Chariots of the Damned

The sensationally titled Chariots of the Damned: Helicopter Special Operations from Vietnam to Kosovo documents death-defying chopper-based Special Ops rescue missions. Writers Mike McKinney, an instructor pilot in the U.S. Air Force, and Mike Ryan (Warplanes of the Future) take turns writing chapters recounting both successful rescues and such notorious failures as those in Somalia and Iran, with an analysis of tactics. They also provide lots of technical information about the choppers themselves, tracing the evolution of helicopter technology over the last 30 years or so.