Richard Eager is a compelling account by a remarkable man. Few bomber pilots in World War II flew as many missions and survived to tell the tale, which makes Colonel Richard E. Evans' story all the more extraordinary. Serving first with the famed Ninety-ninth Bomb Group in the Mediterranean and then as General Montgomery's personal pilot, his lengthy wartime flying career saw him not only meet many key commanders—and a King—but also brought him face-to-face with no small amount of danger and close shaves. The book also offers a rare and valuable insight into Monty's character — one that has often been vilified but which emerges as more sympathetic here. It's a vivid, engaging and utterly fascinating memoir of an extraordinary and unquestionably unique wartime career.

This is a phenomenal story of one aviator's experiences from World War II through to the jet age. Not only does Colonel Evans meet some of the major figures of the war, but he is present at many of its significant events. This book also covers the birth of the US Air Force during a time of great political, social, and technological change. Colonel Evans had a front seat to all these events. I highly recommend this book for any aviation enthusiast!

This chronicle of the life and career of USAF Pilot Colonel Richard Ernest Evans is the book I have been looking for throughout my career as a researcher, historian, academician, and book reader. It provides not only an exciting "jump seat" ride through the adventures of a World War II and Cold War pilot — who flew bomber missions, met royalty and generals, and helped steer the Air Force from its beginnings in the 1940s to the world today — but also offers the experiences that shaped him as a boy and young man, something you don't often get with such narratives.