Anita Wilson

Both mystique & intrigue can provide a gripping fascination; Thin Air, has & does continue to be that compelling story. A paperback book many times read whose pages are now well worn & age stained. On writing this review by retrieving it from the shelf, it’s musty smell is the reminder of how long I have had this book; of when I was first introduced to it as a child, & how it can so easily still draw me in. There is always correlation to things felt & seen. Hammond the naval investigator recounts the fear that haunts the men who were exposed & aboard the USS Sturman during World War II. He uncovers the sinister secrets of military intelligence in an almost ordinary way, that it makes it all so relatable, yet fills you with dread. We learn of the science experiments that were operating in broad daylight & the trauma involved by the men. Classic cases of what would be called C-Ptsd today, caused by culminating events that saw the men blindsided by an enemy of terror that would continue to play with their mind. It leaves poignant questions for the reader that are so prevalent today, how science can go too far, & that it still neglects to factor in the human element & importance of life, the psychological repercussions of too much interference & messing with a mind. Today, with considerable life experience gained, Thin Air still tells me that: The mind when left in a natural state & in its own time, gives us an account of such extraordinary beauty, detail & knowledge to be found, it is indeed a rare gift to behold; but sadly mans need always for answers & to push beyond those boundaries brings consequences that lead to destruction & death.