Overview

The incredible story of the 'Flying Tigers', America's volunteer airmen in China. In Fallen Tigers: The Fate of America's Missing Airmen in China during World War II, historian Daniel Jackson, himself a combat-tested pilot, sheds light on the stories of downed aviators who attempted to evade capture by the Japanese in their bid to return to Allied territory. In gripping detail, he reveals that the heroism of these airmen was equaled, and often exceeded, by the Chinese soldiers and civilians who risked their lives to return them safely to American hands. Amazingly, his comprehensive research even shows that helping downed American airmen transcended the deep political divisions of wartime China, with Nationalists, Communists, and even alleged collaborators realising the commonality of their struggle against the Japanese. Drawing extensively on sources and interviews in the United States and China, Jackson vividly sketches an epic historical drama documenting the astonishing extent of Sino-American cooperation. Fallen Tigers is an incredible story of survival amid a brutal war, insightfully illustrating the relationship between missing American airmen and their Chinese allies who were willing to save their lives at any cost. Based on thorough archival research and filled with compelling personal narratives from memoirs, wartime diaries, and dozens of interviews with veterans and war survivors, Fallen Tigers will appeal to history buffs and scholars interested in WWII, U.S. military aviation, and international relations between the United States and China. AUTHOR: Daniel Jackson is a Combat Aviation Advisor with the US Air Force Special Operations Command. His is the author of The Forgotten Squadron: The 499 th Fighter Squadron in World War II and Famine, Sword, and Fire: The Liberation of Southwest China in World War II. 20 b/w photographs, 10 maps, 6 charts

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9780813180809

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Reviews

An interesting collection of remarkable adventures -- adventures not always survived -- undertaken by Americans who fell from the sky to a strange and dangerous land in a time of war. -- Stone & Stone Second World War Books An outstanding book that should be read by every American regardless of their interest in aviation or World War II. -- Ted Spitzmiller This book brings to the fore the fate of the missing airmen in China during WWII. [ Fallen Tigers], when looked at as a whole and analyzed, gives a view of China's war without mythology or ideological or political glasses. There are many pictures to enjoy as well. -- Veterans Today Even historians specializing in World War II may be surprised by the large number of US pilots who were shot down over China, scene of one of the great forgotten air campaigns of that global conflict. Daniel Jackson is uniquely qualified to tell this fascinating story in all its complexity, as a military aviator, as a scholar with a deep understanding of the period he describes, and as a writer of the highest order. His real-life experience as a pilot shows. He has the ability to really bring the reader into the cockpit. -- Peter Harmsen, author of Japan Runs Wild, 1942-1943 In Fallen Tigers, author Dan Jackson has taken an innovative approach to telling the history of the air war in China during World War II by folding it into the stories of Allied aircrew who went down behind Japanese lines and were led to safety by local Chinese, often risking their lives in the process. Ample charts, graphs, maps and photos complete this compelling work. -- Carl Molesworth, author of Flying Tiger Ace: The Story of Bill Reed, China's Shining Mark Moving and brilliant. From the very first page, this account of American airmen fighting in the skies of World War II China grips readers and never lets them go. This book is both an outstanding work of military history, explaining the immense strategic importance of American air support for defending wartime China against the Japanese; and a human story, telling an unknown story of courageous Americans saved by Chinese bravery. Even those who think they know World War II will need to read this book. -- Rana Mitter, author of China's Good War: How World War II Is Shaping a New Nationalism Using extensive primary materials, Jackson chronicles the fate of the Flying Tigers in China and offers wonderful personal narratives from the flyers in wartime. The author's apparent Chinese language skills make this an important addition to the field. -- Dr. S. Mike Pavelec, author of Airpower Over Gallipoli, 1915-1916 This work is the new standard for analyzing the role of Chinese partisans in the rescue and repatriation of downed American flyers, and it will remain so in perpetuity. The author's ability to work in Chinese as well as English is of enormous benefit, as is his careful combing of the downed aircraft records to build a complete database of all of the aircraft losses. Fallen Tigers is a huge contribution. -- Paul J. Springer, author of America's Captives: Treatment of POWs from the Revolutionary War to the War on Terror

This work is the new standard for analyzing the role of Chinese partisans in the rescue and repatriation of downed American flyers, and it will remain so in perpetuity. The author's ability to work in Chinese as well as English is of enormous benefit, as is his careful combing of the downed aircraft records to build a complete database of all of the aircraft losses. Fallen Tigers is a huge contribution. -- Paul J. Springer, author of America's Captives: Treatment of POWs from the Revolutionary War to the War on Terror Using extensive primary materials, Jackson chronicles the fate of the Flying Tigers in China and offers wonderful personal narratives from the flyers in wartime. The author's apparent Chinese language skills make this an important addition to the field. -- Dr. S. Mike Pavelec, author of Airpower Over Gallipoli, 1915-1916

Author Information

Daniel Jackson is a graduate of the Air Force Academy and is the author of The Forgotten Squadron: The 449th Fighter Squadron in World War II and Famine, Sword, and Fire: The Liberation of Southwest China in World War II. He lives in Fort Walton Beach, Florida.

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