Escape From Hell [Hardcover]

Lewis Sherman Bishop (Author), Sheila Bishop-Irwin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 17, 2005

Escape from Hell is a dramatic tale of a Flying Tiger pilot. Lewis Bishop was one of four American Volunteer Group (AVG) members to become a POW in World War II. Lew flew combat missions for Claire Chennault's covert group that came to China's defense before Pearl Harbor. Lew's life exemplified patriotism, heroism, courage, and perseverance. His story helps us understand all POWs' invisible wounds.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Shiela Bishop Irwin completed the manuscript her father wrote in the 1940s. As a chronicler of family history and oral stories, researching and writing her dad’s story was a natural path to pursue. She was born in Pensacola, Florida where her father attended naval flight training and later instructed cadets. Raised by her maternal grandparents, she heard stories of his heroic deeds and treasured these stories. She spent 30 years in the Washington DC area, and is a graduate of George Washington University and Marymount University. She has been an economist, a church educator, a secretary, and a corporate trainer, but she enjoys most being an author, a wife, and mother of three gifted sons. She and her husband currently

Product Details

• Hardcover: 254 pages
• Publisher: Tiger Eye Press (January 17, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0976303701
• ISBN-13: 978-0976303701
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #425,479 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Flying Tiger POW and the Aftermath, April 20, 2005

By 

John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Escape From Hell (Hardcover)

This is quite a book.

Nominally it is the story of the war time exploits of Lew Bishop, an Ace and Vice Squadron Leader of the Flying Tigers. This part of his story is broken into two parts, the first part of the book begins when he bails out of his P-40 over what is now Vietnam and talks about his three years as a prisoner of the Japanese, his subsequent escape and return to the U.S. This part was written by Lew Bishop.

The second part goes back to his earlier life both in the United States and his activities in China. Remember that this was before the U.S. actually entered the war. The Flying Tigers, technically called the American Volunteer Group (AVG), were American military pilots who left the American military with the promise that they could return with senority continuing through their Chinese service. They were sort of mercenaries, sort of part of the Chinese Air Force, and sort of a covert action of the United States.

While this part of the book is not unlike others on the Flying Tigers, it is very well done and has numerous side panels that provide very informative insight into points like Roosevelt's role in the establishment of the AVG, the theories of Gen. Chennault and the way he was treated by the military establishment (the military does not treat original thinkers very well, and even worse when they are proven correct).

Finally the third part of the book goes into life after Lew Bishop returned to the U.S. This is a story of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder before we even knew what it was. Mr. Bishop was never really able to put his life back into order. The effect on his life and that of his daughter (who wrote the rest of this book) is described tenderly and with insight.

Really not until after Mr. Bishop's death did his daughter begin the 'journey of discovery' (raising three boys of her own took a lot of her time) that led to this book. I, for one, am glad that she made the journey and that she has shared it with us.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Fascinating Journey of an AVG Pilot Who Became a POW, September 3, 2006

By 

Bradford Smith (Berkeley, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Escape From Hell (Hardcover)

I have read most of the books and articles written by those who were in Burma and China with the American Volunteer Group just before and at the beginning World War II, and those who were not. This book is easily among the best of both genres. "Escape from Hell" includes both an account written by 3rd Squadron, Hell's Angles, Vice-Squadron Leader, Lewis Bishop, and by his daughter, Shiela Bishop Irwin. Lewis Bishop describes in the first three chapters of the book bailing out of his plane on May 17, 1942 while leading a mission over railroad installations at Lao Kay in French Indochina (now Viet Nam) and his next three years as a POW. He wrote the manuscript in 1945 and 1946. Shiela accompanies this narrative with additional information in text boxes and footnotes.

The next three chapters are written by Shiela about her father's formative years and his experiences with the AVG up to the time of becoming a POW. These well researched chapters, as well as the ones that follow, are also enhanced with informative text boxes and footnotes. While I doubt Shiela considers herself a scholar, this is certainly a scholarly book. It includes a brief history and background of the AVG Flying Tigers, many photographs and reproductions of documents, a bibliography, appendices, and an index.

Chapters 7 through 9 discuss the life of Lewis Bishop after he returned to the United States. Drawing on research done on POWs in wars over the last 60 years, Shiela both sheds light on the life of her father and her own experience of him as a father and as a human being who had gone through experiences most of us can only faintly imagine. In the final chapter Shiela provides a personal account of her relationship with her father and how writing the book was process of discovery for her.

I recommend this very readable book to anyone who has an interest in the AVG, POWs, the China-India-Burma Theater, World War II, or the exploration of the relationship between a father and his daughter.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Story, September 21, 2006

By 

Aces High (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Escape From Hell (Hardcover)

This is a great story and a very readable book. Its a well put together story about Lew Bishop and the authors relationship to him. The author did a great job with this. I recommend it.