The Last Blue Mile

by Kim Ponders

18–year–old Brook Searcy has just begun her first year at the Air Force Academy. Abandoned by her mother and raised by a loving yet distant father, Brook has surprised her traditional East Coast family by deciding to enter a completely foreign world –– the military. At the Academy she encounters both friends and terrifying foes, and experiences both first love and terrible loss as her relationships with her fellow cadets grow. Commandant John Waller, a former fighter pilot, has made the Air Force his life for nearly twenty years. His career couldn't be in better shape, but he finds himself drifting away from his wife and daughters. And when a new (and female) Superintendent who's never flown a plane becomes Waller's new boss, he worries that the institution that he's shaped his life around might be slipping away as well. Over the course of two years, terrible scandals and heartbreaking tragedy touch both Brook and Waller's lives –– forcing them to make wrenching decisions that will shape both their careers and their lives.

320 pages, Hardcover

First published May 22, 2007

Reviews

[JL Salty · Rating 2 out of 5]

USAFA: unresolved, wek plot
r - language sex

[Lesley Hazleton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kim Ponders' latest novel could easily be read as a ripped-from-the-headlines book about the Air Force, sexual harassment, and encroaching political influence on the military. But Ponders is far too skilled a writer to remain at so obvious a level. Every time you think you know where the story is going, she lifts it effortlessly into a new dimension, one that soars beyond the obvious, deep into the heart and mind -- indeed, the soul -- of both the Air Force itself and the people in it.
In fact she does indeed write about soaring (part of cadet training), and when she does, even as the gliders rise up into storm clouds, buffeted and all but lost to the earth, her prose is both gripping and lyrical. This same extraordinary blend infuses the whole novel, from the details of daily training to the inner lives of both cadets and officers, and the personal, ethical, and political dilemmas they confront.
If you've never read Ponders before, I envy you reading her for the first time. Read 'The Last Blue Mile,' then read her equally brilliant previous novel, 'The Art of Uncontrollable Flight.' And thank the heavens that despite all the scandals surrounding today's military, people of Kim Ponders' caliber still serve in the Air Force reserves.

[Patricia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I checked this out because this story of a female Air Force Academy Cadet does not intersect with my own life experiences in any way. The book provided a nice window into Air Force culture. Based on what I read, I'm glad for the window and will not be seeking a door into Air Force Culture any time soon.

[Sara Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good look into the life of female cadets. I grew up in the Springs and knew a lot of cadets and found the writing to be realistic and true. Full of miltary jargon and politics, but not a bad read.

[Nikki King · Rating 2 out of 5]

I couldn't even finish this book - too drawn out and slow. Definitely not an easy read.

[Mary sipp rigby · Rating 2 out of 5]

2007 so so quick