If you love history then you need to read this book! Take what you think you know about this group and throw it out the window. Sam Kleiner does a fabulous job of bringing these stories to light - from the home fires to the cockpit of the plane - you will get a deep dive into history without feeling lost of overwhelmed.

Putting this on my list for approved books for my students to read! This was fabulous and this history teacher learned a couple of facts that I had not know before!

This story is more about the history that gets lost and retold by the movies and over time that is what people are led to believe. I was one of those people. I had always thought that these group of men fought for China against Japan as Japan was working at taking over China and other countries before attacking us. True that the leader of the group Claire L. Chennault was wanting to fight against them and China he did not have the resources to that. You get a look at the behind the scenes of yes back door deals done with F.D.R. knowledge and this gets really in full gear after Pearl Harbor. The author uses diaries, notes, some interviews, and documents that have been unsealed for a full look at this look into what the established military wanted people not to know about including their excellent combat record. I had already knew about ‘’Pappy” Boyington, but this only goes along with some of the other books I have read about him. I did like how the author takes a look at the different pilots and maintenance crews, and especially the store with a nurse named Emma Foster. Overall I found this to be a very good book and something interesting about the war in the Pacific that had not been told before. A good piece of writing and well researched.

Description
The thrilling story behind the American pilots who were secretly recruited to defend the nation’s desperate Chinese allies before Pearl Harbor and ended up on the front lines of the war against the Japanese in the Pacific

Sam Kleiner’s The Flying Tigers uncovers the hidden story of the group of young American men and women who crossed the Pacific before Pearl Harbor to risk their lives defending China. Led by legendary army pilot Claire Chennault, these men left behind an America still at peace in the summer of 1941 using false identities to travel across the Pacific to a run-down airbase in the jungles of Burma. In the wake of the disaster at Pearl Harbor this motley crew was the first group of Americans to take on the Japanese in combat, shooting down hundreds of Japanese aircraft in the skies over Burma, Thailand, and China. At a time when the Allies were being defeated across the globe, the Flying Tigers’ exploits gave hope to Americans and Chinese alike.

Kleiner takes readers into the cockpits of their iconic shark-nosed P-40 planes—one of the most familiar images of the war—as the Tigers perform nail-biting missions against the Japanese. He profiles the outsize personalities involved in the operation, including Chennault, whose aggressive tactics went against the prevailing wisdom of military strategy; Greg “Pappy” Boyington, the man who would become the nation’s most beloved pilot until he was shot down and became a POW; Emma Foster, one of the nurses in the unit who had a passionate romance with a pilot named John Petach; and Madame Chiang Kai-shek herself, who first brought Chennault to China and who would come to visit these young Americans.

A dramatic story of a covert operation whose very existence would have scandalized an isolationist United States, The Flying Tigers is the unforgettable account of a group of Americans whose heroism changed the world, and who cemented an alliance between the United States and China as both nations fought against seemingly insurmountable odds.

rating: 5 stars
genre: Non fiction

My thoughts
If your in to the flying tigers like i am or just like to read about WW2 then this is a must read . Mr. Kleiner does anazing job of bring to life the story of the Flying Tigers, what they went though , as well as their family , and the people they fight with . Its the type of book that once you start to read you can't put it down or don't want to stop reading , with that said i want to thank Netgalley for letting me read and review it .

I am so grateful for the conversational style of writing utilized by Sam Kleiner in The Flying Tigers. His stellar research is evident throughout this history and I never felt lectured or talked down to at all. This book was a fascinating and easy read. I think it belongs in any military library and is such a wealth of interesting facts and anecdotes it would make a fantastic gift. I would like to read more from Mr Kleiner.

I received a free Kindle copy of  The Flying Tigers by Sam Kleiner courtesy of Net Galley  and Penguin Viking, the publisher. It was with the understanding that I would post a review on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and my fiction book review blog. I also posted it to my Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google Plus pages.

I requested this book as I am interested in american history and the description made this book sound interesting. This is the first book by Samn Kleiner that I have read.

Prior to reading this book, my entire knowledge about "TheFlying Tigers" was based on the 1942 movie of the same name starring John Wayne. As is usually the case, this book is much better than the movie. It is well written and researched.

Kleiner does an excellent job of tracing the history of the American Volunteer Group (offical designation of The Flying Tigers) and the crucial role played by Claire Chennault in making it happen and his contribution to the group disbanding in 1942 when it ws incorporated into the United States Army. He covers those who lost their lives during the time they spent in China and what happenned to the key players after the group disbanded.

I recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in the role the Flying Tigers played in China just prior and during the early months of World War II.

What I just read was a wonderful history of the American Volunteer Group, know as the Flying Tigers. It included the biography of its charismatic leader, Clair Chennault, along with mini biographies of many of the volunteer pilots. The pace of the book was excellent and did not get bogged down with extraneous details. For the historian reader it provides an insight into a part of the Pacific war that was little known. I cannot think of any deficiencies in this book.

"The Flying Tigers" eBook was published in 2018 and was written by Sam Kleiner. This is Mr. Kleiner's first publication.

I categorize this novel as ‘PG’ because it contains scenes of Violence. The story takes place from just before World War II until just after it. While the primary character is US Army Colonel Claire L. Chennault, there are many others whose story is told.

China had been at war with Japan for years and it was suffering. The Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek and his wife approached Chennault in the late 30's to leave the US and form up a volunteer group to train Chinese pilots. This group eventually evolved into what is now known as the Flying Tigers (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Tigers), an all-volunteer combat fighter group. They got their name from the from the shark face painted on the nose of the P-40 fighters that the group flew. This group was recruited before Perl Harbor but flew their first combat mission only a few days later on December 20, 1941. The Flying Tigers did not last long, being disbanded in July of 1942, but it had a significant role in the early months of the war.

While this is not the first book on the Flying Tigers that I have read, I did enjoy the 7+ hours I spent reading this 304 page history. I liked the deep backgrounds that were given on many of the important personalities. I like the cover art. I give this novel a 4 out of 5.

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