kills to his victory total, and ended the war as a test pilot. Adapting easily to the jet age, the author set a variety of altitude and speed records that (though long since broken) attest to his willingness to push the envelope, i.e., take experimental aircraft (and, it would seem, his own convictions) to, even beyond, their theoretical limits. He led photoreconnaissance flights over Red China in the mid-1950s and logged more than 100 missions in Vietnam. In the course of his lengthy service, Carl met and took the measure of many notables. While he remembers Joe Foss, Melvin Laird, Charles Lindbergh, and a host of lesser lights with fondness, the author has precious little use for Greg (Pappy) Boyington (of Black Sheep Squadron fame), Jacqueline Cochrane, LBJ, Ted Kennedy, Robert McNamara, and John Wayne. In a series of parting shots, moreover, he offers considered, if politically incorrect, pronouncements on gun control, the handling of the Tailhook sex scandal, women in combat, and other touchy issues. The dead-honest memoir of an accomplished military professional. The forthright text has 13 contemporary photos. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.8 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews)
13 of 17 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Posthumous thoughts on Marion Carl, Oct 12 1998
By Barrett Tillman - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Pushing the Envelope: The Career of Fighter Ace and Test Pilot Marion Carl (Hardcover)
By a quirk of incredibly bad timing, Naval Institute Press declared Marion's memoir out of print the same week he was killed in June 1998. The sudden nature of his death created an instant demand for the book, but NIP had neglected to inform the Carl family or me (his coauthor) that the book would be unavailable. We are, however, seeking another publisher and hope to have the story of this incredible aviator and exceptional man available again.Barrett Tillman
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Deserving of Honour., Mar 10 2006
By England's own. "RGK" - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Pushing the Envelope: The Career of Fighter Ace and Test Pilot Marion Carl (Paperback)
I admit some of the technical words were over my head but one has to acknowledge Maj. Gen. Carl's 35 years in the Marine corps. He was quite a guy. It is unfortunate we have so few of his caliber today. I think we owe it to him to read his story. What a tragedy after such a life to have his life ended the way it did.
7 of 9 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pushing the Envelope, Mar 25 2006
By Duane Bralley - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Pushing the Envelope: The Career of Fighter Ace and Test Pilot Marion Carl (Paperback)
I live in Oregon and had the honor of visiting with Marion Carl on several occasions. During an airshow, I was escorting him around the aircraft and he spotted several Marine aircraft with there pilots standing near their aircraft. Marion spent a good deal of time speaking with them. Later I stopped by the pilots Marion had been talking with and to say the least these young men were impressed. The book is easy to read. Barrett did a great job of writing. I would recommend this book to any aviation buff.
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