Fugo: Terror from the Sky

by Elizabeth L. Young

In November, 1944, the Japanese began launching 9,300 unmanned bomb-carrying balloons (Fugo) that were carried east over the Pacific Ocean by the jet stream. The bombs were intended to drop over America and explode, causing forest fires, general panic and deaths. However, without a reliable guidance system, most of the balloons did not reach North America. The US Government suppressed information about the project, and fortunately most of the bombs fell into the ocean or exploded harmlessly. Only six deaths occurred. Japan stopped the launches in 1945. Now, almost 70 years later, a group of terrorists using modern computer technology and the latest GPS guidance systems will try and succeed where the Japanese failed. It will be up to an unlikely group, including the President, the National Security Advisor, the Secretaries of Defense for both the United States and Russia, and the sister of the terrorist mastermind, herself a recent recruit for the CIA, to find a way to stop one of the deadliest terrorist attacks on US soil.

330 pages, Paperback

First published December 20, 2011

About the author

Elizabeth Young has worked in the telecommunications and satellite industries since starting her career in radio in Washington, DC. After serving as President of the Public Service Satellite Consortium, she joined COMSAT as VP and General Manager of Aeronautical Services and after a brief retirement spent teaching and writing, she became a General Manager SITA, the international company providing communications services to the aeronautical industry. She lectures frequently and maintains a consulting practice that includes clients in the US, Europe and Australia. She has held teaching appointments at The American University, The Ohio State University, Emerson College and Christopher Newport University. Her doctoral degree is from Columbia University.

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good strong plot, knowledge and depth of subject matter was second to none, solid thriller.