Heart of the Storm: My Adventures as a Helicopter Rescue Pilot and Commander - Hardcover

by Edward L. Fleming (Author)

Advance praise for Heart of the Storm

""Col. Ed Fleming tells a story of true heroism about the constant dangers faced by the pilots and crews who fly the most versatile-and vulnerable-aircraft in the skies today.""
-John Glenn, former U.S. senator, astronaut, and bestselling author of John Glenn: A Memoir

""To risk your life to save a stranger is the highest mark of a human being. Ed Fleming is such a man, and this book is a great read.""
-Dr. Jerri Nielsen, author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Ice Bound

""Filled with suspense and emotion, Heart of the Storm reads like a thriller-but it's all true. Ed Fleming has led a dramatic and interesting life, and this book portrays it in living color.""
-Robert K. Tanenbaum, New York Times bestselling author of Resolved and Absolute Rage

Front Jacket

During the course of a thirty-year career in helicopter rescue, Col. Edward Fleming led scores of high-risk missions, including rescue operations during the Halloween storm of 1991 described in The Perfect Storm and the successful rescue of Dr. Jerri Nielsen from Antarctica. Flying helicopters is more dangerous than flying fixed-wing aircraft-and helicopter rescue is one of the most dangerous occupations on earth. Now, Col. Fleming takes readers along for a bracing ride as he recounts the most thrilling episodes of his long career.

With all the nail-biting excitement of a thriller, Heart of the Storm brings to life dramatic jungle rescues in the Philippines, the longest helicopter rescue mission in history to save crew members of a Ukrainian freighter 840 miles off the coast of Nova Scotia, harrowing desert operations deep in the Iraqi desert, a nearly disastrous rescue off a listing two-masted schooner during an Atlantic winter storm, and many more. During the course of his career, Fleming was responsible for saving 293 lives, including that of Dr. Jerri Nielsen, the physician and Antarctic researcher who in 1999 was airlifted from the South Pole in time to receive emergency breast cancer treatment. From the South Pole to the South Pacific to the Arabian desert, Heart of the Storm vividly recounts tales of bravery and adventure under the most extreme conditions. Col. Fleming brings us into the eye of the hurricane to experience life as it is lived by a handful of airborne heroes who routinely risk everything to save strangers from the jaws of death. An engrossing chronicle of a fascinating life, Heart of the Storm is a nonstop adrenaline rush and must reading for anyone who enjoys a rousing true-life adventure story.

Back Jacket

Advance praise for Heart of the Storm

"Col. Ed Fleming tells a story of true heroism about the constant dangers faced by the pilots and crews who fly the most versatile-and vulnerable-aircraft in the skies today."
-John Glenn, former U.S. senator, astronaut, and bestselling author of John Glenn: A Memoir

"To risk your life to save a stranger is the highest mark of a human being. Ed Fleming is such a man, and this book is a great read."
-Dr. Jerri Nielsen, author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Ice Bound

"Filled with suspense and emotion, Heart of the Storm reads like a thriller-but it's all true. Ed Fleming has led a dramatic and interesting life, and this book portrays it in living color."
-Robert K. Tanenbaum, New York Times bestselling author of Resolved and Absolute Rage

Author Biography

COL. EDWARD FLEMING served in the Air Force and Air National Guard for three decades as a helicopter rescue pilot. He was Commander of the 106th Operations Group, 4412th Squadron, in the Persian Gulf and Vice Commander of the 109th Airlift Wing.