Table of Contents
Prologue: Full Throttle ix
Map of Vietnam and Thanh Hoa Bridge xvi
1 "We Will Pay Any Price …" 1
2 A Damned Tough Nut to Crack 10
3 The First Hammer Blow 24
4 "He Did Not Want Any More MiGs Shot Down" 34
5 A Grim Business 52
6 Enter the Navy 68
7 "Unlimited Losses in Pursuit of Limited Goals" 86
8 They Needed a Bigger Bang 102
9 Paying the Price 113
10 Fools, Drunks, and Lost Fighter Pilots 123
11 Carolina Moon 131
12 The Thanh Whore Bridge 148
13 The Bridge Claims Another Victim 159
14 "We Are Mired in a Stalemate" 171
15 "Courage Is Fear That Has Said Its Prayers" 186
16 Nixon and Kissinger 199
17 "You Ain't Hit the Target Yet" 208
18 Back to North Vietnam 218
19 Pounding the North 229
20 "We Dropped the Bridge" 247
21 The Violent Crescendo 257
Appendix 269
Notes 270
Bibliography 284
Contributors 287
Index 289