When the U-2 first took off in 1955, no one involved in its top-secret
project dreamt that this unique reconnaissance aircraft would still be
flying today. The long story of the Dragon Lady is amazing, and complex;
this book tells it all, in unprecedented detail, from the early days
overflying the Soviet Union under CIA sponsorship, to the Cuban Missile
Crisis, and on to the Vietnam War. The epic missions over Communist
China were flown by nationalist pilots from Taiwan. How the U-2 was
improved, enlarged and put back into production - twice. It led the
real-time recce revolution with data links and high-tech sensors. Then
it played a key role in Desert Storm, over Bosnia and Kosovo, and most
recently over Afghanistan and Iraq. According to the CIA's own
historian, Chris Pocock is the foremost authority on the U-2. To write
this book, he flew in the aircraft, conducted 250 interviews, and
analysed more than 1,000 declassified documents.