Dragon's Jaw: A Tale of Bravery and Determination in Vietnam by Barrett Tillman

Amazon Customer: Steven Coonts is probably one of the finest writers of his era. This is the story of the air war over Laos and North Vietnam, and the political blunders that led to America's involvement, told in a no-holds-barred manner. Coonts puts you right there in the cockpit, your palms will sweat with the tension as American pilots do battle with a determined enemy. The reader will not want to put this book down.

United Kingdom on Jun 21, 2020

Scooter748driver: I've been a fan of and reading Stephen Coonts for 30 years. As a former Naval Aviator myself and an amateur historian I was well aware of the years-long battle for the Thanh Hoa bridge. This book provides a lot of good detail about the various efforts to destroy the bridge by both the USAF and USN. It presents information from both sides and reading the North Vietnamese accounts are interesting (even though heavy with propaganda).

While the political aspects that lead to involvement in Vietnam and the weak prosecution of the war are important aspects to this story, to me there is an over abundance of name calling, bashing, etc. that detracts from the story. I could perhaps understand if this was kept to the political leaders of the time, but the criticism goes to even more recent presidents and leaders. While the author(s) may hold these political beliefs and views, I don't believe they have any place in this book and, for me, it distracted greatly from an otherwise interesting account of the battle for this bridge.

Another slight criticism is the use of a lot of technical jargon and terms that the layperson/reader most likely won't understand. Again, as a former...

United States on Jul 18, 2019

J. Denning: This is a great read. Coonts and Tillman have written a history of the air war in North Vietnam that has as its focus the long campaign to destroy the Thanh Hoa Bridge over the Ma River in North Vietnam.

The book succeeds on several levels. It describes the frustration, tenacity, and courage of Air Force and Navy pilots as they attempt, over a seven year period, to destroy the Thanh Hoa Bridge, which was nicknamed “The Dragon’s Jaw.” (See the book for an explanation.) Bridges are important military targets. Destroying them disrupts the enemy’s ability to move troops and material to the combat zone. The Air Force and Navy pilots were successful in destroying or damaging every bridge they attacked in North Vietnam………..except for that one.

It also provides riveting personal accounts of some of the pilots who were on the missions to attack the bridge, which was one of the most heavily defended targets in North Vietnam. You get a feel for what it’s like to be in the cockpit diving through flak to do what hadn’t been done before – destroy the bridge. You also get a glimpse of what life was like aboard the carriers at Yankee Station and at the Air Force...

United States on Jul 14, 2019