Al J. Venter is a specialist military writer and has had 50 books published. He started his career with Geneva’s Interavia Group, then owners of International Defence Review, to cover military developments in the Middle East and Africa. Venter has been writing on these and related issues such as guerrilla warfare, insurgency, the Middle East and conflict in general for half a century. He was involved with Jane’s Information Group for more than 30 years and was a stringer for the BBC, NBC News (New York) as well as London’s Daily Express and Sunday Express. He branched into television work in the early 1980s and produced more than 100 documentaries, many of which were internationally flighted. His one-hour film, Africa’s Killing Fields (on the Ugandan civil war), was shown nationwide in the United States on the PBS network. Other films include an hour-long programme on the fifth anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, as well as AIDS: The African Connection, nominated for China’s Pink Magnolia Award.
Written by renowned author and photojournalist, Al J. Venter, this book spotlights the career of a fascinating modern warrior, while also shedding light on some of the conflicts that have raged throughout the world behind the headlines. --LTC( R ) Les Grau PhD, Foreign Military Studies Office Tucson Citizen Al Venter can always be counted on to provide a good read...Recommend this book for military professionals who do not know Africa, helicopter pilots who enjoy a good tale and academics concerned with the growth of private armies and contract specialists in hotspots around the planet. --LTC( R ) Les Grau PhD, Foreign Military Studies Office Ellis is clearly a superb pilot, and I can't imagine how he survived it all. Not just surviving the usual hazards when hostiles are trying to shoot you out of the air, but surviving the actual aircraft. . . . I couldn't wait to finish the book to see what happened to Ellis in the end. Surely he was killed somewhere long ago, but no! Neall Ellis is still out there, somewhere, flying who knows what airframe in some nasty hotspot. --Major Tony Vanchieri, USMC (ret.) From veteran International War Correspondent and author, Al J. Venter, we get a rare look into the profession and harrowing times of a talented pilot and gunship ace whose life reads more like an action/adventure novel than a carefully researched biography. Only this isn't fiction and the staggering risks and dangers Ellis faced time and again with daring and skill keep the story fast-paced and, well, I was going to say something trite like, entertaining. But the fact is, some parts of this story are flat out frightening... A fine tribute but then so is this book about a Gunship Ace and exceptional man who is still serving in combat zones today. This time it is in Afghanistan, where the legend and acclaim he never sought and was well earned, continues. --Kregg P.J. Jorgenson, author of Acceptable Loss, LRRP Company Command, and Clubs Are Trumps- The Road From Plum Run.