Baa Baa Black Sheep (Mass Market Paperback)

~ Gregory Pappy Boyington (Author) "Two years ago I got back into flying after an absence of thirteen years..." (more)
Key Phrases: ready shack, strafing mission, Air Corps, World War, New York (more...)

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Bantam; 12th THUS edition (January 1, 1977)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553263501
• ISBN-13: 978-0553263503
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #35,564 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for anyone interested in the real Black Sheep., March 7, 1999

By	[e-mail] (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews

Interesting, first person narrative, from Greg Boyington himself. No ghost writer involved. Full of personal anecdotes from his time with the AVG (Flying Tigers), VMF 214 (The Black Sheep), his time as a "Special Captive" (not a POW) of the Japanese (in my opinion the most interesting part of the book), his post-war fall from grace and descent in to acute alchoholism, and finally his redemption. Nothing politically correct about this one folks. Boyington calls them as he sees them. An absorbing first person account of an amazing time in human history. Shows that the Black Sheep weren't the collection of "screwballs & misfits" portrayed in the entertaining, yet highly fictionalized 70's TV show. Also the story of a man trying to make sense of his life. I have owned this one for over 20 years, and re-read it on a regular basis. It never gets boring. A man who's days of combat were over by the age of 31, was considered the 'old man' in his squadron, hence his famous nickname. I find it amazing that a 6 week or so period of time in this man's life defined if thereafter. Well worth having in any WW II buff's collection, or simply for fans of the TV show who are interested in learning a version closer to the truth, at least the truth as seen through the eyes of the man himself.

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Rough-hewn chronicle of a tough marine, May 28, 2000

By	Mark Rainey (Greensboro, NC USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Pappy Boyington would not have gotten great marks for literary style or technique, but a reader delving into BAA BAA BLACK SHEEP probably wouldn't care very much. I certainly didn't. The insight into the man's life is often priceless--especially his takes on aerial combat, his experiences in the South Pacific (both before and after being shot down), and the Japanese people once the war was over. The lucid and colorful accounts of his days in the AVG as well as VMF 214 make all the superfluous sidetrips, self-deprecating ruminations, and endless proselytizing (even though he tells you time and again he's not doing that) worth the bumpy ride. There's a genuineness and immediacy about his story that would indicate that, while he may have necessarily had a heavy-handed editor, the words are basically his own. Boyington drives home the excitement and horror of his wartime experiences with great intensity, making this book a real thriller. Despite Boyington's endless flaws and rough edges (which he never ceases to remind you of), he comes across as a character to admire and to identify with--even if you often want to smack him a good one. Definitely recommended.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Pappy" Boyington from the inside looking out, March 12, 2007

By	Marvin D. Pipher (Houston, Texas USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I came to this book believing that "Pappy" Boyington was a pugnacious drunken spendthrift that the Marine Corps was anxious to be rid of, and that he may not have been the leading Marine Corps ace of World War II as he was thought to be. From what I had read, Boyington spent most of his time on the ground as a member of the American Volunteer Group (AVG), better known as "The Flying Tigers," and was only credited with shooting down 3 ½ Japanese planes (although he claimed six). I also understood that Boyington left the AVG early and was the only man ever dishonorably discharged from that organization. In addition, I questioned his account of the final action in which he was shot down, another unseen action in which he claimed two more enemy planes.

After reading this book, however, I'm not quite so sure. In it, Boyington readily admits that he was a "drunk" and a "bum," and he allows as how he liked to wrestle a bit. As to his claim of six enemy planes while with the AVG, his explanation is easily believable. As he explains it: In order to get credit for a kill with the AVG you almost had to bring your victim back to the landing field in your teeth and drop it where everyone could see it, whereas the majority of his kills had been 75 to 100 miles away, most times behind enemy lines. In addition, and most likely with some merit, he states that the records of his actions at Rangoon were lost when that city fell to the Japanese. With regard to his being "dishonorably discharged" from the AVG, Boyington acknowledges that he left shortly before the remaining volunteers were forced/coerced into the Army Air Corps as 2nd lieutenants. But once again his explanation rings true. Boyington correctly states that he wasn't the only member of the AVG to leave the group, that the reason he left was because he wanted to return to the Marine Corps rather than be conscripted into the Army, and that it was ridiculous to claim that you could "dishonorably discharge" someone from a civilian volunteer organization. As to his account of his final, once again unseen action, Boyington's account is so vivid as to be easily believable.

Having read a number of books which touched upon the life and times of Gregory "Pappy" Boyington before reading this one, I had already formed a somewhat negative impression of the man. After reading this book, however, I have concluded that it is one thing to view a man from the outside, especially from a distance in time, recounting his every fault and failure, but it is quite another thing to view that same man from the inside looking out.

So, although much about Boyington is and will always remain a mystery, he certainly was an American hero and he certainly could tell an interesting, believable, and highly entertaining tale. And this is one of them. But don't stop reading too early. You certainly won't want to miss the chapters in which he recounts his nineteen months as a "captive" of the Japanese. To me, that's the best part of the book. Six stars anyone?