The Maverick War: Chennault and the Flying Tigers
St. Martin’s Press, 1987
On July 23, 1941, some five months before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt signed a secret Executive Order authorizing the bombing of Tokyo and other Japanese cities. This astounding mission never took place, but what resulted was America’s first venture in to the shadowy area of covert operations against a foreign power.
The author of this extraordinary plan was the cantankerous, opinionated, and controversial ex-Army captain, Claire Lee Chennault. Though Roosevelt was persuaded to postpone this plan, he did give Chennault a consolation prize—an air force of 100 fighter planes and the pilots to fly them. Thus, the Flying Tigers outfit was born.
Chennault pulled together an unlikely group of undisciplined, hard-drinking men and built the most successful and unorthodox outfit of World War II.
Drawing on unpublished diaries of the men of Chennault’s American Volunteer Group (AVG), interviews, Chennault’s personal papers, and material from military archives, Schultz has written a fascinating and definitive account of Chennault and his now-legendary pilots.
Reviews
This account by Schultz sets the record straight. I was fascinated with the description of Chennault’s life before he commanded the AVG. It revealed to me why this stubborn and inspired man rose from a humble beginning to world prominence as a wartime military leader
I would have flown into hell for General Chennault who designed aerial tactics and placed them into execution with great success. This is a fine book. Every American should read it
Good reading with valuable insights. Schultz’s treatment is engaging. Vivid detail with often harrowing descriptions
A rousing account, clearing the air of myth-makers’ hyperbole without tarnishing the glory earned by these renegade warriors
The Flying Tigers was a sort of airborne flying foreign legion, credited with saving China from Japanese conquest early in World War II. This highly readable book traces its creation and awesome accomplishments. The air battles are memorably described, but the surprise is Schultz’s revelation of Chennault’s battles with superiors and his often tenuous authority over his pilots
Excellent . . . Schultz’s accounts of the Flying Tigers’ feats are superb and his interpretations of their military significance are succinct and satisfying
More WWII War Books by Duane Schultz
Wake Island: The Heroic Gallant Fight
St. Martin’s Press, 1978
Hero of Bataan: The Story of General Jonathan M. Wainwright
St. Martin’s Press, 1981
The Last Battle Station: The Story of the USS Houston
St. Martin’s Press, 1985
The Doolittle Raid
St. Martin’s Press, 1988
Into the Fire: Ploesti: The Most Fateful Mission of World War II
Westholme Publishing, 2007
Crossing the Rapido: A Tragedy of World War II
Westholme Publishing, 2010
Evans Carlson, Marine Raider: The Man Who Commanded America’s First Special Forces
Westholme Publishing, 2014 hardcover edition; 2017 paperback edition
