

Sinossi
Germania, anni Cinquanta. In una base militare americana un gruppo di piloti di aerei da caccia insegue il proprio sogno di gloria, fra atterraggi di fortuna, scommesse azzardate e audaci prove di coraggio. Accumulare ore di volo, totalizzare il miglior punteggio nelle esercitazioni di tiro, guadagnarsi il rispetto e l’ammirazione dei compagni o una promozione attesa da tempo, sfidare gli elementi: per la squadriglia del maggiore Dunning, un burbero uomo del Sud con uno spiccato debole per le gerarchie, non sembra esserci altro scopo, e le giornate scorrono in una sorta di ascetica segregazione dal mondo, che neanche le trasferte in Nordafrica o qualche scorribanda serale riescono a scalfire. C’è chi ha carisma e uno sfacciato talento naturale, chi fatica a emergere, chi è sorretto, nonostante tutto, da una fiducia incrollabile nelle proprie capacità, e chi ha addosso «il marchio della morte». Perché il destino è implacabile, indifferente ai meriti dei singoli, spesso, anzi, crudele proprio con i migliori…
Un omaggio dolente e appassionato al fascino di un’epoca e di un mondo particolarmente cari a James Salter, ma anche una folgorante celebrazione della vita in tutta la sua fragilità.
- ISBN: 882351679X
- Casa Editrice: Guanda
- Pagine: 240
Recensioni
When James Salter ’s second book The Arm of Flesh (published 1961) went out of print, he decided to completely rewrite it. Cassada , republished in 2000, is the result. The Hunters , his first novel was also revised, published first in 1957 and then in 1997. Both are about Air Force pilots. The Hunters Leggi tutto
I would give my left nut (if I had such) to be able to write like this. By far my favorite Salter book. Minimalist, in a way. Not overly long, not "padded" for page count like so many contemporary novels. The descriptions of flying in difficult weather set my heart racing. My father was a fighter pi Leggi tutto
Ah, Jimmy Salter, what a writer you were. Here's Cassada, a rewrite of The Arm of Flesh, his self-described failed second novel. Arm of Flesh was published in 1961 and revised by Salter as Cassada in 2000. Cassada is a slim novel of life at a USAF air base in Germany in the mid-1950s and at first re Leggi tutto
Grand nombre des livres de cet auteur s'inspirent de son expérience dans le service des forces aériennes. Le roman se passe dans une base de l'US Air Force en Allemagne, dans les années 1950. Il raconte l'histoire d'un jeune pilote de chasse qui lutte pour sauver sa vie et, avant tout, celle de son l Leggi tutto
Actual rating: 4.5 stars. Salter was there long before me, two wars--Korea and Vietnam--earlier, but judging by my experiences at USAF fighter squadrons in Germany and the Netherlands in the late 1970s and early 1980s, things in my day were no different than in his, and he has captured it exactly. I k Leggi tutto
Like The Hunters , his other novel about competitive pilots, this made me glad to have had a ghostly father and no brothers.
A sparsely written novel that deals with the male egos of fighter pilots in Cold War Europe. Cassada is a newcomer trying to prove that he belongs, yet wondering if he really does. Not the best Salter novel I’ve read, but still worth the effort.
Top gun before top gun
James Salter can do little wrong in my book and I give everything I read of his 5 stars based on the fact that if I'm prepared to read a book again then it will get 5 stars. This is not his best but that sounds like a put down. It's still brilliant, beautifully written and compelling. Heroism and se Leggi tutto
Salter writes beautifully - I can't believe I have never heard of him before. Some of the descriptions were lovely and it is good to read a book that leaves lots of questions unanswered...things to ponder upon. "No sound except for the clock. Beyond the windows the night is fading, smooth from the pa Leggi tutto
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