Product Description

1948: INDO-CHINA. Lee Crane is an American pilot flying transport planes across South-East Asia for the highest bidder. He'll fly anywhere, carry anything, if the money is right. But his experiences during World War Two still haunt him, and when he meets a woman from the past, memories of a time when his innocence was shattered threaten to ground him.

1941: BURMA. Crane is a young and carefree pilot flying fighter planes for the notorious Flying Tigers against the Japanese. He's one of the best pilots in the air. But when he falls for the charms of a beautiful Anglo-Indian girl, she has a devastating effect on him. As the war ignites across the region, Crane is separated from her, and, caught up in a world of death and corruption, he desperately needs to return to find his lover, no matter what the cost...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #255885 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-09
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

About the Author
Rob Ryan was born in Liverpool. He has written for The Face, Arena, Conde Nast Traveller, Esquire, GQ Magazine and The Sunday Times. He lives in North London with his wife and three children.

Customer Reviews

A highly enjoyable read !
Having just finished and thoroughly enjoyed this book (a bit of holiday reading!), I felt compelled to add my two cents worth in highly recommending this book.

Being an avid reader of both military history and fiction, I have been fascinated with the exploits of the Flying Tigers in the CBI (China-Burma-India) theatre of WW2. This, together with the perilous supply flights over the "Hump" - the Himalayan ranges - forms the backdrop to this worthy part war adventure, part noir-detective thriller - with a touch of bittersweet romance thrown in for good measure.

The author has done a great job in recreating the desperate days of wartime colonial-Burma and Nationalist China under the imminent threat of Japanese invasion. We experience some of the quaint English traditions like taking "Tiffin" in the afternoon interspersed with colonial parties (and some wild AVG ones!) - incongruous with the dogfights with Japanese fighters and the hair-raising flights over the "Hump".

My favourite character is Kitten Mahindra, a half caste English/Indian widow who takes our hero as a lover. She is a sophisticate of considerable charm who is caught between the colonial "whites" and the indigenous Burmese population but is ultimately betrayed by both.

I believe a lot of the incidents portrayed in the book are otherwise based on true situations with fictionalised characters and some artistic license of course. I was particularly interested to learn that the SOE activities were based on a real-life Operation Remorse - look it up!

I can't wait to start on the "Dying Day" which I believe picks up on some of the threads from the "Last Sunrise". Thank you Mr Ryan - you have an eager new convert!!!

Ryan's Books are always good - this is really really good !
This book worked for me on every level. I was delighted to discover why, where, and how 'The Flying Tigers' were formed. The descriptions of 1940 Burma and China were very vivid, and made an excellent backdrop to the story. Mixed in with that, are the very colourful characters that bring the book alive.

Lee Chane is main character, a maveric young flyer, who lets his heart rule his head. The love of a woman is why he is demoted from being a fighter pilot to flying transport planes. But life is not dull there! Stolen gold bullion, the S.O.E, O.S.S, Chinese Communists, Chinese National, bandits, and his so-called friends really kept my interest.

For anyone interested in flying, this is a great book. The aerial combat with the Japanise was great. Flying 'The Hump' between India and China was breathtaking. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.