Best Selling Books by Dan Hampton

Former USAF F-16 legend Dan Hampton tells the thrilling story of how fighter pilots have ruled the skies for 100 years, from the Red Baron to today''s supersonic jets.Former US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Dan Hampton is one of the most decorated fighter pilots in history, flying over 151 F-16 missions during his 20 years of service. In Lords of the Sky , Hampton visits the most famous fighter planes in the history of aviation, telling the thrilling story of how pilots have ruled the skies for 100 years. From the infamous Red Baron, to brave soldiers who flew the iconic P51 Mustang of WWII, up to his own legendary F-16 Falcon, Dan paints a sweeping portrait of air combat through the ages, seeking out their storied aircraft and flying them for himself. A history book like no other, from one of the most talented pilots who ever lived, Lords of the Sky is a unique and enthralling account of aviation at its finest.

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING MEMOIR OF 21ST-CENTURY AIR COMBAT, BY "ONE OF THE MOST DECORATED PILOTS IN AIR FORCE HISTORY" (NEW YORK POST) 151 combat missions 21 hard kills on surface -to -air missile sites 4 Distinguished Flying Crosses with Valor 1 Purple Heart First into a war zone, flying behind enemy lines to purposely draw fire, the wild weasels are elite fighter squadrons with the most dangerous job in the Air Force One of the greatest aviation memoirs ever written, Viper Pilot is an Air Force legend''s thrilling eyewitness account of modern air warfare. For twenty years, Lieutenant Colonel Dan Hampton was a leading member of the Wild Weasels, logging 608 combat hours in the world''s most iconic fighter jet: the F-16 "Fighting Falcon," or "Viper." He spearheaded the 2003 invasion of Iraq, leading the first flight of fighters over the border en route to strike Baghdad. Earlier, on 9/11, Hampton''s father was inside the Pentagon when it was attacked; with his dad''s fate unknown, Hampton was scrambled into American skies and given the unprecedented orders to shoot down any unidentified aircraft. Viper Pilot is an unforgettable look into the closed world of fighter pilots and modern air combat.

"Operation Vengeance is colorful, intimate, eye-popping history, delivered at a breakneck pace. I loved it." –Lynn Vincent The New York Times bestselling author of Viper Pilot delivers an electrifying narrative account of the top-secret U.S. mission to kill Isoroku Yamamoto, the Japanese commander who masterminded Pearl Harbor. In 1943, the United States military began to plan one of the most dramatic secret missions of World War II. Its code name was Operation Vengeance. Naval Intelligence had intercepted the itinerary of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the Commander-in-Chief of the Japanese Combined Fleet, whose stealth attack on Pearl Harbor precipitated America’s entry into the war. Harvard-educated, Yamamoto was a close confidant of Emperor Hirohito and a brilliant tactician who epitomized Japanese military might. On April 18th, the U.S. discovered, he would travel to Rabaul in the South Pacific to visit Japanese troops, then fly to the Japanese airfield at Balalale, 400 miles to the southeast. Set into motion, the Americans’ plan was one of the most tactically difficult operations of the war. To avoid detection, U.S. pilots had to embark on a circuitous, 1,000-mile odyssey that would test not only their skills but the physical integrity of their planes. The timing was also crucial: the slightest miscalculation, even by a few minutes—or a delay on the famously punctual Yamamoto’s end—meant the entire plan would collapse, endangering American lives. But if these remarkable pilots succeeded, they could help turn the tide of the war—and greatly boost Allied morale. Informed by deep archival research and his experience as a decorated combat pilot, Operation Vengeance focuses on the mission’s pilots and recreates the moment-by-moment drama they experienced in the air. Hampton recreates this epic event in thrilling detail, and provides groundbreaking evidence about what really happened that day. Operation Vengeance includes 30 black-and-white images.

Unbreakable: The Harrowing Tale of an American Hero''s Survival in the Pacific Theater Valor is the magnificent story of Lieutenant William Frederick "Bill" Harris, a genuine American hero who survived the fall of the Philippines and brutal captivity under the Japanese during World War II. This riveting narrative nonfiction, expertly crafted by New York Times bestselling author and retired fighter pilot Dan Hampton, offers a fresh perspective on the Pacific War. Captured during the Battle of Corregidor in May 1942, Harris endured a series of harrowing ordeals, from a daring escape through shark-infested waters to guerrilla fighting in the Philippines and a treacherous voyage to China. Despite being starved, tortured, and beaten in the notorious Ofuna POW camp, Harris never surrendered. With ingenuity and courage, he eavesdropped on guards and created secret codes to communicate with fellow prisoners. Through military documents, personal photos, and an unpublished memoir provided by Harris'' daughter, Valor dramatically reveals the Lieutenant''s experiences in his own words. From his liberation in August 1945 to representing American Marine POWs during the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay, this is the stunning and captivating true story of an unbreakable spirit and an American hero.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • At the end of World War II, a band of aces gathered in the Mojave Desert on a Top Secret quest to break the sound barrier–nicknamed "The Demon" by pilots. The true story of what happened in those skies has never been told. Speed. In 1947, it represented the difference between victory and annihilation. After Hiroshima, the ability to deliver a nuclear device to its target faster than one’s enemy became the singular obsession of American war planners. And so, in the earliest days of the Cold War, a highly classified program was conducted on a desolate air base in California’s Mojave Desert. Its aim: to push the envelope of flight to new frontiers. There gathered an extraordinary band of pilots, including Second World War aces Chuck Yeager and George Welch, who risked their lives flying experimental aircraft to reach Mach 1, the so-called sound barrier, which pilots called “the demon.” Shrouding the program in secrecy, the US military reluctantly revealed that the “barrier” had been broken two months later, after the story was leaked to the press. The full truth has never been fully revealed—until now. Chasing the Demon, from decorated fighter pilot and acclaimed aviation historian Dan Hampton, tells, for the first time, the extraordinary true story of mankind’s quest for Mach 1. Here, of course, is twenty-four-year-old Captain Chuck Yeager, who made history flying the futuristic Bell X-1 faster than the speed of sound on October 14, 1947. Officially Yeager was the first to achieve supersonic flight, but drawing on new interviews with survivors of the program, including Yeager’s former commander, as well as declassified files, Hampton presents evidence that a fellow American—George Welch, a daring fighter pilot who shot down a remarkable sixteen enemy aircraft during the Pacific War—met the demon first, though he was not favored to wear the laurels, as he was now a civilian test pilot and was not flying the Bell X-1. Chasing the Demon sets the race between Yeager and Welch in the context of aviation history, so that the reader can learn and appreciate their accomplishments as never before.

From New York Times bestselling author Dan Hampton comes the gripping, untold story of a vital secret mission set during the darkest days of the Second World War. In the dark days after the devastating Pearl Harbor attacks during the spring of 1942, the United States was determined to show the world that the Axis was not invincible. Their bold plan? Bomb Tokyo. On April 18, 1942, sixteen B-25s, known as the Doolittle Raiders, hit targets across Japan before escaping to China. The eighth plane, however, did not follow the other raiders. Instead, Plane 8’s pilots, Captain Edward “Ski” York and Lieutenant Bob Emmens, never attacked Tokyo, but headed across Japan to the Soviet Union, supposedly due to low fuel. Yet, this bomber was the only plane on the mission with maps of the Soviet Union aboard. And why did Plane 8’s route, recently discovered in the Japanese Imperial Archives, show them nowhere near their target? Uncovered facts reveal that bombing Tokyo was merely a cover for Plane 8’s real mission, but what was their secret objective? No one, aside from the two pilots and whomever sent them on this mission, truly knew why they were there, nor has the reason ever been revealed. Until now. In Vanishing Act, for the first time, New York Times bestselling author and former fighter pilot Dan Hampton definitively solves the final mystery of the Doolittle Raid with never-before-published documents and photographs in exclusive collaboration with Japanese researchers and the Raiders’ descendants.

At the height of the Cold War, America’s most elite aviators bravely volunteered for a covert program aimed at eliminating an impossible new threat. Half never returned. All became legends. From New York Times bestselling author Dan Hampton comes one of the most extraordinary untold stories of Vietnam War aviation history. Vietnam, 1965: On July 24 a USAF F-4 Phantom jet was suddenly blown from the sky by a mysterious and lethal weapon—a Soviet SA-2 surface-to-air missile (SAM), launched by Russian "advisors" to North Vietnam. Three days later, six F-105 Thunderchiefs were brought down trying to avenge the Phantom. More tragic losses followed, establishing the enemy’s SAMs as the deadliest anti-aircraft threat in history and dramatically turning the tables of Cold War air superiority in favor of Soviet technology. Stunned and desperately searching for answers, the Pentagon ordered a top secret program called Wild Weasel I to counter the SAM problem—fast. So it came to be that a small group of maverick fighter pilots and Electronic Warfare Officers volunteered to fly behind enemy lines and into the teeth of the threat. To most it seemed a suicide mission—but they beat the door down to join. Those who survived the 50 percent casualty rate would revolutionize warfare forever. "You gotta be sh*#@ing me!" This immortal phrase was uttered by Captain Jack Donovan when the Wild Weasel concept was first explained to him. "You want me to fly in the back of a little tiny fighter aircraft with a crazy fighter pilot who thinks he’s invincible, home in on a SAM site in North Vietnam, and shoot it before it shoots me?" Based on unprecedented firsthand interviews with Wild Weasel veterans and previously unseen personal papers and declassified documents from both sides of the conflict, as well as Dan Hampton’s own experience as a highly decorated F-16 Wild Weasel pilot, The Hunter Killers is a gripping true story and cockpit-level chronicle of the first-generation Weasels, the remarkable band of aviators who faced head-on the advanced Soviet missile technology that was decimating fellow American pilots in the dangerous air combat over the skies of Vietnam. Drawing on declassified documents and firsthand accounts, The Hunter Killers chronicles the birth of a new kind of warfare: The First Hunter Killers: Meet the maverick aviators who volunteered for a top-secret program with a 50 percent casualty rate to hunt the deadliest anti-aircraft threat in history. Revolutionary Air Combat: Discover the untold story of the Wild Weasel mission—fly into the heart of enemy territory and bait powerful Soviet-made SAM sites into a lethal duel. Cold War Technology: Go cockpit-level with the pilots of F-4 Phantoms and F-105 Thunderchiefs as they face advanced Soviet missile technology designed to dominate the skies. Meticulously Researched History: Based on declassified documents and unprecedented interviews with veterans, this definitive account is written by a highly decorated F-16 Wild Weasel pilot.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Viper Pilot and USAF F-16 legend Dan Hampton, The Mercenary follows the rogue American gun-for-hire known only as the Sandman. A former military officer haunted by a personal tragedy in his past, the Sandman embarks on a quest for revenge that pits him against friend and country and leads him straight to the heart of the American military establishment.

"GRIPPING. ... AN HOUR-BY-HOUR ACCOUNT." — WALL STREET JOURNAL • From one of the most decorated pilots in Air Force history comes a masterful account of Lindbergh’s death-defying nonstop transatlantic flight in Spirit of St. Louis On the rainy morning of May 20, 1927, a little-known American pilot named Charles A. Lindbergh climbed into his single-engine monoplane, Spirit of St. Louis, and prepared to take off from a small airfield on Long Island, New York. Despite his inexperience—the twenty-five-year-old Lindbergh had never before flown over open water—he was determined to win the $25,000 Orteig Prize promised since 1919 to the first pilot to fly nonstop between New York and Paris, a terrifying adventure that had already claimed six men’s lives. Ahead of him lay a 3,600-mile solo journey across the vast north Atlantic and into the unknown; his survival rested on his skill, courage, and an unassuming little aircraft with no front window. Only 500 people showed up to see him off. Thirty-three and a half hours later, a crowd of more than 100,000 mobbed Spirit as the audacious young American touched down in Paris, having acheived the seemingly impossible. Overnight, as he navigated by the stars through storms across the featureless ocean, news of his attempt had circled the globe, making him an international celebrity by the time he reached Europe. He returned to the United States a national hero, feted with ticker-tape parades that drew millions, bestowed every possible award from the Medal of Honor to Time’s "Man of the Year" (the first to be so named), commemorated on a U.S. postage stamp within months, and celebrated as the embodiment of the twentieth century and America’s place in it. Acclaimed aviation historian Dan Hampton’s The Flight is a long-overdue, flyer’s-eye narrative of Lindbergh’s legendary journey. A decorated fighter pilot who flew more than 150 combat missions in an F-16 and made numerous transatlantic crossings, Hampton draws on his unique perspective to bring alive the danger, uncertainty, and heroic accomplishment of Lindbergh’s crossing. Hampton’s deeply researched telling also incorporates a trove of primary sources, including Lindbergh’s own personal diary and writings, as well as family letters and untapped aviation archives that fill out this legendary story as never before. This definitive account puts you in the cockpit for every harrowing moment of the legendary flight: A Pilot’s Perspective: Experience the flight through the eyes of author Dan Hampton, a decorated F-16 combat pilot who brings an unmatched authenticity to every minute in the air. The Spirit of St. Louis: Discover the story of the unassuming monoplane with no front window, a single engine, and the immense courage built into its frame as it carried one man into the unknown. Hour-by-Hour History: Follow Lindbergh’s 33-hour ordeal from a soggy New York airfield to a chaotic Paris landing, navigating by the stars through treacherous storms and crippling fatigue. Exclusive Primary Sources: Go beyond the myth with details drawn from Lindbergh’s personal diaries, family letters, and previously untapped aviation archives. An American Hero: Witness the incredible transformation of a little-known 25-year-old pilot into an international celebrity and American icon overnight.

Get inside the cockpit with Dan Hampton, the military’s most decorated F-16 pilot, in this enhanced e-book edition of Viper Pilot. Exclusive to this edition are 11 video interviews, where Hampton talks candidly about his time as a Wild Weasel and about the fighter jet that kept him alive through so many dangerous skirmishes. In addition, an interactive “first-person” cockpit diagram lets you get deeper into the action, providing a visual companion to the book that leaves you feeling like you’re sitting in the iconic F-16 itself. 151 combat missions 21 hard kills on surface-to-air-missile sites 4 Distinguished Flying Crosses with Valor 1 Purple Heart Sure to rank as one of the greatest aviation memoirs ever written, Viper Pilot is an Air Force legend''s thrilling eyewitness account of modern air warfare. From 1986 to 2006, Lt. Col. Dan Hampton was a leading member of the Wild Weasels, the elite Air Force fighter squadrons whose mission is recognized as the most dangerous job in modern air combat. Weasels are the first planes sent into a war zone, flying deep behind enemy lines purposely seeking to draw fire from surface-to-air missiles and artillery. They must skillfully evade being shot down—and then return to destroy the threats, thereby making the skies safe for everyone else to follow. Today these vital missions are more hazardous than direct air-to-air engagement with enemy aircraft. Hampton''s record number of strikes on high-value targets make him the most lethal F-16 Wild Weasel pilot in American history. This is his remarkable story. Taught to fly at an early age by his father, Hampton logged twenty years and 608 combat hours in the world''s most iconic fighter jet: the F-16 "Fighting Falcon," or "Viper" as its pilots call it. Hampton spearheaded the 2003 invasion of Iraq, leading the first flight of fighters over the border en route to strike Baghdad. In the war that followed, he engaged in a series of brilliantly executed missions that earned him three Distinguished Flying Crosses with Valor; he notably saved a U.S. Marine unit from certain death by taking out the surrounding enemy forces near Nasiriyah. Two years earlier, on 9/11, Hampton''s father was inside the Pentagon when it was attacked; with his dad''s fate unknown, Hampton was scrambled into American skies and given the unprecedented orders to shoot down any unidentified aircraft. Hampton also flew critical missions in the first Gulf War, served on the Air Combat Command staff during the Kosovo War, and was injured in the 1996 Khobar Towers terrorist attack. With manned missions rapidly giving way to remote-controlled UAV drones, Viper Pilot may be the last memoir by a true hero of the skies. Gripping and irreverently humorous, it is an unforgettable look into the closed world of fighter pilots and modern air combat. Please note that due to the large file size of these special features this enhanced e-book may take longer to download then a standard e-book.

This history of Auburn Rubber toys is from the early 1950s until the company went out of business in 1968. It mostly covers the vinyl toys that were very popular during the 50s and 60s. It covers a variety of toys and products that the Auburn Rubber Company produced and sold by the millions.

Od autora bestselleru Viper Pilot Po Hirošimě se ukázalo jako klíčové dokázat vyslat jaderné zařízení ke svému cíli rychleji než nepřítel. Tak se na pusté letecké základně v kalifornské Mohavské poušti zrodil přísně tajný program. Shromáždil skupinu mimořádných pilotů, mezi nimi i esa druhé světové války Chucka Yeagera a George Welche, kteří riskovali své životy na experimentálním letadle, aby dosáhli rychlosti Mach 1, zvukové bariéry, kterou nazývali „démonem“.

Consists of scientific article reprints and offprints, preprints, mimeographs, and photocopies collected by Haurowitz for research purposes. Some of the items are inscribed by the authors to Haurowitz, and some include Haurowitz''s annotations.