No One’s Coming: The Rogue Heroes Our Government Turns to When There’s Nowhere Else to Turn

by Kevin Hazzard

From the award-winning author of American Sirens and A Thousand Naked Strangers comes a real-life thriller about the most daring rescue in air-medical history. As contagions spring up around the world, this story of outbreaks and the people who fight them resonates more than ever.

JULY 2014. Two American medical volunteers who joined the fight against the deadliest Ebola outbreak in world history have gotten infected. The virus kills in just over a week and they’re trapped in a hot zone with the clock ticking. If there’s going to be a rescue it has to happen now.

The very notion of getting the patients out is a radical and dangerous idea. Bringing them home might cause an outbreak of Ebola here in the US. No one’s certain if it can or should be done or if they’ll even survive the flight. In fact, the only thing anyone can agree on is that there’s just one group of people resourceful enough (or crazy enough) to pull this off. Thousands of miles away and deep in the north Georgia mountains, a phone rings at Phoenix Air. US government calling with another impossible mission.

Kevin Hazzard chronicles the ten frantic days that followed that phone call, dropping readers into the center of a first-of-its-kind international rescue. Phoenix Air, an eccentric band of engineers, pilots, and doctors with a reputation for doing things nobody else could, would become a lifeline to the world. Terrifying, fascinating, and inspiring, No One’s Coming is a story of selfless heroes on both sides of the Atlantic who overcome the apathy and resistance of their own governments and communities, risking their lives to save others—once again proving that ordinary people are capable of overcoming the most extraordinary of problems.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Audiobook, Medical, Politics, Medicine, Adventure

336 pages, Hardcover

First published March 3, 2026

About the author

Kevin Hazzard worked as a paramedic from 2004 to 2013, primarily at Grady Hospital in Atlanta. His freelance journalism has appeared in Atlanta Magazine, Marietta Daily Journal, Creative Loafing, and Paste. He is the author of a novel, Sleeping Dogs, and A Thousand Naked Strangers. He and his family live in Hermosa Beach, California.

~http://authors.simonandschuster.com/K...

Librarian’s note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Marialyce]

Just amazing! What an awesome book and the people within the pages!

When you think about horrible diseases chances are Ebola comes to mind.

In the year 2014, an outbreak occurred, and two American medical volunteers were fighting this disease when they themself become infected. The disease travels quickly and the timeline is about a week so if there is help coming it has to be now. Ebola is deadly, horrific, and frightening.

Rescues of this type has never been done and when it comes to finding people and aircraft to come to the rescue, there were none except one, Phoenix Air. Phoenix was known as an airline that took chances, flew cargo that was ultra dangerous and when they decided to rescue these people, the race was on as to how to protect themselves, provide medical care for the infected, and travel to America where Ebola was not present. They hit up against many roadblocks, not only here in America, but all over, places where they needed to refuel refused them permission, and panic was on high alert.

However, Phoenix Air people were determined to bring these Americans home. Outfitting a plane, outfitting the medical people, the pilots and so on. Not an easy task for no surface was safe from this insidious disease.

How this was accomplished made for an exciting story that had you sweating through the pages and of course hoping for success. Kevin Hazzard created an intense amount of danger in his telling and made a story of both heroism and true grit. Definitely recommend this "on the edge of your seat" true story of a ten day journey that had never been done before.

[Sara Temba]

This book got on my radar with a gushing recommendation on my favorite book podcast, Sarah's Bookshelves Live. I was able to snag a copy of the audiobook on Libby on its publication day and devoured the book in a few days.
This book had a lot going for it - the length was quite succinct for narrative nonfiction (just over 8 hours), the audiobook narrator was excellent and while it was very much a plot driven book I loved how the author highlighted and made you care about the various people in the story. The team in Liberia, the airline engineers, pilots, nurses and doctors were all so brave and skilled. It was "competence porn" at it's finest.
So granted, in the summer of 2014 I had a 1 year old and a 5 year old but I was pretty alarmed that I have no recollection of any of this. I definitely remember the ebola outbreak but these flights? No. Perhaps the last 10 years of Trump and Covid have erased my memories. I guess this was a positive in that I had no idea how this book was going progress which kept the tension high. it was all I could do to not Google about it. 😂
The book ended on such a touching high note and I immediately started googling everything. Relieved that only one guy in the book had his profile take an ethical nosedive over the last 12 years (in my opinion, I'll let y'all Google it yourself). The airline and its employees appear to continue to be as awesome as the book makes them out and I loved seeing photos of the planes and isolation pods. The one tiny romance storyline was confirmed as an happy-ever-after by the evidence of an old wedding registry still up on the internet. Warmed my romance reader heart. 🥰😆
Final verdict: 5 easy stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟. Highly recommend for fans of
*gripping narrative nonfiction that reads like fiction
*books that take less that 9 hours/mid-300 pages
*competence porn
*Aerospace, infectious disease, healthcare, engineering

I can't wait to read Hazzard's other books!!

[Melany]

This was spectacular. It was saddening and eye opening.... raw yet so beautiful to see human beings willing to do the right thing for other human beings. It truly had me on the edge of my seat in different parts. I also got so teary eyed during one part. Such a moving and powerful story!

[Melodi | booksandchicks]

3.5

One of my micro genres that I love is disease such as ebola. The spread, containment, and problems within is fascinating as well as devastating. I was very intrigued to give this one a try about getting doctors that were in Liberia and had contracted ebola, back to Atlanta for medical assistance. The book talks a bit about the airplane, Phoenix Air, and the obscure missions it has undertaken over the years. I actually felt like this story could have just been more of a magazine or newspaper article. The story is pretty fascinating but not all that long.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the gifted e-arc.

[Maureen Grigsby]

This was a riveting story about the rescue mission for Ebola survivors Dr. Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol in 2014. It is also about Phoenix Air, its founders, and the amazing staff who work for them. Like millions of others, I watched the planes land and listened to the incredible survival story, but never thought about what it took and who it took to bring them home. The book also showed the callousness and inhumanity of so many people who give their opinions out of sheer ignorance. Glad that we have books like this to show us true courage.

[Novel Visits]

I thought this was a great nonfiction book. It worked well on audio, too. I think I’d read so many 5⭐️ reviews that I was expecting just a tad more. Still excellent and very engaging. Full review to follow.

[Leanne Hale]

4.5 stars
What a story, and one that occurred largely in my backyard! This is not only a fascinating book but an inspiring one. Hazzard covers the rescue from Liberia of two American doctors infected with Ebola. The primary focus is on Phoenix Air, the company out of Cartersville, GA who the government calls on for the most dangerous, seemingly impossible missions, and their pilots, doctors, and owners. However, he also introduces us to others involved in this work, including professionals at Emory, Grady, and the CDC, as well as mechanics, mid-level bureaucrats, and military officers whose expertise and bravery make these kinds of missions possible. This is super fast paced and entertaining and truly a story not to be missed.

[Jake Martin]

Made me want to go work for phoenix air. Bad ass

[Lorien Owens]

Absolutely fascinating inside account of the rescue mission to evacuate 2 American physicians who contracted Ebola in ground zero.

[Ben]

I gave up on this book 1/3rd of the way through. Absolute slog of a book that could have been a long article. Feels overly dramatized to be bad ass, but not enough meat on the bones to justify almost 300 pages long. 130 pages in the mission hasn’t even started yet. Not for me

[em]

this is a chronicle of the indomitable human spirit and people’s willingness to be brave when it counts (in many ways).

i really enjoyed the weaving of lives this book told. it went beyond just the mission. i think it would make an outstanding biopic. like i said in one of my updates, it was kind of trippy to read a book about an event that i was alive for and aware of. i vividly remember talking about ebola - at home, at school, at church… this book made me reminisce and reconsider what my own reaction was. i remember the news stories. i remember the distasteful jokes. i don’t remember my own reaction. was i part of the crowd that was fueled by fear? was i against bringing the americans home? was i on the opposite side? the side of compassion? was i uninterested and un-opinionated? i can’t remember. but i think the experiences described within this novel will be carried with me to future reactions. i hope so.

[Anne Altman]

I’m not a big nonfiction reader, particularly narrative nonfiction, but this story and its incredibly high reviews, made me want to give it a try. This was fascinating! This is probably the first book I’ve read in which I understood when people say “nonfiction that reads like fiction.” This is a story I knew nothing about and frankly didn’t have much interest in, but the way in which the story was presented and the details unveiled had me absolutely hooked. I learned so much about contagious diseases like Ebola, medical aviation, and the importance of empathy in everything. Couldn’t recommend it more.

[britt_brooke]

The story of the air med crews who evacuated Ebola patients when no one else dared to. True heroism. Major takeaway: if we don’t send medics to treat these diseases, the diseases will run absolutely rampant through those countries and beyond. Fascinating.

Shout out to Sarah’s Book Shelves Live (pod) for the rec!

[Jessica - How Jessica Reads]

This was FASCINATING!!

I had never thought about how dangerously ill people could be transported.

[Heather]

4+ ⭐️ for this very informative read. My fellow science nerds would enjoy.

[Nancy]

Reads like a very good mystery, drawing you into the drama of the week spent rescuing two American health workers from their work in Liberia where they had contracted Ebola in 2014. Wondering what the outcome would be, and how the rescue mission could possibly overcome all the obstacles.

[Emily]

If you like nonfiction that reads like a thriller, this book is for you. It will likely be one of my favorites of the year.

It tells the story of the rescue of two American doctors during the 2014 Ebola crisis—but more importantly, it highlights a company and its people who stepped up to do what no one else would. Their actions were widely criticized and even protested, yet they moved forward because they knew it was the right thing to do.

In a world that is increasingly politicized, this story is a powerful reminder of something that has long defined the United States: the commitment to bring its people home, even when it’s difficult or unpopular.

[Rachel Regal]

4.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

📖 In a sentence: When two American medical missionaries contract Ebola while working at a clinic in Liberia, a small, largely unknown U.S. company steps in to figure out how to bring them home, sparking massive public and ethical controversy.

👀 What kept me turning the pages: Short chapters and engaging writing that genuinely reads like fiction.

🔥 What stood out: I was in a serious reading slump and picked this up as a break from fiction, and it completely worked. I was hooked almost immediately. The author keeps the pacing tight without getting lost in technical details, and gives just enough background on the people involved to make the story feel human without slowing it down. It raises a lot of fascinating ethical and societal questions about disease containment, public fear, political risk, and what it means to intervene when there’s no precedent. Fast, thriller-adjacent, and perfect for book club discussion.

⚠️ What didn’t quite land: Honestly, very little. I finished with a lot of curiosity and ended up Googling more details afterward, but I wouldn’t count that against the book- it probably would’ve hurt the pacing if everything were spelled out on the page.

🎯 Recommendation: A great pick for readers who like nonfiction that reads like fiction, enjoy grappling with medical and ethical dilemmas, and love stories about ordinary people stepping up to do extraordinary things.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

[Bonnie Grover]

An Ebola outbreak and 2 sick United States doctors who need to come home for treatment. However, the standing rule is stay where you are and do not bring deadly viruses home. The incredible crew of Phoenix Air had to figure out how they are going to transfer critically ill patients across the ocean without infecting the crew and the medical staff on board. Their creative thinking and problem solving as well as a lot of trial and error enabled one of the craziest-never-before -rescues to take place. And then let’s not forget the unwillingness of state and local governments to let their plane land, or give them a bed a an infectious disease hospital. Roadblock after roadblock and this team proved they could accomplish the impossible.
Phoenix Air put themselves at tremendous risk, endured long days and endless flights, walked into a hot zone protected by nothing but PPE they’d bought at Home Depot, faced a scared country, were ostracized by their neighbors and hounded by the media. When someone needed help, Phoenix Air was the team that showed up.

[Di Richardson]

This is the kind of book that restores your faith in humanity. Do you remember the big Ebola outbreak in 2014? I think that was the first time I really remember hearing about the disease…its effects…the number of people that were dying…it was really pretty scary. Still is actually. And yet there are people that actually volunteered to help care for those infected, putting themselves directly in harms way. When two American medics contracted the disease, their employers vowed to bring them home so they can see their families before they die. The only problem is, there is no safe way to transport them, and there is only one company even willing to try to figure it out. Phoenix Air. This incredibly true story chronicles the TEN DAYS between the first call to Phoenix Air and the nail biting rescue mission. It’s a pretty quick read. You may or may not know how this journey ends, but that doesn’t make it any less harrowing. I promise this is one that will stay with you.

[John Hewlett]

Ok so first off. 4 stars. It was a fast pace thrilling ride. Very entertaining read. Here's the rub on this though; I viewed it through a different lens than most readers because I am both a biologist that focuses on infectious diseases and I am also a professional pilot. There were some inaccuracies on the aviation side with some misuse of terminology... And there's no way a chunk of Uranium was pinging geiger counters in Bangor 6 miles out. In fact in reality if the geiger counter were pinging from across the airport even, the pilots etc would have gotten a lifetime dose on their transatlantic crossing... That just didn't happen. Second, it was getting a little Richard Preston-ish on the epidemiology side at times.

BUT.... these little things do not in any way change what was done. etc. It's an amazing story and Kevin Hazzard is a great writer.

[Jamie]

WOW. A phenomenal, true story that reads like fiction! Absolutely enthralling, entertaining, and educational from start to finish.
My dad, who isn't exactly a reader but has gotten more into reading since retirement in 2020, read this earlier this year and declared it his "favorite book yet." And then he practically thrust it into my hands and said "Read it." It's not often, or ever, that he does that as I am more than likely to be the book pusher in the family, but I am glad I heeded his advice as this is certainly one of the very best pieces of non fiction I have ever read!
Also, SUPER enjoyable on audio. The narration is great and in perfect keeping with the sometimes playful and sarcastic voicyness of the book.
5 stars. No question.

[Kyle Rose]

4.5⭐️. Audiobook. Non-fiction, but it had me at the edge of my seat. 2014 and we embark on a very high stakes medical rescue mission during the Ebola outbreak in west Africa. I am in the medical field and it was fascinating to read this as I was part of the training for an infectious disease unit during this time as we prepared for what could be a possible national outbreak. Perhaps I connected with the novel more because of this, but I did not remember the political resistance and intense debate about bringing these Americans home to save their lives. The final message was really powerful, I actually teared up at the end. I picked this up to complete the Goodreads summer challenge, and I love that these challenges expand my usual picks!

[Ayla Huhn]

Back in 2014, the US- or more technically a small flight company the US government desperately reached out to- flew home two Americans sick with Ebola. The virus at that time had a mortality rate of 90%. A simple byline, which this book fleshes out to be the most insane story I’ve read all year.

I can’t believe I’m saying it, but this book made me feel patriotic- albeit for a select group of people 12 years ago. Everyone should read the story 100000%.

I am also deeply impressed at the dedication of healthcare workers in Africa taking care of very sick contagious people day in a day out. Truly, nothing is more impressive to me.

[Leonie]

I implore you, read this book! No matter your background this story and its characters will give you exactly what you need. I loved it so so much, don’t be fooled by how long it took me to finish!

Humans are reigned by fear, but there is always a moment when we can chose not to be. When no one‘s coming, be the one who goes the other way. If nothing else, this book has definitely gotten me to reconsider how I and my research fit into the wider context of the world.

I will also say, for my public health girlies, this is not a book to miss. Absolutely wild story and it will have you both enraged and uplifted. Pheonix Air has a can do attitude that might just be enough to get us all through trying times.

[Zehava (Joyce)]

Like many of the people reviewing this book on Goodreads, I found this book when Sarah from Sarah’s Bookshelves Live raved about it on her podcast. Sarah is particularly good at highlighting lesser known books that she loves and giving them a lot of publicity.
This book is an extremely propulsive true story about one small private aircraft company and its employees, who were willing to put their lives on the line to save American health care workers infected with the Ebola virus in West Africa. The way the book highlighted the stories of the individuals, down to the smallest details of their lives, reminded me a lot of The Only Plane in the Sky by Garrett Graff, which is definitely one of the best non-fiction books I’ve ever read. This book is for anyone that loves a true story that is as gripping as any thriller and just as hard to put down.

[Heather Lang]

5⭐️
Phoenix Air is an airline like no other. A band of eccentric, cowboy-esque group of pilots, engineers, and medical personnel, willing to take on the jobs no one else will. The more dangerous the task, the quicker they put up their hand to volunteer. But when they are asked to rescue American medical volunteers who have contracted the deadly Ebola virus during their service in Liberia, they are tasked with maybe the most impossible rescue yet.

This is a fast-paced, propulsive narrative non-fiction that reads like a thriller. From the inception and adventures to the minute-by-minute rescue where the deadliest disease is running rampant, you can't get enough of this story. Nail-biting, page-turning, cleaning out the junk drawer so you can listen to one more hour! It makes you ask if what they were doing was right. If you were brave enough to do. And what makes up a person who selflessly gives of themselves for the safety of others? A top book of the year so far, and more people need to read it.

[Heidi Mussoline]

I remember watching “Outbreak” in my 8th grade science class and being legit terrified of Ebola ever since. I have a vague memory of hearing about the Ebola outbreak and feeling afraid to fly or afraid of it spreading. These people are heroes - my favorite part of the whole book was when the daughter of one of the pilots said, even amidst her fear of her dad being near Ebola, that she would want other people to rescue him if he was dying in another country, so she wanted him to go, too. So beautiful!

[Amy M. Mize]

Library 📖 ebook: I don’t think the structure and pacing of this book could be any better. Absolutely fascinating story that introduces you to all the players and all sides of very complex issues without ever losing its narrative drive. My husband’s uncle worked at Grady and taught at Emory in the years leading up the Ebola mission, and I think that angle had me even more invested in this story than I might otherwise have been. Even if you don’t love science and medicine books, this nonfiction will keep you on the edge of your seat.

[Angela Pineda]

A good nonfiction book. It came HIGHLY recommended from my favorite book podcast. While it’s not five stars of perfection, it’s a propelling and fun listen about how Phoenix Air was started, and how they get people (and objects!) out of impossible situations and places.

This story mainly focuses on bringing home two American doctors who contracted Ebola in 2014. I did a mix of audio and print - I preferred the print, but audio was fine too.