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Summary: A well written book on World War II aviation in the Pacific
Review: A fast paced, well written account of the career of Tom Blackburn. The main part of the book deals with the air war over the Northern Solomon Islands in 1943. Blackburn, in command of a Corsair squadron, was operating out of land bases rather than aboard a carrier. The book gives an exciting account of the squadron in action without going overboard on details. It is of interest to World War II fans as well as those interested in aviation. Well done all the way around!
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Summary: Recommended
Review: A very good book. Lots of information on the Corsair airplane and fighting in a Corsair squadron.
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Summary: Recommended
Review: Amazing. Fast-paced, energetic, even sensible at times, THE JOLLY ROGERS is the best autobiography ever written about fighter combat in the Pacific. It leaves the overrated and rascist GOD IS MY CO-PILOT miles behind.In narrating the story of VF-17, Blackburn paints a great picture of how things were in NAval aviation in WW II. Great book.
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Summary: One of the finest books on air combat ever written
Review: As an avid student of WWII combat aviation, I don't think a book has ever thrilled me as much as THE JOLLY ROGERS. Tom Blackburn's writing style is easy and effective, especially in conveying the emotions and excitement of close engagement with enemy fighters. The books traces Blackburn's inauspicious debut in Operation TORCH to his glory days as CO of Fighting 17, with stories that are often as moving and tragic as they are exhilarating. Two sections of the book feature numerous photographs of the men and machines of the squadron, as well as detailed maps of the Solomons combat arena. I think I've read this book 3 times in its entirety and I still frequently read select passages just as refresher. I couldn't recommend it more highly. Tom Blackburn remains, even after his passing a few years ago, a true American hero; often frightened, sometimes arrogant, far from perfect, but always devoted to duty and able to stare death in the face and come away better for it.
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Summary: UAU ! TOP OF THE LINE !
Review: It is simple: this is one of the greatest WW II fighter combat books ever written ! THe narrative, even when is not dealing with air combat, is compreensive and important to the history. The technical details about the Corsair are commented without being boring or difficult to understand. THe pilots are ever present and their subsequent fate after the War ere mentioned briefly. Great. It's a shame Blackburn died soon after the book was published.
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Summary: Intersting but not too deep.
Review: Kind of boring. He glosses over a lot of stuff that could be good reading real non-chalantly without any explanation. For example, he states that he and several of his guys shot at any Japanese pilot they could find floating in a parachute, no analysis or explanation provided. This would have been an interesting topic to hear more about! On the last page of the book in the epilogue he says that he latter rose to command a carrier but then navy asked him to retire because "the navy didn't need a captain who couldn't handle his liquor". Then the book ends practically right at that sentence. Again, that would have been interesting subject to explore, but again no explanation or analysis. The book was kind of lame, but the picture on the front did get me thinking about building the 1/32 scale corsair model so all was not lost. for a better account of WWII combat in the air over the pacific, read Saburo Sakai's "Samurai", or Samuel Hynes "Flights of Passage", or "Aces Against Japan" all much better books.
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Summary: Expertly written
Review: One of the best books ever written about air combat. You feel like you?re one of the Jolly Rogers yourself !!
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Summary: Recommended
Review: Talk about the F4U Corsair and a name comes to mind; Greg Boyington and his Black Sheep. This will be true until you read the story of the VF-17 seen through the eyes of its CO Tommy Blackburn. Even thou the Black Sheep were outrageous, the performance record and unorthodox behaviors of the Jolly Rogers breaks the typical Navy ironed reputation. Loved by his pilots and feared by his enemies, Blackburn and his VF-17 changed the air war tactics utilizing creative new formation and attack schemes that baffled the enemy. A must to read by any F4U enthusiast and a credit to the camaraderie and leadership of a great american warrior.
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Summary: Better than Boyington's book
Review: Tom Blackburn's account of VF-17 in World War II does a better job at making a reader feel like they are involved in the scenery of air combat than does Greg "Pappy" Boyington's Baa Baa Black Sheep. Overall, I was much more entertained, but still came away wanting more than was given. The book does not have the grand sweep of an Ambrose book covering a whole theater, but still does a good job at retelling this piece of aviation history.
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