China Through the Eyes of a Tiger

by Roland Sperry, Terryl C. Boodman

Recounts the story of an American Flying Tiger pilot who was shot down in enemy-occupied China and rescued by two fleeing Chinese brothers

294 pages, Paperback

First published January 2, 1990

Reviews

[Philip · Rating 1 out of 5]

An interesting story (in the book), but a much sadder one in real life. In 1990, Roland Sperry - a legitimate "B-24 gunner in China in the 308th Bomb Group 14th AF (who) received the Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart, Air Medal, Presidental Citation and 3 battle service stars (and) had every reason to be proud of his service" - was exposed as a complete fraud as far as his supposed membership in the famed Flying Tigers. In fact, he never even flew a military aircraft. Sadly, his own military record was not enough to satisfy him, and so he created the fiction written in this book and tried to pass it off as his true story.

While he could have legitimately sold his story as fiction, surviving Flying Tigers are highly critical not so much of his fabrications as they are of the fact that he "stole the identity of a deceased pilot of the 23rd FG, using his photo in the P-51 Pilots Assoc. Book and numerous promotional flyers" for his book - an unforgivable breach of military conduct.

So while this book is a reasonably good read and continues to be sold on Amazon and eBay as the "true account of a downed American fighter pilot making his way through the Chinese countryside," you should know the true story behind "the true story" before you invest and time or money in this deception.

(If you're interested, details of Sperry's exposure as a fraud can be found at http://www.warbirdforum.com/sperry.htm, http://oldforums.flyingtigersavg.com/..., and other veteran's forums.)

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basically like "I Begged for Bread in Russia," but better written and more involved. I like how Sperry interweaves the flashbacks with the travel narrative. He also gives a really good feel for the setting. Not a very challenging or excitable book, but enjoyable nonetheless.