Flying Tigers: Claire Chennault and the American Volunteer Group (Paperback)

by Daniel Ford (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
Many books, articles, films, and TV productions have appeared on the legendary exploits of the Flying Tigers, General Chennault's small band of U.S. Army and Navy pilots recruited to fly for China in 1941. This is not another laudatory work. The author tries to strip away many of the legends surrounding the Group. There were never more than 100 pilots (not 200). Some of them enlisted for adventure and some for patriotic reasons. The majority were attracted by the salary--$500 per month plus a bonus for every enemy plane destroyed--much more than they could earn in the peacetime Army. Most served out their year's contract, collected that money, and went home. Contrary to popular opinion, they were not fighting the Japanese before America entered the war. They did not see action until December 7th. The Group destroyed 115 enemy planes and lost 22. Actually they had little influence on the outcome of World War II; but 50 years later the publicity rolls on. A worthwhile addition to aviation and World War II collections. P.S., John Wayne never served with the Flying Tigers. For a roundup of books on Pearl Harbor and the Pacific War, see "Day of Infamy in Print," LJ 9/1/91, p. 206-7.--Ed.
- Stanley Itkin, Hillside P.L., New Hyde Park, N.Y.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
"Far from being diminished by close scrutiny, the Tigers emerge as heroes of honest substance." -- Air Power History, Spring 1992

"Ford's breezy yet detailed narrative describes the Tigers in realistic terms, portraying both their greatness and their flaws." -- Air & Space / Smithsonian, April 1992

"Ford's research for this book has been formidably thorough. He has separated truth from myth in several key areas." -- Boston Sunday Globe, October 20, 1991

"War history as it should be written." -- The Hook, Winter 1991

Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Smithsonian Books (April 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560985410
• ISBN-13: 978-1560985419
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #968,741 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Even-Handed Treatment of the AVG, April 24, 2003

By	Roy Jaruk (Patterson, NY United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Flying Tigers: Claire Chennault and the American Volunteer Group (Smithsonian History of Aviation and Spaceflight Series) (Hardcover)

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.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential!, February 3, 2002

By	Stephen Fedor (Richmond, New Hampshire United States) - See all my reviews

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.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thoroughly Researched, Compellingly Written, August 8, 2000

By	Mark Rainey (Greensboro, NC USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

For all its detail and focus on purely factual data, FLYING TIGERS is an exhilarating ride. Its clinical tone is tempered by an impressive amount of insight into the multitudes of personalities involved with the AVG--often including the Japanese perspective. It's a sprawling book, with mountains of information on every page. This could easily have been a ponderous, heavy-handed account by a detached historian; instead, Ford uses effective language to turn the individual stipples of the story into a fascinating, gradated canvas. It's rare to encounter a work of such vividness by an author whose view is from after the fact, rather than from amid the period of history concerned. Recommended.