FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Award-Winning ‘Top Gun Memos’ Takes Flight as Audiobook

Journalist Meredith Jordan’s definitive account of the making of Top Gun arrives in audio as the film marks its 40th anniversary.

SAN DIEGO — Citation Press is pleased to announce that Top Gun Memos: The Making and Legacy of an Iconic Movie, the award-winning account of how the 1986 blockbuster was made, is being released as an audio book in July. Narrated by Susan Malovich, the audio book will be available on Audible, Amazon, and Apple, joining the print and e-book editions in the year Top Gun celebrates its 40th anniversary.

Winner of a 2023 Best Indie Book Award, Top Gun Memos is built on 90 interviews and more than 1,250 pages of studio and production documents, all fact-checked. Jordan, an investigative journalist, takes readers scene by scene through the production — from the hangar-turned classroom to the shirtless volleyball game — and chronicles three close calls during filming, including the death of famed stunt pilot Art Scholl and an offshore incident that nearly killed Tom Cruise.

The book draws on interviews with key players, including executive producer Bill Badalato; cinematographer Jeffrey Kimball; composer Harold Faltermeyer; Donna Scott, wife of director Tony Scott; and the Navy admirals and aviators who flew for — and with — cameras.

“Top Gun has always been a story people tell out loud — in ready rooms, on soundstages, and everywhere fans gather,” said Jordan. “The longevity of the movie makes it very rare, indeed. Forty years on, it feels right that the story behind the movie can finally be heard, too. Susan Malovich’s narration brings the people who made the film to life.”

SAVE THE DATE: NOV. 21 — Later this year, following Veterans Day and during National Aviation History Month, Kansas City Barbeque will host a celebration of the release of the audio book and all things Top Gun, just as Top Gun’s 40th anniversary year draws to a close. Join us at the restaurant at 600 W. Harbor Drive, in San Diego, owned by the Blair family, where Top Gun’s most famous bar scenes were filmed. The story is part of the book.

The print and e-book editions are available on Amazon, where Top Gun Memos holds a 4.6-star rating. Top Gun Memos is published by Citation Press, an imprint of Citation Creative. To learn more, visit TopGunMemos.com or CitationCreative.com.

Contact Max Gottlieb at mgottlieb@citationpress.com to schedule interviews or presentations.

WHAT PEOPLE SAY ABOUT TOP GUN MEMOS: Reviewers have called Top Gun Memos “an addictive read” (David Wallace, author of the national bestseller Lost Hollywood), “a powerful tour-de-force for storytelling” (Michael Sean Comerford, author of American OZ), and “a thorough, fast-paced, informative, and very entertaining account of how Top Gun went from an idea to the big screen, and its enduring legacy” (Dave “Bio” Baranek, F-14 RIO and TOPGUN instructor when the film was made, and author of Topgun Days).

About the Narrator: Susan Malovich is an audio book narrator and voice artist currently pursuing her Master’s degree in Language and Literacy. She is based in South Carolina.

About the Author: Meredith Jordan is a career journalist and the author of Below the Line: Anatomy of a Successful Movie (Citation Press, 2019). Her new book, to be released in late 2026 by Citation Press, is Citizen’s Guide to Professional Journalism: What It Is, How We Got Here, and Why You Need To Care — NOW.

See PAPJ.org and WatchDoggery.com to learn more.

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