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Solitary: The Crash, Captivity and Comeback of an Ace Fighter Pilot
“Fighter pilots tell the greatest stories and the great ones tell the best stories of all…”
—PAT CONROY, bestselling author of The Great Santini and The Death of Santini
“This book is not only among the finest war writing ever but, like Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning, Solitary sits alongside the most profound reflections on the resilience and capacity of the human soul.”
—STEVEN PRESSFIELD, bestselling author of The Lion’s Gate and The War of Art
Solitary is a gutsy story of one man’s survival, endurance, and strength of will…”
—LARRY ALEXANDER, bestselling co-author of A Higher Call
“I anxiously await the day my own sons are old enough to read it.”
—RICH COHEN, bestselling author of Tough Jews
“You will tear through this book…”
—RYAN HOLLIDAY, bestselling author of The Obstacle is the Way
“It grabs you immediately, and doesn’t let go until you’re finished.”
—TUCKER MAX, bestselling author of I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell
“A magnificent triumph of the human spirit…I was captivated from the first page to the last.”
—SEAN PARNELL, bestselling author of Outlaw Platoon
Giora Romm was the Israeli Air Force's first fighter ace. As a twenty-two-year-old lieutenant he shot down five MiGs during the Six Day War of 1967.
Fourteen months later over the Nile Delta, an Egyptian missile exploded beneath the tail of his Mirage IIIC. Within moments Romm found himself hanging by the straps of his parachute, with a broken arm and a leg shattered in a dozen places, looking down from 10,000 feet. Streams of farmers and field workers converged below onto the spot toward which his chute was descending, with the intention, he was certain, of hacking him to death as soon as his feet touched the earth.
No other Israeli pilot had survived capture in Egypt or in any other Arab state.
Solitary is Romm's story of his imprisonment, torture, interrogation, release, and return to service.
Solitary is not a "war book." It's not a tale of heroism, though if anyone ever qualified for that distinction, it is this story's author. Solitary is not even, in its deepest parts, about captivity or imprisonment.
Solitary is about Romm's inner war.
It's the story, in his phrase, "of a fall from a great height," not only literally but metaphorically.
Romm could not tell his captors the truth about who he was or what he had done. He had to invent an entire fictional biography and keep it straight in his head through months of beatings and interrogations, all the while being held in solitary confinement with his body sheathed from chest to toe in a plaster cast.
Solitary is not a grim book. It's full of wry humor, keen self-observations and revelations.
An ordeal such as Romm endured is a sojourn in hell, but it is also a passage. Romm fell, and he came back. Solitary is his indelible account of confronting, as few of us ever will, his own fears and limitations, and discovering, ultimately, his capacity to survive and to prevail.
—From the Introduction by Steven Pressfield
—PAT CONROY, bestselling author of The Great Santini and The Death of Santini
“This book is not only among the finest war writing ever but, like Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning, Solitary sits alongside the most profound reflections on the resilience and capacity of the human soul.”
—STEVEN PRESSFIELD, bestselling author of The Lion’s Gate and The War of Art
Solitary is a gutsy story of one man’s survival, endurance, and strength of will…”
—LARRY ALEXANDER, bestselling co-author of A Higher Call
“I anxiously await the day my own sons are old enough to read it.”
—RICH COHEN, bestselling author of Tough Jews
“You will tear through this book…”
—RYAN HOLLIDAY, bestselling author of The Obstacle is the Way
“It grabs you immediately, and doesn’t let go until you’re finished.”
—TUCKER MAX, bestselling author of I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell
“A magnificent triumph of the human spirit…I was captivated from the first page to the last.”
—SEAN PARNELL, bestselling author of Outlaw Platoon
Giora Romm was the Israeli Air Force's first fighter ace. As a twenty-two-year-old lieutenant he shot down five MiGs during the Six Day War of 1967.
Fourteen months later over the Nile Delta, an Egyptian missile exploded beneath the tail of his Mirage IIIC. Within moments Romm found himself hanging by the straps of his parachute, with a broken arm and a leg shattered in a dozen places, looking down from 10,000 feet. Streams of farmers and field workers converged below onto the spot toward which his chute was descending, with the intention, he was certain, of hacking him to death as soon as his feet touched the earth.
No other Israeli pilot had survived capture in Egypt or in any other Arab state.
Solitary is Romm's story of his imprisonment, torture, interrogation, release, and return to service.
Solitary is not a "war book." It's not a tale of heroism, though if anyone ever qualified for that distinction, it is this story's author. Solitary is not even, in its deepest parts, about captivity or imprisonment.
Solitary is about Romm's inner war.
It's the story, in his phrase, "of a fall from a great height," not only literally but metaphorically.
Romm could not tell his captors the truth about who he was or what he had done. He had to invent an entire fictional biography and keep it straight in his head through months of beatings and interrogations, all the while being held in solitary confinement with his body sheathed from chest to toe in a plaster cast.
Solitary is not a grim book. It's full of wry humor, keen self-observations and revelations.
An ordeal such as Romm endured is a sojourn in hell, but it is also a passage. Romm fell, and he came back. Solitary is his indelible account of confronting, as few of us ever will, his own fears and limitations, and discovering, ultimately, his capacity to survive and to prevail.
—From the Introduction by Steven Pressfield
304 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2008
7 people are currently reading
122 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 12, 2023
Giora Ramm is a Mystere pilot from the Israeli Air Force who, after becoming an ace very young, was himself shot down by an Egyptian surface-to-air missile and became their prisoner for many months in 1965 and 66. This is the story of his captivity, release and return to the air, despite severe injuries from a very high-speed ejection.
Readers will need to experience the details of his story themselves. Two main themes emerged from his account for this reader:
First, the difficult and caustic to a person’s psyche by being held in solitary confinement. Ramm’s experience in captivity was a constant struggle between telling his captors something they wanted (in his case, it was mostly lies) against the threat of being returned to solitary confinement. One might think they would or could endure solitary and abuse at captors, though Ramm’s story provides significant caution against overconfidence in one’s stamina.
The second is the mental struggle he endured in being released, deciding to return to flying, then being at risk over enemy skies once again. The author tells the whole, unvarnished story; it’s a fascinating account.
Ramm eventually overcomes all these difficulties and leads an A-4 squadron successfully in the 1968 war. His account of his first flight—ever—in an A-4 on an operational wartime mission is worth the price of the book.
Great tales, well told.
Readers will need to experience the details of his story themselves. Two main themes emerged from his account for this reader:
First, the difficult and caustic to a person’s psyche by being held in solitary confinement. Ramm’s experience in captivity was a constant struggle between telling his captors something they wanted (in his case, it was mostly lies) against the threat of being returned to solitary confinement. One might think they would or could endure solitary and abuse at captors, though Ramm’s story provides significant caution against overconfidence in one’s stamina.
The second is the mental struggle he endured in being released, deciding to return to flying, then being at risk over enemy skies once again. The author tells the whole, unvarnished story; it’s a fascinating account.
Ramm eventually overcomes all these difficulties and leads an A-4 squadron successfully in the 1968 war. His account of his first flight—ever—in an A-4 on an operational wartime mission is worth the price of the book.
Great tales, well told.
October 5, 2025
My husband and I were in the military in Colorado Springs (Ft Carson) and had taken on the position of Chairs of the Israel Emergency fund just prior to the “6 Day War”. Capt. Giora Romm was sent by Israel to the US as a shaliach to help raise money. He was our house guest for about a week and a delightful and powerful resource. We heard about his capture and were horrified. In late December of 1967 we went to Israel not only to go and see family but, especially, to visit Giora at Tel Hashomer hospital. He was in surprisingly good spirits….a testimony to having been returned alive! Although he shared some of his experience with us , his book completed the horrific story of his time as a prisoner and the palpable joy of returning to fly again.
July 20, 2023
הביקורת מתייחסת לספר הקולי, שאותו מקריא גיורא רום. זו חוויה מיוחדת ומרגשת לשמוע את גיורא רום מקריא את סיפור השבי שלו והמראתו ממנו למעלה. הספר תפס אותי חזק בעוצמות ובכנות שלו וגם בחוש ההומור המפתיע שלו.
August 27, 2025
If you're thinking Rambo or The Deer Hunter....don't read this. If you're more of the "Unbroken" type, I believe you will find this story of courage and perseverance well worth your time.
March 19, 2016
Years ago I worked with Giora. I knew some of his background but not the whole story. Recently a friend mentioned the book. I couldn't put it down. Fascinating. At times heartbreaking. Such and honest portrayal of captive and captor. Read it.
April 12, 2016
An honest book about survival, about the will to come back home and to the top, and about resilience in spite of fear.
November 16, 2024
Inspiring and uplifting book.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews