FAIRFAX, VA, February 10, 2005
In this new edition of his classic 1970 memoir, Operation Overflight: A Memoir Of The U-2 Incident (Brassey's $24.95), pilot Francis Gary Powers reveals the full story of what actually happened in the most sensational espionage case in Cold War history. After surviving the shoot-down of his reconnaissance plane and his capture on May 1, 1960 over the former Soviet Union, Powers endured sixty-one days of rigorous interrogation by the KGB, a public trial, a conviction for espionage, and the start of a ten-year sentence. After nearly two-years, the U.S. Government obtained his release from prison in a dramatic exchange for convicted Soviet spy Colonel Rudolph Abel that took place 42 years ago on February 10, 1962 at the infamous "Bridge of Spies," the Glenicker Bridge, in Potsdam, Germany. The narrative is a tremendously exciting suspense story about a man who was labeled a traitor by many of his countrymen, but who emerged a Cold War hero. New edition includes an epilogue by defense analyst Norman Polmar and Francis Gary Powers, Jr. that updates this absorbing story. Books are available for purchase by calling 703-273-2381. A portion of the proceeds will go to benefit The Cold War Museum, which Francis Gary powers, Jr. founded to preserve Cold war history and honor Cold War veterans.
FRANCIS GARY POWERS served as a pilot in the U.S. Air Force and completed twenty-seven U-2 photographic reconnaissance missions for the CIA, including several overflights of the former Soviet Union, until shot-down by a Soviet surface to air missile on May 1, 1960 during the heights of the Cold War. Upon his return to the United States in 1962, he flew the U-2 as an engineer test pilot for Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. Powers died in a helicopter crash in 1977 while working for KNBC News Channel 4 in Los Angeles and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. CURT GENTRY has written or contributed to many books, including Helter Skelter: True Story of the Manson Murders and J. Edgar Hoover: The Man and the Secrets. He lives in San Francisco, California. NORMAN POLMAR is a well-known defense analyst and author of more than thirty books, including Spyplane: The U-2 History and The Encyclopedia of Espionage. FRANCIS GARY POWERS, JR. is Founder and Director of The Cold War Museum (www.coldwar.org). Polmar and Powers both live in the Washington, D.C., area.
"Powers recounts … the story of his famous, or infamous, mission … With writer Curt Gentry [he] offers a glimpse into a shadowy world where half-truths, lies, blunders, and cover-ups are accepted realities." - New York Times Book Review
"Interesting all by itself, and it joins the roster of works that have been raising and exasperating problem: How can an open society cope with secret agencies, its own or anybody else's?" - New Yorker
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Further information: Gary Powers, Jr., (703) 273-2381; e-mail,
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