Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #461973 in Books
• Published on: 1990-11
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 368 pages

Customer Reviews

Great for anyone interested in the real Black Sheep.
Interesting, first person narrative, from Greg Boyington himself. No ghost writer involved. Full of personal anecdotes from his time with the AVG (Flying Tigers), VMF 214 (The Black Sheep), his time as a "Special Captive" (not a POW) of the Japanese (in my opinion the most interesting part of the book), his post-war fall from grace and descent in to acute alchoholism, and finally his redemption. Nothing politically correct about this one folks. Boyington calls them as he sees them. An absorbing first person account of an amazing time in human history. Shows that the Black Sheep weren't the collection of "screwballs & misfits" portrayed in the entertaining, yet highly fictionalized 70's TV show. Also the story of a man trying to make sense of his life. I have owned this one for over 20 years, and re-read it on a regular basis. It never gets boring. A man who's days of combat were over by the age of 31, was considered the 'old man' in his squadron, hence his famous nickname. I find it amazing that a 6 week or so period of time in this man's life defined if thereafter. Well worth having in any WW II buff's collection, or simply for fans of the TV show who are interested in learning a version closer to the truth, at least the truth as seen through the eyes of the man himself.

He really was a black sheep.
This book is one of many other aviational books i have read. This one in particular is quite interesting because he takes you from indo-China, where he flew for the Flying Tiger, and to the Solomon Islands. He is an exceptional author who has the ability to tell an story with exceptional ability. His book is great and a must read if you desire to be a well rounded aviation historian.

A real life book, not a history textbook
Pappy's book is not a manual o a history account on airwar in Pacific during WWII. It is the "memorized" story of the real life of a group of pilots (some "very strange" pilots) in a pacific's island, during their "wargaming" with japanese Zeroes. If you search a historic, (very) boring, war in the air book read i.e. The Wild Blue of Stephen Ambrose