He was a Soviet Top Gun—yet left all of the power and glory behind when he engineered the most audacious act of defection in Cold War history. On May 20, 1989, Soviet Air Force Captain Alexander Zuyev escaped from an air base in Soviet Georgia. Under the threat of Russian air defense missiles, and with other fighters in hot pursuit, Zuyev carried out a real-life flight to freedom even more breathtaking then classic works of fiction like The Hunt for Red October and Fire Fox. “In the grand tradition of Solzhenitsyn and Sakharov…. Anyone who seek to understand the collapse of communism must read this gut-wrenching true book.” “Fulcrum is a great story. Alex Zuyev gives us an incredibly clear picture of combat aviation in the Soviet Union, tearing apart the curtain of myth and rumor to show us just how the Russian air force trains and fights.” “Stunning!… I have never encountered a better ‘insider’ book—Fulcrum reads like the very best thrillers, but every word is true. Tough, crisp writing…. Bravo!” “Alex Zuyev was a brave and talented Russian pilot… [and] one of America’s ‘Secret Weapons’ in the Gulf War. He deserves our respect and admiration—his book is a gripping and dramatic adventure.” “Zuyev and McConnell have done us all a great service. Fulcrum is a must-read for anyone who wants to know why the Soviet Union collapsed.”