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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An Even-Handed Treatment of the AVG, April 24, 2003
Daniel Ford has done something that took more than a little moral courage. The American Volunteer Group, aka "The Flying Tigers," have acquired mythic status in the annals of American arms. Ford has gone back to the roots of the myth, to what actually happened; and written a compelling, if at times tedious, history of the Flying Tigers. He has done an excellent job of placing them in the context of their times. He interviewed a number of surviving Tigers, including the lesser lights of the Group, and told the truth with at best only a little varnish. He provides the specifications of the aircraft used by both sides over China and Burma, and precisely details who was stationed where, when and with how many aircraft of what types, on both sides. He gives a good look at the interactions between Chennault, Chiang, Madame Chiang, Stilwell and Bissell; and their patrons and enemies back in Washington. How the assorted feuds amongst the principals and their patrons affected the war in the air and on the ground has never been analyzed in quite this way before. One thing I like was that Ford presents the facts as he unearthed them, and leaves it to the reader to draw conclusions as to how things went wrong and what could have been done differently, and who could have done them differently. Ford brings the myths crashing down in flames. But he then erects a new monument to a group of heroes, some of them reluctant and all with feet of clay, who did the impossible for the ungrateful with almost nothing at all. The reader will, I think, take away an even greater respect for the men (and women) of the American Volunteer Group than he brought to the book before reading. This one belongs on the bookshelf of all who study World War II and how it brought about the world we live in today.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Essential!, February 3, 2002
This review is from: Flying Tigers: Claire Chennault and the American Volunteer Group (Paperback)
Briefly, I share the enthusiasm of prior reviewers for this book. Without repeating them, I'd say what's most important about Ford's work is his weaving in information from the Japanese side, rare in any book on the Pacific war. And it's a delight for those of us who want good history as well as good reading. For instance, air battles are matched unit vs. unit and sometimes pilot vs. pilot. Along the way, misinformation from prior writings on the AVG is settled. However, at least one prominent AVG veteran attacked the book and Ford himself in a number of magazine articles. But in my reading of this volume, I found no disrespect for the accomplishments of the original Flying Tigers. This book is essential for understanding the 1941-42 CBI campaign and the AVG. More on this is in other reviews.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Get! This! Book!, November 24, 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: Flying Tigers: Claire Chennault and the American Volunteer Group (Paperback)
The American Volunteer Group was one of the few bright shining moments for Americans at the outset of WW2. American volunteer airmen and aircrew were off in the exotic Orient fighting the Japanese invaders. Claire Chennault, an Air Corps officer who's radical ideas about pursuit fighters got him thrown out of the army, took a band of Navy and Army pilots with little combat experience, flying obsolete aircraft, outfitted with whatever supplies they could get shipped through Rangoon or over the Burma Hump, and turned them into the only fighting force that could use the P-40 effectively against the more-maneuverable Japanese Nates and Oscars. For 7 months the AVG fought Imperial Japan, retreating only when invading ground troops threatened their airfields. Pearl Harbor was bombed, the US Navy was in shambles, the Phillipines were captured, Guadalcanal was lost, Australia was looking down the barrels of Japanese battleships' cannons, and Europe was pretty much under Hitler's thumb. America's heroes in 1941 were the Flying Tigers. The book does justice to this band of men and women as well as their opponents in the sky. Easy to read, easy to get caught up in, and a good historical reference as well. I recommend it to all readers of air combat, history, and also those who love tales of adventure. I'm using this book as a reference source for drafting up missions for the flight simulator "Air Warrior". You can visit my "Air Warrior" homepage for more information on this. Reading level: high school and up. Pictures are in black and white. Knowledge of history is not important - everything you need to know is explained in the book.
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