内容简介：
After a rocky childhood, Charlie Golden, Brooklyn-born juvenile delinquent, is sent packing to the military by his alcoholic mother who has falsified his age from 15 to 17. Charlie's adjustment to military life is traumatic and difficult, but he sees the light and begins to accept, with some disdain, authority and responsibility. Yet he remains a gambler, fighter and womanizer, and is not averse to making extra money, all of which he considers merely gentle vices. His career takes him on long tours to Germany, France and England, with frequent trips to North Africa and a one-year tour to Vietnam. His experiences run the gamut of serious, tragic, funny, interesting and bold, for he is a risk taker. He is dedicated to the Air Force mission, a pursuit of higher education, and his gentle vices. He ends his career achieving his long-cherished goal of becoming a line chief of a USAF fighter squadron.