1950s achievement action action-packed adrenaline adrenaline-fueled adrenaline-junkie adventure aerial aerial-combat aerial-maneuvers aerial-reconnaissance aerial-warfare air-combat air-force air-superiority air-warfare aircraft aircraft-carriers airplanes alpine alpine-climbing alpinism alps ambition american-literature atmospheric aviation aviators beautiful-prose betrayal bravery brotherhood camaraderie challenge challenges character-driven character-study climbers climbing climbing-culture combat combat-missions coming-of-age competition comradeship conflict courage danger dangerous dangerous-missions death death-defying desire destiny determination drama dreams duty eiger emotional endurance escapism espionage excitement exhilarating exhilaration existential existentialism expedition expeditions exploration extreme extreme-conditions extreme-sports fate fear fiction fighter-jets fighter-pilots fighter-planes flying friendship grief gripping heroism high-altitude high-altitude-climbing himalayas honor human-spirit hunters hunting inspiration intense intensity introspection introspective james james-salter korean-war literary literary-fiction literature loss love love-affairs love-triangle loyalty masculinity maverick-aviators memoir military military-fiction military-history missions morality mortality mount-everest mountain-climbing mountain-ranges mountaineering mountaineering-culture mountaineering-expeditions mountaineering-history mountaineering-literature mountaineers mountains nature non-fiction novel obsession outdoor outdoor-activities outdoor-adventure outdoor-adventures outdoor-exploration outdoor-literature outdoor-pursuits outdoor-sports outdoors passion perseverance personal-accounts personal-growth personal-narratives pilot pilots poetic post-war power-dynamics psychological pursuit redemption relationships resilience risk risk-taking rivalries rivalry rock-climbing romance sacrifice salter self-discovery skill squadron storytelling strategic-bombing strategy struggle summit suppression-of-enemy-air-defenses surface-to-air-missiles survival suspense suspenseful swiss-alps switzerland tactical-operations teamwork tension the-hunters thrill thrill-seeking thriller thrilling tragedy trauma triumph true-stories victory vietnam vietnam-war vivid-imagery war wild-weasels wilderness world-war-ii