When American fighter jets were being downed at an unprecedented rate during the Vietnam War, the U.S. Navy turned to Pedersen, a young lieutenant commander. On a shoestring budget and with little support, Pedersen picked eight of the finest pilots to help train a new generation to bend jets like the F-4 Phantom to their will and learn how to dogfight all over again. The result raised the Navy's combat kill ratio from two enemy planes downed for every American plane lost to more than 22 to 1. Pedersen takes readers from Miramar to Area 51 to the decks of aircraft carriers in war and peace, through a historic moment in air warfare.