Book Review: Flight of the Falcon.
When a friend suggested this book to me, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to read it. That’s because I have stopped reading Military history and stuff, but then one day I ordered it from Vanguard and after reading a few pages I found it was one of those “hard to put down books.”
This is the story of an ace fighter pilot of Pakistan Air Force, Sajjad Haider, and in that he has covered the history of PAF, the training years , the 1965/71 wars, the role of PAF, that of the Army and its operations. It is in fact much more than that. The book dispels myths about our leaders (both military and civilians), it takes a rather good look at our history, where we went wrong, the machinations of the powers that be from 1950’s till the 1980’s and beyond.
I found it to be well researched with relevant references all along. This is one of those books that clears a lot of mist, surronding our history, mostly related ot the wars and the roles of PAF and Army. Since the officer remained at important positions in the PAF and was well respected being a decorated war hero so it carries weight. It is a fisrt hand account of a pilot. The man who lead PAF attack on Pathankot and destroyed 11 enemy aircraft (19th Squadron) and again attacked enemy columns at Lahore, stalling their advance to Lahore in 1965. The narration of various air missions is presented in a detailed and graphic manner, the reader feels being a part of the operation.
It makes a good read for history buffs and anyone interested in knowing more about the Pakistan India wars, operation Gibraltar and Grans Slam. (I would call it the alternative view” that forces you to view a different dimension of our history.)
My Random Ramblings 