Skies of Thunder: The Deadly World War II Mission Over the Roof of the World | Caroline Alexander

The little-known story of the Allies' fight in WWII's chaotic and lethal China-Burma-India theatre.

In April 1942, the Imperial Japanese Army captured Burma, closing the only ground route from India to China. Supplies now had to be flown over the treacherous Himalayas, on the world's most dangerous air route.

This is the story of the Allied troops who braved this perilous journey, flying unreliable aircraft through monsoons and enemy fire, with primitive navigation tools. Caroline Alexander delves into memoirs and records to reveal the pilots' and soldiers' experiences and portrays the exploits of commanders like 'Vinegar Joe' Stillwell and Claire Lee Chennault. The result is a litany of both deadly crashes and astonishing feats of survival.

While highlighting the efforts of units like the Flying Tigers and Merrill's Marauders, and examining the political tensions between Roosevelt, Churchill, and Chiang Kai-shek, this book also exposes the fractures between the Allies and the impact of these decisions on post-war relations. A masterpiece of modern war history.

'Riveting' * The New York Times *'A clear and engaging narrative ... A thorough, but never dull, history for the reader curious about the reality of World War II' * The New York Journal of Books *'Well-detailed and engagingly told' * The Wall Street Journal *'A thrilling aviation adventure that also casts an assured historical lens on a lesser-known arena of WWII diplomacy, this is sure to enrapture readers' * Publishers Weekly (starred review) *'Readers interested in the China-Burma-India Theater of World War II and Asian history will enjoy Alexander's detailed and beautifully written account' * Library Journal (starred review) *'A fresh narrative that pulls readers into the challenges and complexities of this enormous theater of vast jungle and mountain at the end of the world' * U.S. Army War College Press *'Author Caroline Alexander in her new book Skies of Thunder presents a riveting, faced-paced account of the action there both on the ground and in the skies that would make for a best-selling movie' * Asian Review of Books *'[Caroline Alexander] brings her keen eye and narrative skill to Skies of Thunder. A chronicle of waging war by flying over the Hump: those mountain ridges that make up the border of Burma and China and turned into a theater of both disasters and triumphs' * Airmail *'Alexander's vivid retelling of this aerial feat is matched only by her exquisite rendering of the pilots' fear' * The New York Times Book Review (Editors' Choice) *'A seamless and illuminating piece of modern war history' * Shelf Awareness *