by James Salter
|
| List Price: | $13.95 |
| Amazon Price: | $11.16 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. |
| You Save: | $2.79 (20%) |
| Average Rating: |  |
| Lowest New Price: | $3.95 |
| Availablitiy: | Usually ships in 24 hours |
|
 |
|
Product Description
With his stirring, rapturous first novel--originally published in 1956 --James Salter established himself as the most electrifying prose stylist since Hemingway. Four decades later, it is clear that he also fashioned the most enduring fiction ever about aerial warfare.
Captain Cleve Connell arrives in Korea with a single goal: to become an ace, one of that elite fraternity of jet pilots who have downed five MIGs. But as his fellow airmen rack up kill after kill--sometimes under dubious circumstances--Cleve's luck runs bad. Other pilots question his guts. Cleve comes to question himself. And then in one icy instant 40,000 feet above the Yalu River, his luck changes forever. Filled with courage and despair, eerie beauty and corrosive rivalry, The Hunters is a landmark in the literature of war.
Customers who bought this item also bought
Average Customer Review:
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
 Salter's First, 2007-12-31
Here Salter captures what in some sense most of the readers can never really know, the burning desire, a desire that validates the experience by its singular intensity alone, for something you "could not steal" or "be given," that "no man on earth was rich enough to buy it and it was worth nothing," "in the end it was worth nothing at all." What happens when such desire remains unrequited as it was apparently in Salter's own Korean Air War experience? The Hunters explores this and the prose is beautiful: "It was like leaving an old love. There was so much more than he could ever remember. He stared down at the hand-sized earth that had drifted by beneath him so slowly every time before. Now he seemed to be crossing it with great speed, as if running with the current of time. Ribbons of ocher road, highlands and villages were all floating swiftly out of sight under the wing. He felt an overwhelming, captive sadness. It was his farewell."
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Salter's First And Wonderful, 2007-12-15
Here Salter captures what in some sense most of the readers can never really know, the burning desire, a desire that validates the experience by its singular intensity alone, for something you "could not steal" or "be given," that "no man on earth was rich enough to buy it and it was worth nothing," "in the end it was worth nothing at all." What happens when such desire remains unrequited as it was apparently in Salter's own Korean Air War experience (or for the rest of us, when one does not ever experience such single mindedness?) The Hunters explores all this and the prose is beautiful: "It was like leaving an old love. There was so much more than he could ever remember. He stared down at the hand-sized earth that had drifted by beneath him so slowly every time before. Now he seemed to be crossing it with great speed, as if running with the current of time. Ribbons of ocher road, highlands and villages were all floating swiftly out of sight under the wing. He felt an overwhelming, captive sadness. It was his farewell."
5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
 Tense and Captivating, 2006-07-18
An outstanding war novel that remains technically accurate without losing the non-flying reader. I am a pilot and historian so following the flying terms and pilot jargon in the story was not an issue. What is outstanding is that because of the skill of the author a novice would not be left behind.
The author's use of graphic terms, words pictures and imagery puts you there and the story keeps you turning the pages.
Loved it
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
A Master At Work, 2006-03-26
Salter's great writing captures the society of combat pilots at war, the weather as well as the tumbling dogfights. The great fears - looking bad, running out of fuel and dying, probably in that order.
The characters and the story are awesome but what really sets this book apart is the focused quality of the writing and the characters. Highly recommended .
Do not confuse the book with the movie of the same name that borrows the title, Korea, F-86's and little more.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
A gem., 2006-03-17
This book had been sitting on my shelf a while and may have gone unread forever, but I checked the Amazon reviews and found it to have received only praise all across the board. Well, I just finished reading the book, and can now add my own commendation. The simple name and the comic-book-like jet fighter cover art (on my 48 year old copy) would lead one to believe this is a crude shoot 'em up Korean War adventure yarn rather than a fine piece of literature. I found it to be fine literature. All the more remarkable due to the story being imbedded in the environment of jet fighter warfare. The story is about one man's, Captain Cleve Saville's, arrival and tour of combat duty at a bleak Air Force fighter base in Korea. He enjoys a short vacation to Tokyo, with a little romance, and otherwise spends his time flying combat missions, or mostly waiting anxiously between flights. Salter writes stunning and beautiful descriptive passages. Sometimes the metaphor is almost overwhelming and leaves the reader looking for some plain syntax. But it comes along. Salter (who has been there) masterfully describes the interpersonal dynamic among men living and risking together under the various stesses. There is intricate insight into the inner ambitions and competitions among the pilots. The bravado and also the fear. The reader feels the bitter Korean winter, and the blistering heat sitting in the cockpit on a summertime runway. The all too rare flight time is magic. Clearly the cool blue sky made a tremendous impression on Salter during his combat flying days. He loved it and writes about it so we can all feel it. Most of the air mission time was boring and Salter is candid about it and spends little time with it. There are some moments in combat that are so intense that I found them almost disconcerting and had to pace myself through them. Saville endures both interpersonal and internal conflict throughout the story. I felt the tale was on the express route toward a big climax, but was not ready for what it was (and it was multiple). The reader is safe in Salter's hands. He delivers. The novel is short. Absolutely no reason not to read it. Highly recommended.
Price is accurate as of the date/time indicated. Prices and product availability are subject to change. Any price displayed on the Amazon website at the time of purchase will govern the sale of this product.
|
Store Categories
|