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Rating: 
Summary: Flying Tigers over Cambodia
Review: A moving account of a lost piece of SE Asian history. Larry makes you feel as if you are there with compassion and humour. How did these guys go back every day time and time again into this hellhole. I can't think of any time when airline pilots got this close to dieing on a daily basis, sometimes 4 times a day, for a whole month. The sheer humanity, comes though and grabs you by the throat. If you don't shed a tear at the end of this book, you just ain't human. I will never complain about getting up at 4 a.m. to fight the London traffic again.
Rating:
Summary: A highly recommended story of courage and necessity
Review: A number of former American military pilots formed the "Flying Tiger Line" airfreight company at the end of World War II. They would fly "anything, anywhere, anytime" throughout Southeast Asia, with a special emphasis on humanitarian relief projects. IN 1975, the Flying Tigers took part in relief efforts for Cambodians surrounded by Khmer Rouge forces. The "Ricelift" exposed the Tiger pilots to enormous personal risks because, though they were technically classified as "noncombatants" they still got shot at, and couldn't shoot back. Flying Tigers Over Cambodia: An American Pilot's Memoir Of The 1975 Phnom Penh Airlift, is Larry Partridge's firsthand, eye-witness account of flying his plan (nicknamed "Nancy" after his wife) on 52 missions into Phnom Penh, delivering rice and other supplies in very hostile, hazardous conditions. After the collapse of Saigon and the victory of the Khmer Rouge, the ricelifts ceased. Partridge provides a riveting account that includes both the history and the human drama is a remarkable, highly recommended story of courage and necessity in the battlefields of Cambodia and Viet Nam.
Rating: 
Summary: decency in an indecent place
Review: Anything, anytime, anywhere
-motto of the Flying Tigers Let's go feed someone.
-Captain Bob Bax On March 18, 1969, American B-52s began the first of many bombing raids into Cambodia, an action for which the American Left would never forgive the
military and the government of Richard Nixon. On April 17, 1975, the American military having been withdrawn from Southeast Asia, Phnom Penh fell to the
Khmer Rouge, its citizens disappearing into Pol Pot's Killing Fields. For this the American Right will always blame the Left. It seems we've all got something
to ashamed of in how the U.S. treated Cambodia. But largely forgotten between these infamous dates, and amid the bickering over which Americans treated
the Cambodians worse, are the courageous and selfless efforts of the Flying Tigers, noncombatant flyers who airlifted tons of supplies into the besieged
Cambodian capital in the weeks before it fell. Larry Partridge was one of those pilots, a volunteer. In March 1975, he flew 52 missions in operation "Ricelift"
and he tells the story here. He's reconstructed his tale from a diary he kept at the time, so it's understandably prosaic at times. And it doesn't have the usual shape of a war story, because
the planes he flew--including a DC-8 named Phnom Penh Phnancy--weren't dealing death, but bringing life. But it is this unique aspect of his peaceful
mission set against the wartime background, and his friendship with crewmates and comrades, like Jim Winterberg, and with locals, like a young newspaper girl
named Maria, and even with a cockroach they called Hiram, that makes this an exceedingly human and humane story, all the more remarkable because that
war zone has produced so few. Larry Partridge has given us a heroic and heartwarming vision of a different side of America's generally tragic engagement with Southeast Asia. We thank
him for his service and for sharing his experiences. GRADE : B
Rating:
Summary: decency in an indecent place
Review: Anything, anytime, anywhere
-motto of the Flying Tigers Let's go feed someone.
-Captain Bob Bax On March 18, 1969, American B-52s began the first of many bombing raids into Cambodia, an action for which the American Left would never forgive the
military and the government of Richard Nixon. On April 17, 1975, the American military having been withdrawn from Southeast Asia, Phnom Penh fell to the
Khmer Rouge, its citizens disappearing into Pol Pot's Killing Fields. For this the American Right will always blame the Left. It seems we've all got something
to ashamed of in how the U.S. treated Cambodia. But largely forgotten between these infamous dates, and amid the bickering over which Americans treated
the Cambodians worse, are the courageous and selfless efforts of the Flying Tigers, noncombatant flyers who airlifted tons of supplies into the besieged
Cambodian capital in the weeks before it fell. Larry Partridge was one of those pilots, a volunteer. In March 1975, he flew 52 missions in operation "Ricelift"
and he tells the story here. He's reconstructed his tale from a diary he kept at the time, so it's understandably prosaic at times. And it doesn't have the usual shape of a war story, because
the planes he flew--including a DC-8 named Phnom Penh Phnancy--weren't dealing death, but bringing life. But it is this unique aspect of his peaceful
mission set against the wartime background, and his friendship with crewmates and comrades, like Jim Winterberg, and with locals, like a young newspaper girl
named Maria, and even with a cockroach they called Hiram, that makes this an exceedingly human and humane story, all the more remarkable because that
war zone has produced so few. Larry Partridge has given us a heroic and heartwarming vision of a different side of America's generally tragic engagement with Southeast Asia. We thank
him for his service and for sharing his experiences. GRADE : B
Rating:
Summary: A Flying Tiger Pilot's True Story
Review: Author Larry Partridge has written a book filled with his first hand feelings & experiences during the 1975 Cambodian Ricelift. His recollections read as from a personal diary, and are both funny at times, but always true and from the heart of someone who was actually there! Many books have been written about the horrors of the Pot Pot era by western journalists and historians.
Many of whom are extremely well studied in the politics and tragic modern history of Cambodia. But many of these well respected authors were never there in-country during the midst of the violence which ended with the victory of the Khmer Rouge in April of 1975, but Larry Partridge was! What makes "Flying Tigers Over Cambodia" so unique is that Larry Partridge's perspective was that of a civilian volunteer. Underneath the passages that make you laugh, lay a gut wrenching first hand observers real life experience told straight from the heart. I am uniquely qualified to comment on the truthfullness of Larry Partridge's writing, for I too was also there as a Flying Tiger volunteer. Well done Larry! Reading this book, really took me back to Saigon & Pochentong airport. Archie Hall [a.k.a. "Nicolas Merriweather"]
(...)
Rating:
Summary: A few good men
Review: I work with Larry's son and was honored to receive an inscribed copy of this great saga.I began to read it as soon as I received it.I became completely absorbed in the humor and the horror of the tale he tells.When I say I couldn't put it down, I mean it in the literal sense.It is completely captivating.We are truly fortunate to have men like larry and his fellow "miracle workers".This book gives one an insight into the life saving effort made in the worst of circumstances.I thank you for the ride.
Rating:
Summary: Compelling, Humorous True Life Adventure!
Review: Larry Partridge does a wonderful job of taking the reader into the cockpit of "Phnom Penh Nancy" with him... along for the ride into Phnom Penh's Pochentong Airport between rocket attacks, the last "lifeline" to a country under seige! Cambodia 1975. Partridge is able to convey his "birds eye" perspective of what was soon to become the horrific fate of this tiny country, and her people. Though the backdrop of this book is Pol Pot's genocidal victory of 1975, the author has softened the harsh blow of reality by interjecting his own human feelings, observations and light humor. An Exciting True story, A Good Read! Well Done! Mr. Partridge.
Rating:
Summary: Compelling, Humorous True Life Adventure!
Review: Larry Partridge does a wonderful job of taking the reader into the cockpit of "Phnom Penh Nancy" with him... along for the ride into Phnom Penh's Pochentong Airport between rocket attacks, the last "lifeline" to a country under seige! Cambodia 1975. Partridge is able to convey his "birds eye" perspective of what was soon to become the horrific fate of this tiny country, and her people. Though the backdrop of this book is Pol Pot's genocidal victory of 1975, the author has softened the harsh blow of reality by interjecting his own human feelings, observations and light humor. An Exciting True story, A Good Read! Well Done! Mr. Partridge.
Rating:
Summary: Flying Tigers over Cambodia
Review: This book took me to Vietnam and Cambodia at the same time during the conflict in both countries. It was short but full of interest. I couldn't put it down as I had to find out what the next chapter had in store. It should be a must reading for the person who wants to find out about the last days of Cambodia and Vietnam.
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