Phantom Reflections: An American Fighter Pilot in Vietnam (Stackpole Military History Series)
"[A] welcome addition to any aviation buff's bookshelf....The memoir includes many humorous and serious accounts of what life was like during this turbulent yet transformational period in Air Force history....What makes this account stand out from other Vietnam "there I was..."-type memoirs, is its jargon free, easy-to-understand explanations of air combat techniques, strategies, and formations....There is a welcome absence of combat glamorization that gives the book an aura of integrity. Pre-mission feelings of fear and anxiety are accurately portrayed, and the gripping narrative includes the retelling of a close call with an enemy surface-to-air missile that exploded mere meters away from McCarthy's aircraft....[I]t is addictively engrossing and a must read for anyone interested in a close-up view of the Vietnam air war."-Air Power History