The Art of Uncontrolled Flight » (Bargain)

Kim Ponders grew up near Boston and graduated from Syracuse University. In 1991 she flew with Desert Storm as one of the first American women ever in combat. Her experiences formed the basis of her first novel, The Art of Uncontrolled Flight. Now a speechwriter for the Commander, Air Force Reserve, she lives with her husband and sons in New Hampshire.

Annie Shaw was captivated as a child by her father's elusive presence and his love of flying. After tragically losing her mother, Annie follows her father into the Air Force and becomes one of the first women to fly in combat during the Gulf War. But life in the Air Force is not as glamorous as she imagined. Copilot, wife, and lover, Annie struggles to hold her separate lives together until the war itself intervenes. This smart, tightly drawn work, based on the author's life, masterfully illustrates the great pleasures and tragedy that result from war.

The Washington Post - Ron Charles

The Art of Uncontrolled Flight presents a number of brief, precisely described scenes that are meant to convey an enormous amount of information about Annie's life and emotional development. In the first part of the book, this method works well. The second and third sections, though, make the novel sound as if it's coming to us over a bad cell phone connection…so much falls between the cracks of this impressionistic mosaic that we seem to be reading highlights of a much longer manuscript. That's a shame because these highlights are often powerful.