To the Limit

." . . .an absorbing book. Whether or not you served in the military or ever flew in a helicopter, it will grab you and hold your attention." "A riveting, well-written book that puts the reader right there in the cockpit. . . . "To the Limit" is worthy of its own screen rendition. What makes [it] such a credible work is that it is not just blood and guts. Johnson writes with passion and earnestness regarding these character-building episodes that helped define him. . . . The only whining you will hear is the powerful engine of the Huey that Tom Johnson describes so vividly that you can almost feel the ground shake." "Johnson's description of flying the venerable Huey 'to the limit' and sometimes beyond is indeed riveting." Always leery of superlatives in book reviews, I feel compelled to use them in describing Tom Johnson s "To the Limit". It is an intense, compelling, gut-wrenching narrative by far the best account of helicopter warfare I have read. I am touching my first dead person and unfortunately I know him. . . . When you strap into a Huey with Tom Johnson, you re in for the real thing. "To the Limit"is a first-person journey into the grit, grimness, and chaos of war, told by a helicopter hero in a way that nails the feel, the mood, and the talk of Air Cavalrymen in battle. No one has previously captured the Vietnam helicopter experience with such gripping authenticity. This is the real thing: helicopter combat at its birth. No wonder Army helo drivers were among the most decorated aviators of the Vietnam War. Tom Johnson truly shows us what the rank-and-file Huey crews experienced. "'I am touching my first dead person, and unfortunately I know him. . . .' When you strap into a Huey with Tom Johnson, you're in for the real thing. TO THE LIMIT is a first-person journey into the grit, grimness, and chaos of war, told by a helicopter hero in a way that nails the feel, the mood, and the talk of Air Cavalrymen in battle. No one has previously captured the Vietnam helicopter experience with such gripping authenticity." --Robert F. Dorr, author of CHOPPER: A HISTORY OF AMERICAN MILITARY HELICOPTER OPERATIONS FROM WWII TO THE WAR ON TERROR

Tom A. Johnson was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal (with five Silver Leaf Clusters), and the Bronze Star for his Vietnam War service.