Chennault: Giving Wings to the Tiger [Paperback]

Ms. Martha Byrd (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 472 pages
• Publisher: University Alabama Press (January 29, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0817312927
• ISBN-13: 978-0817312923
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #938,072 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the definitive biography, August 9, 2001

By 

Daniel Ford (at danford dot net) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Chennault: Giving Wings to the Tiger (Hardcover)

Martha Byrd was a good historian, and she wrote a good biography of Claire Chennault--leader of the AVG Flying Tigers, commander of the 14th Air Force, and founder of the airline that became the CIA's Air America. Writing about Chennault isn't an easy job (I know, because I wrote a history of the AVG) because he was part genius, part crackpot, and all-over trouble for his superiors. Byrd did a superlative job of sorting myth from fact, and of telling the unvarnished truth about Chennault without ever losing sight of his great humanity and his tactical brilliance. Seek out this book, second-hand or in a library, and hope that it will be republished.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb Biography of a Remarkable Man, September 18, 2011

By 

Capt. Lou Costello "Capt. Lou" (Asia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Chennault: Giving Wings to the Tiger (Paperback)

Martha Byrd does an excellent job here with her biography of the brilliant and charismatic Claire Chennault. The book details the early life of Chennault in the deep south and helps the reader understand how Chennault's character came to be. The military career of the man and the difficulty he had with the established military hierarchy are explained clearly. Chennault was a complex man of great determination and rare ability. The book tells the story of his early separation from the Army Air Corps all through his truly amazing years in China. The Maverick War: Chennault and the Flying Tigers Claire Chennault also led a very remarkable life after his military career and Byrd covers this very well. Also here is the story of the founding of CAT (China Air Transport, later to become Air America). China Pilot Chennault was a well loved and highly respected man and this book leads the reader to understand just why this is so. This book belongs on the bookshelf of every military historian as well as anyone who studies the history of China.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent piece!, September 23, 2010

By 

V-ROD "Bookworm" (Phoenix, AZ) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Chennault: Giving Wings to the Tiger (Paperback)

Having recently read a number of books on China during WWII, the Chennault name kept reappearing. I wanted to learn more about the man. I couldn't have picked a better book. Martha Byrd provides a detailed, well-balanced and interesting biography. The book details not only Chennault, but also the political and military atmosphere in China at the time. A very informative piece of work describing this period.

If you are looking for a book about dogfights between Chennault's "Flying Tigers" and the communists, this is not the book. This book describes Chennault's military command and the political situation at that time in China.

I found Claire Lee Chennault to be another great American to be found in the annals of our history. To make a choice of serving in a foreign country and taking command of a non-existent Chinese Air Force rather than taking the easy road, is fascinating to me. To take a volunteer group of misfits and turn them into a fine fighting machine is a testament to his military genius. And finally, knowing he was near death, writes a letter to his wife expressing his love for her and instructing her to raise their children to be honorable, and live upright lives. This was a time when men lived by a moral code of duty and honor. What ever happened to that?