Way of a Fighter: The Memoirs of Claire Lee Chennault (History United States Series) [Hardcover]

Claire Lee Chennault (Author), Robert Hotz (Editor), Richard Edes Harrison (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1949 | ISBN-10: 0781248132 | ISBN-13: 978-0781248136 | Edition: 1st

Second Library copy- San Diego Air and Space Museum

Product Details

• Hardcover: 375 pages
• Publisher: G. P. Putnam's Sons; 1st edition (1949)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0781248132
• ISBN-13: 978-0781248136
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #416,705 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the greatest history books on China ever written!, February 1, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Way of a Fighter: The Memoirs of Claire Lee Chennault (History United States Series) (Hardcover)

Chennault gives one of the most accurate and unbiased accounts of WWII in China. He shows the dark side of the US Military brass and how bad our own government can be without tarnishing the reputations of the people involved. He also tells how the US lost China to the Communists after the war and its betrayal of Nationalist China during and after the war. Chennault was one of the most farsighted men of all time. He and the daring exploits of his AVG Flying Tigers are legendary. Generalisimo Chiang Kai-shek hailed him as a true friend of Free China. Many of his predictions in 1949 later came true with US foreign policy in Korea and Vietnam and the Cold War with Russia. Had Chennault been listened to, Korea and Vietnam would never have happened. I highly recommend this book.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the greatest history books on China ever written!, December 11, 1999

By 

Ron Li (Dryden, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Way of a Fighter: The Memoirs of Claire Lee Chennault (History United States Series) (Hardcover)

Chennault gives one of the most accurate and unbiased accounts of WWII in China. He shows the dark side of the US Military brass and how bad our own government can be without tarnishing the reputations of the people involved. He also tells how the US lost China to the Communists after the war and its betrayal of Nationalist China during and after the war. Chennault was one of the most farsighted men of all time. He and the daring exploits of his AVG Flying Tigers are legendary. Generalisimo Chiang Kai-shek hailed him as a true friend of Free China. Many of his predictions in 1949 later came true with US foreign policy in Korea and Vietnam and the Cold War with Russia. Had Chennault been listened to, Korea and Vietnam would never have happened. I highly recommend this book.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Foresighted Fighter, January 9, 2006

By 

Robert Lawton (O'Fallon, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Way of a Fighter: The Memoirs of Claire Lee Chennault (Hardcover)

Ever wonder about how we lost China, found ourselves attacked and nearly overwhelmed in Korea, got involved in Vietnam? "The Way of a Fighter," is a desperate appeal aimed directly to all Americans. It eerily and accurately predicts these events. While excellent foresight remains a common theme in revisionist histories, this book was written in 1948.

One would expect a general's post-war autobiography to stand as a monument to self-justification and glorification, those were only Chennault's secondary purposes. His primary objective: raising the alarm to forestall disaster.

American schoolbooks omit our role in the loss of China to communism. "The Way of a Fighter" will fill in many of these details from the first person perspective and put you in the seat of the man who saw it coming and dedicated his life trying to prevent it.

Jammed full of names, places, events, self-promotion, and vitriol, Chennault steps you through a life filled with conflicts against those in authority. His observations and concerns should be included in every history textbook on 20th century China. The bile with which he writes against his superiors made this book more visceral and aggravating to read.

If you want a quick, insightful perspective on China through 1948, read the Forward.
If you want details on Chennault's political fights, read the book.
If you want action/adventure stories, read something else.

On a side note, Chennault's failure to forestall disaster reminded me a lot of the lessons Tolstoy taught in "War and Peace" Epilogue Part 2 regarding leadership. Even though Chennault's concerns were justified, strategies sound, and tactics realistic, Americans just didn't care. Though his book represented a good effort to change that, Chennault simply failed to rouse a war-weary West.