I just completed author Chris Pocock's book on the U-2 Spyplane, Toward the Unknown. This type of book is difficult to assess. Overall, it seems to be a very comprehensive story of the U-2 Spyplane evolvement. I found that aspect of the book very enlightening and very interesting.

     From the book's account, I can't help but admire the pilots who participated in the development phase of the aircraft. They seemed eager and willing to put themselves at risk. And, the long flights were certainly not a fun thing to endure. Of course, I have a mixture of positive and negative responses. Not having ever served in a branch of government or military that operated covertly, the book gave me a strange feeling as if I were 'inside' the secret operation. Not like the fiction we read, the factual account seemed even more cold and calculated.

     For example, the many pilots whose lives were lost were cast off as if they were simply a part of the aircraft that had malfunctioned and was discarded for a new part. (Or, it may have been the author's presentation). Every death that occurred was noted in one sentence and then the story moved on. In other words I felt that the author displayed a certain coldness toward the human side of the program.

     The author also revealed negative biases ( which I believe he should not have toward various individuals - particularly toward President Eisenhower, and later in the book toward John McCone.

     It is virtually impossible to know all of the pressures on people in high places. One should report final decisions without clouding the issues without second-guessing as to why those decisions were made.

     As for the Epilogue and the Postscript, they were fine. I feel that I am now more familiar with the whole story of the U-2 Spyplane and particularly the part played by Francis Gary Powers. Yet I sense that the author himself projects some lingering doubts regarding Powers' performance as both a pilot and a prisoner.

     In summary, the book is well-researched, and therefore its story struck me as very factual and historically correct.

- Richard Croft.

[TOP]