STEEL TIGER

by Mark Berent ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 21, 1990

The cast of Berent's Rolling Thunder (1989) returns to do battle against North Vietnam, the Viet Cong, official corruption, military mismanagement--and popular opinion--in the year leading to the Tet offensive. It's 1967. Lyndon Johnson is still President; Robert McNamara is still secretary of defense; opposition to the war is still growing; and the policy of limited engagement in an undeclared war continues to produce stalemate. The US command in South Vietnam has fallen further into its habit of inflating casualty figures to satisfy McNamara's theories. Once again Johnson turns to General ""Whitey"" Whisenand, an intelligent man of unflinching honesty, to go to the war and dig out the truth for him. As General Whisenand begins his investigation, Special Forces Col. ""Wolf"" Lochert is arrested after a vicious bar fight and becomes enmeshed in the underworld of the black market. Back in the States, fliers Court Bannister and Toby Parker retrain for new roles. Bannister is in test-pilot school; Parker is becoming a fighter pilot. The Air Force wants to make Parker a public-relations event after his heroic seat-of-the-pants flying in Vietnam, but his drinking and self-doubt threaten their plans and his career. Meanwhile, the North Vietnamese keep on shipping their war supplies down the Ho Chi Minh trail, massing for the coming offensive. Berent maintains the high quality of the series with sharp detail and fast action. More, apparently, to come.

Pub Date: May 21, 1990

ISBN: 0000789739

Page Count: -

Publisher: Putnam

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1990

Categories: FICTION