Includes bibliographical references (pages 241-284) and index.

"In the summer of 1941, a group of young American men and women left behind a country still at peace and used false identities to travel across the Pacific to a run-down air base in the jungles of Burma. Led by the legendary army pilot Claire Chennault, the Flying Tigers were secretly sent to defend America's desperate Chinese allies, but in the wake of the disaster at Pearl Harbor, they would soon become the first group of Americans to directly take on the Japanese in combat--shooting down scores of aircraft in the skies over Burma, Thailand, and China. Taking readers into the cockpits of the iconic shark-nosed P-40 planes as the motley crew of pilots engage in heroic missions, The Flying Tigers draws upon previously unavailable sources to reveal the unforgettable account of the group of Americans whose heroism gave their countrymen hope during America's darkest hour."--Back cover.