I have written a biography of Bob Ericson, a most notable U-2 pilot who amassed 4,306 hours on the type during his 30 years flying for the CIA followed by NASA. I was commissioned by Bob’s sons, who felt that his contributions to national security and airborne science were not widely appreciated. How right they are!
The book tells the story of how a smalltown boy grew up to serve his country with distinction, how he survived a crash in this most difficult-to-fly airplane, and how he was nearly shot down over the Soviet Union. It also describes Bob’s flight over Cuba in 1962 that set off the Cuba Missile Crisis; his missions over Tibet, China and North Vietnam, and his remarkable save of a crippled U-2 for NASA.
Bob’s exploits were mentioned in part in my previous books on U-2 history, particularly 50 YEARS OF THE U-2. But I did a lot more research to produce this new paperback, which contains 250 pages with 170 photographs. In particular, it contains detailed descriptions of his most notable flights, and of The Black Cat Squadron in Taiwan, where Bob spent a lot of time as a well-regarded instructor pilot for the brave pilots who flew over mainland China during the 1960s. There’s also plenty of human interest about a man whose personal life was inevitably affected by his obligations to deploy far from home, and to keep the many secrets entrusted to him.
The book is available from Amazon in the US for $20, in the UK for £15, and in other countries on their local Amazon websites at equivalent prices. I will also be signing and selling copies at various events and lectures.
Dragon Lady History 