Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

  • War for the Hell of It

  • A Fighter Pilot's View of Vietnam
  • By: Ed Cobleigh
  • Narrated by: Eric Martin
  • Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (38 ratings)
Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
War for the Hell of It cover art

War for the Hell of It

By: Ed Cobleigh
Narrated by: Eric Martin
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £18.99

Buy Now for £18.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

Hogs in the Sand cover art
Going Downtown cover art
Winkle cover art
From F-4 Phantom to A-10 Warthog cover art
The Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club cover art
Da Nang Diary cover art
Clean Sweep cover art
Viper Pilot cover art
Mosquito Men cover art
The Vietnam Air War cover art
Guts 'N Gunships cover art
We Saved SOG Souls cover art
To the Limit cover art
Project 9: The Birth of the Air Commandos in World War II cover art
Lords of the Sky Unabridged cover art
Tanker Pilot cover art

Summary

Ed "Fast Eddie" Cobleigh served two tours of duty during the Vietnam air war, logging 375 combat sorties in the F-4 Phantom fighter/bomber.

In War for the Hell of It, Cobleigh shares his perspectives in a deeply personal account of a fighter pilot's life, one filled with moral ambiguity and military absurdities offset by the undeniable thrill of flying a fighter plane. With well-crafted prose that puts you into his Phantom's cockpit, Cobleigh vividly recounts the unexplainable loss of his wingman, the useless missions he flew, the need to trust his reflexes, eyesight, aggressiveness, and his survival instincts in the heat of combat. He discusses the deaths of his squadron mates and the contradictions of a dirty, semi-secret war fought from beautiful, exotic Thailand. This is an unprecedented look into the state of mind of a pilot as he experiences everything from the carnage of a crash to the joy of flying through a star-studded night sky, from the illogical political agendas of Washington to his own dangerous addiction to risk.

Cobleigh gives a stirring and emotional description of one man's journey into airborne hell and back, recounting the pleasures and the pain, the wins and the losses, and ultimately, the return.

©2016 Ed Cobleigh (P)2016 Ed Cobleigh
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

What listeners say about War for the Hell of It

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    20
  • 4 Stars
    14
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    20
  • 4 Stars
    6
  • 3 Stars
    6
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    17
  • 4 Stars
    7
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

vivid and evocative

Haunting and powerful reflections on his experiences as a fighter pilot. Very evocative writing conjures up vivid pictures which stay in the mind. Very well read.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Interesting and entertaining

I really enjoyed this book. It is more than a fighter pilot's stories in the air as it does much more. It goes on to explore the author's personal thoughts about the reasons and rationale for the war and also relates some wonderful stories of his experiences in Thailand. His description of his Thai beef salad lunch is wonderful. I also particularly enjoyed his description of the landing of a Skyhawk on the deck of an aircraft carrier at night as seen from a USAF pilot's perspective. Overall a very enjoyable and engaging book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

slow

its a slow book, it feels as if to be building towards something but it never comes.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Perhaps too in-depth

A very in-depth writing of his experience. Tends to focus on everything and anything. Narration can be a bit monotone and at times irritating.
It’s more of a pilots psychological monologue regarding alcohol and the need for sex, more than anything.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

my favourite audio book.

I have read many many autobiographies of pilots, mostly of ww2 rather than more modern conflicts like this. This book stands out. I really got a sense of what it was like to live on the base, to fly the missions and of what the author was thinking. the author was humble and open and honest. i think its really well written and verging on poetic at times. the narrator was good too. There's no jet on jet dogfighting and this isn't a complete chronological narrative of the pilots career but I think it's a very good book and I came out really liking the author.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent book !

Excellent book, well written and excellent narration. thoroughly enjoyed it. An honest account, straight from someone who was there and done it, no going-ho stuff. Would recommend. 😃

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Not adrenaline fueled but fully authentic

Very well written and performed. Great story with some funny and thought provoking moments of an experienced fighter pilot's 2 tours during the late 68-72 bombing halt. Most missions flown over Laos, many at night.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!