Perilous Missions : Civil Air Transport and CIA Covert Operations in Asia [Paperback]

William Leary (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 17, 2002 | ISBN-10: 1588340287 | ISBN-13: 978-1588340283 | Edition: 2nd

Civil Air Transport (CAT), founded in China after World War II by Claire Chennault and Whiting Willauer, was initially a commercial carrier specializing in air freight. Its role quickly changed as CAT became first a paramilitary adjunct of the Nationalist Chinese Air Force, then the CIA's secret "air force" in Korea, then "the most shot-at airline in the world" in French Indochina, and eventually becoming reorganized as Air America at the height of the Vietnam War. William M. Leary's detailed operational history of CAT sets the story in the perspective of Asian and Cold War geopolitics and shows how CAT allowed the CIA to operate with a level of flexibility and secrecy that it would not have attained through normal military or commercial air transportation.

Editorial Reviews

Review

 

 “Perilous Missions still constitutes our best resource on the origins of Civil Air Transport. It offers a rich treasury of oral testimony and documentary evidence.” -- Journal of Military History

 

 

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

William M. Leary has written and edited many books, including MacArthur and the American Century: A Reader (2001). He is E. Merton Coulter Professor of History at the University of Georgia in Athens.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Smithsonian; 2nd edition (August 17, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1588340287
• ISBN-13: 978-1588340283
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,472,882 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Professional Job, October 28, 2007

By 

Bonner '62 (Virginia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: Perilous Missions: Civil Air Transport and CIA Covert Operations in Asia (Paperback)

Many readers will buy this books for the tales of covert flights over Manchuria, North Korea and Indo-China and it certainly delievers. But of equal interest is how does an intelligence service buy and then operate a proprietary while maintaining plausible deniability. Thanks to the diligent research of the author we know the trials and tribulations involved. I'm sure most readers would think when faced with administrative difficulties the CIA would just go in and wave their magic wand and all the roadblocks dissolve. As the book point out the US government had all the leverage in the world with the Nationalist government on Taiwan and it was still a trial to keep CAT operating on the island. Also CAT's books were a nightmare for years until they got professional accounting (not something one immediately thinks about when discussing covert flights over the PRC). A must read for the serious student of intelligence.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars EXCELLENT BOOK ON CAT, June 14, 2010

By 

DUCK HUNTER (TENNESSEE) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Perilous Missions: Civil Air Transport and CIA Covert Operations in Asia (Paperback)

This is a very interesting and well researched book on the origin and operations of CAT. It is sad that Dr. Leary did not live to write his planned book on Air America. This book is a great addition to the library of anyone who is interested in the Cold War and/or aviation and is a tribute to those who flew under very difficult conditions to contain Communism..

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Background of Civil Air Transport company and operations, February 5, 2010

By 

F. A. Wolfe (SOCAL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Perilous Missions: Civil Air Transport and CIA Covert Operations in Asia (Paperback)

First of all I need to say that I was quite familiar with CAT, having flown on a number of their planes way back when. However, I have found that there were a lot of things about the airline that I had never heard or was aware of. This book does a wonderful job of filling in many of the blanks as well as bringing to light a lot of history to which I had never been aware. It's very interesting to see names and pictures of people I knew many years ago, which brings back many old memories. Needless to say, I'm very happy with my purchase.