Along for the Ride

"Zeybel deftly weaves his life story into the narrative, flashing back and forth to events from his childhood in the 1940s..." ~The VVA Veteran

[Zeybel's] honest depiction of the various and shifting attitudes and perspectives that constitute universal human experience of life and aging are one of the most compelling aspects of his work and create a sense of honesty that compels reading in a way missing from other memoirs." ~Campaigning: The Journal of the Joint Forces Staff College

"Zeybel seems happiest when he’s engaging the enemy and the enemy is engaging him. Without question, he’s a terrific storyteller—the opening chapters are certain to grab most readers’ attention." ~The Journal of the Air Force Historical Foundation

Henry Zeybel has been an Air Force officer, a journalist, a novelist, a teacher and finally a memoirist. This is the book everything else was leading to. Zeybel's was a dramatic, touching, irreverent and often funny ride. And now he takes us along with him. Great stuff! ~H. W. Brands, author of "The General vs. the President"

"...a well-crafted narrative of both his Air Force career and his varied post-service roles as a journalist, educator and novelist. The author has much of value to offer, a story of courage and insights gained that he has earned the right to tell in his authentic and sometime comic way." ~Dan Guenther, Combat Vietnam Veteran and former Captain, USMC, author of 'China Wind'

"This book is for those who enjoy adrenaline rushes, have been in combat or like to be thrilled. Hank also summarizes an unforgettable tour of the integral importance of the United States’ strategic triad of ICBMs, SLBMs and B-52 Bomber Wing procedures right down to a thermonuclear device’s arming techniques. You can visualize it in your mind." ~Grady T. Birdsong, USMC Vietnam 1968-1969, award-winning Author, "To the Sound of the Guns" and "Echoes of Our War"

"Zeybel acquaints you with the systems and knowledge of the hardware of war and weaves it into the narrative in a tight writing style. Bravo, a first rate read and an excellent answer to the question that we all had when Spectre was on station, providing support, that of what was their war like? Leaves you wanting more." ~Nick Brokhausen, author of "We Few", "Whispers in the Tall Grass" and "Vagabonds"

"Hank Zeybel more than lives up to the title of this powerful memoir as he, indeed, takes the reader along for many rides with him inside B-52 and B-47 long-range bombers and C-130 Spectre Gunships during his eventful U.S. Air Force career as a radar-bombardier. The riveting depictions of what it was like in the belly of the Gunships dodging SAM missiles over the Ho Chi Minh Trail are among the most evocative in the Vietnam War military literary canon. A must-read for anyone interested in the American air war in Vietnam." ~Marc Leepson, Arts Editor and columnist, "The VVA Veteran" magazine, and editor of the "Webster's New World Dictionary of the Vietnam War"

"A simply riveting, impressively informative, and exceptionally well written life story of an active American air force combatant..." ~Midwest Book Review