Air America: A CIA Super Pilot Spills the Beans Paperback – September 4, 2019

Great read, sits well along side the work of the Ravens in Laos. Was able to find an original OUI magazine referenced in the book, makes for interesting conversation!

I've been interested in Air America since the movie and there has been precious little available. Fast forward a few years and I found this while researching the Saigon Evacuation.The style is fairly typical autobiographical anecdotes from an intense period in the author's past, with lots of vignettes strung together in chronological order. Told from near the bottom of the command hierarchy, there isn't a lot of "big picture context". A few typos and it would have benefitted from an editor and proofreader. The layout was slightly unusual with the usual "excessive" whitespace found in vanity press.Overall, an interesting read on an obscure subject, but it could have been tighter.

I have done more in life , had more wild adventures and traveled to more exotic places around the globe than most people do in 10 lifetimes , but this author beats me hands down. Great narrative of his life of adventure. But for a few years difference, our paths may have crossed .

Great book, hard to put down!

buy a paperback, as the Kindle version must have had a BLIND TYPESETTER!! Otherwise it was an interesting read of miscellaneous 2-4 paragraph stories ranging from countless sexual conquests, to routine flight missions, to near death flight missions, to international travel STO’s. It definitely rambled & seemed to skip around a bit chronologically, but overall was worth the time spent reading. But just a little attention to detail in making this piece of literature into a viable Kindle format would have gone a LONG WAY. Easily the worse Kindle book typeset in existence… it’s never too late to correct this i suspect.

Very interesting book. Bill sure had a great time with the ladies... I recommend reading this. once I got used to the way it was formatted it wasn't that bad...

Great stories of a helicopter pilot, basically working for the CIA, in a secret war that has no redemption. Reading this book was exciting and very interesting; I felt that I was there with the author as he lived a life of action, danger, and truth. As a Vietnam Vet myself I remember being in I-corp bordering the DMZ and occasionally treading into Laos from the A Shau Valley in order to attract the North Vietnam Army into combat. Collier speaks the truth and makes every nuance, big or little, exciting!

As a professional helicopter pilot I enjoyed this book as well as his first book. I have a little “round engine” time myself, and nothing compares to the sound of a radial! I may have been experiencing some technical difficulties with the kindle app but I thought the editing errors were terribly distracting. Rereading the title of the book mid paragraph or mid sentence was distracting, especially as it happened several hundred times throughout the book. Also every time there were two consonants in a row like tt Or ll the second one was missing. Could just be a weird app problem. I am not trying to be overly critical, especially since I am certainly not an author. Lord knows that if I tried to write a book it would read like VCR instructions. Just a CH-47 driver that loves to read, especially about helicopters! Thanks for the book!

This is an excellent book if you are interested in both the professional and personal life of an Air America pilot during the time of the Vietnam War!Based on the authors own recollections and detailed journal entries, each of its numerous chapters are easily readable. He not only shares training/flight stories, but also R&R adventures around the world and what it was like working/travelling with his friends in the business.I've read a lot of CIA/Vietnam War aviation books and this one is one of my favorites.