This is a book of letters written to Carl Frey Constein; author of the WWII memoir Born to Fly the Hump. Most of the letters are from pilots and crew who also served in the China-Burma-India Theater of Operations. They tell of crashes and bailouts over the Himalayas and Burma; of mammoth thunderstorms and engine failures; of bombing runs out of China; of airdrops behind enemy lines.Other CBI veterans who served on the ground tell of rugged conditions in the high mountains of China and the dense jungles of Burma; or in the monsoons and heat of India. Wives and widows have written poignant; sincere letters of appreciation.The CBI was the theater of history's first military airlift; General Chennault's Flying Tigers; General Vinegar Joe Stilwell; Merrill's Marauders and Wingate's Chindits; the Burma Road. The letters illuminate the diversity and hardships of the CBI; where 350;000 Americans fought their war - and which history has all but overlooked.
#1094602 in Books Vintage 2008-10-14 2008-10-14Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.00 x .77 x 5.20l; .63 #File Name: 1400078571304 pages
Review
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful. A Good ReadBy NanvanJon Kukla's treatment of Jefferson's "Women" includes Rebecca Burwell; Betsey Walker; Mrs. Martha Jefferson; Maria Cosway and Sally Hemings; among others the author named "s and Angels;" as well as a fairly in-depth look at his relationship with Abigail Adams. That Jefferson was a misogynist is clear -- he feared and distrusted women; yet loved several. The chapter on Maria Cosway is the most complete description of this woman of the several I have read.Maybe it's the romantic in me; but I prefer Annette Gordon-Reed's treatise of Sally Hemings in her splendid "The Hemingses of Monticello." Kukla allows as how he guesses there MAY have been affection between Jefferson and Hemings; but his wording implies to me that he leans toward just sexual gratification. I lean more toward Gordon-Reed's angle -- 38 years and six pregnancies simply have to account for more than just sexual gratification. I like to think there was genuine affection; perhaps even some feeling of love between them.Kukla dismisses the claim that Sally Hemings got pregnant in Paris and wrote that Hemings got pregnant at Monticello some years later. Yet her son Madison in later writings; as part of the Hemings' family oral tradition; states that when she; her brother James and Jefferson came back to Monticello from Paris; she was pregnant. Madison wrote that during the time his mother was in Paris; she "became Mr. Jefferson's concubine; and when he was called back home; she was "enciente" by him." ("The Hemingses of Monticello;" page 326.) For reasons unknown to me as the reader; Kukla did acknowledge Madison's writings about events other than that – in other words he did not summarily dismiss Madison Hemings’ writings!No matter what one reads about our third president; there is no doubt Jefferson is clearly NOT into women's rights. When he wrote those awe-inspiring words of the Declaration of Independence that all men are created equal; he meant just that: all MEN are created equal (of course he meant; all WHITE men)! To a modern-day feminist like me who supports equal rights for everybody -- male; female; LGBT; all races and all colors -- Jefferson is the epitome of everything I do NOT stand for! Yet the very gentleness of his spirit that shows through at times; his utter and complete devastation at the death of his wife; his abhorrence for confrontation and desire for harmony; his thin skin and almost obsessive need to be loved -- as well as many other of his personality "quirks" and characteristics -- mark him not as a 21st century Macho Man; but as an 18th century Man of his Times; whose personality reflects many typically feminine qualities. This very dichotomy is what draws me to him.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. EntertainingBy HistorianVery interesting. Does not over do it @ Sally Hemings. Good analysis; esp. in part on TJ trying to seduce Mrs Walker (in which he comes off looking like a Kennedy or Bill Clinton!)0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Good history and evidence of personality/character traits not covered in ...By GingerInteresting;but not "can't put down read". Good history and evidence of personality/character traits not covered in our classroom textbooks. All in All; glad I bought. Knowledge is good.
