This is a large book at 504 pages. It is a memoir and subtitled "A Life of Warbirds, Reloaders and Machine Guns". It takes Mike from his days as a child with his father being at sea in the Merchant Marine then Navy and therefore away a lot. His mother received a telegram that her husband was missing as he was on a large oil tanker and the ship was in a group that was attacked but, in fact, the ship had some problems so was not with the group when attacked by German subs. It covers some childhood but most of the book is about activities as an adult.
The P-40 he rebuilt is discussed as well as others. His flying career(s) as a crop duster, firefighter and TWA guy are discussed and how he got into the reloading business through a tragedy as well. The helicopters he used in the business and the guns he redesigned and built are covered. The stories of the reloaders and their development and marketing are major components of the story. There are many names you'll likely recognize. Dealing with the bureaucracies of government sales are interesting. The development of the critical minigun linker-delinker, which was a weak part in the original minigun is described as well as starting the manufacturing of the miniguns.
A life well lived and a book that was fascinating reading.
