"Exuberant--and funny--without neglecting the seriousness of surviving a year of love and war." --Kirkus Reviews

Here, we enjoy a triple feature: excellent writing, fascinating stories, and learning the rich first-hand experience of an American contract helicopter pilot. Sobotta provides a humorous autobiography of his time working and flying on government missions in India, and it documents his first year there when culture shock was at its strongest.

The bureaucratic process that pervades Indian society, shooting incidents, the trials of an ancient land with thousands of...