Baa Baa Black Sheep: The True Story of the "Bad Boy" Hero of the Pacific Theatre and His Famous Black Sheep Squadron

Excellent writing; the descriptions are clear and concise, and the history is accurate. Having met the real Pappy Boyington, my retired naval aviator husband with combat experience wanted to read the biography.He says it's a fascinating read.The only negative is the book is falling apart as he reads it.

It's an enjoyable read. Who doesn't like the myth surrounding this squadron's, & Boyington's, exploits (except Lard)? I just started reading The Black Sheep (Bruce Gamble) to see how much light that sheds on the truth. Boyington's real life story is interesting enough. Some claims are impossible to disprove due to no witnesses. Others? Well, here's what stood out the most for me: He said he bailed out through a closed & locked canopy bubble... Simply by pushing the stick forward w/his foot. He claimed centrifugal force did the rest. Ahah... He then claimed to be repeatedly strafed by a couple of Zekes while helplessly treading water. Despite strafing him for about 30minutes. He said they never got a good hit on him. He claimed resultant serious wounds that magically healed without proper care (I'm a Nurse) Suuure.... He was a self-admitted pathological liar. He also did enough without the embellishments to deserve respect. I feel for him, especially his life-long battle w/the bottle. He shouldn't have had to walk such a hard road after the war. A hard road he doesn't allude to in great detail, BTW. It's a worthy read. The author of the book I'm reading on the Black Sheep, Gamble. He apparently doesn't like Boyington @all. He wrote another book specifically about Boyington. He supposedly slams Boyington throughout the book. I think I'll take a pass on that one. I like Greg the way I envision him now. Part BS, part truth, warts & all, a plucky regular Joe. RIP, Pappy ;-).

The man, brave for telling it like it was, wether good or bad even if it was about him.The book is very entertaining. There is not a lot of air battles, but enough to be exciting. He doesn't bore you with his upbringing or learning to fly. He starts with trip to China, then Pacific, then Japan. And all 3 experiences are very entertaining.

The condition was amazing!! It was sent in a plastic collectors sleeve and never read, I almost bought another so as to not ruin the spine by reading it but just couldn't resist reading a huge piece of history, this book will be treasured!! Thank you so much!G.M.Update: Just finished the book, gives great insight and first had perspective from one of our very humble heroes from WWII. He was very open and honest about his addictions and the way they impacted his entire life and while in captivity as a POW. After serving 24 years and retired from the Navy I have seen first hand what this can do to a person. I don't think the TV series does his story justice as that was mostly fiction except for maybe a couple of episodes that are based loosely on the book. Strongly recommend this to anyone interested into what our Soldiers, Sailors and Marines endured during the war.

I can rate this as only "OK". It starts out and runs through a number of chapters fairly well but about mid-book the author starts getting a little philosophical. It starts out a little at a time but gradually gets more and more injected into the text. It is an interesting story about the AVG and the Black Sheep, though, and I enjoyed the storyline as long as he kept to it. It bounced around now and then but he always got back to where he had broken off. It's like that all through the book. It's obvious that he has been fairly down on himself his whole life but he also repeatedly accepts the blame for most everything that had Simply put, Boyington was a serious drunk with a talent as a fighter pilot, getting himself into trouble (a lot) and making a name for himself. I found that Hollywood had manicured the Black Sheep series and there was probably little similarity from what we watched and what actually happened, even though they used Boyington on the set to help try to keep the show honest, but very little of what is in the book was put on screen. Still, "Pappy", or "Gramps", as he was usually called in the book, was an American hero, and deservedly so. Probably not that many people could have gone through what he did and survive. Good reading for WWII buffs.

Real life problems, with, maybe, some answers 🤔 . Looks like everyday problems resolved with comman sense answers. God Bless you.

Pappy Boyington would not have gotten great marks for literary style or technique, but a reader delving into BAA BAA BLACK SHEEP probably wouldn't care very much. I certainly didn't. The insight into the man's life is often priceless--especially his takes on aerial combat, his experiences in the South Pacific (both before and after being shot down), and the Japanese people once the war was over. The lucid and colorful accounts of his days in the AVG as well as VMF 214 make all the superfluous sidetrips, self-deprecating ruminations, and endless proselytizing (even though he tells you time and again he's not doing that) worth the bumpy ride. There's a genuineness and immediacy about his story that would indicate that, while he may have necessarily had a heavy-handed editor, the words are basically his own. Boyington drives home the excitement and horror of his wartime experiences with great intensity, making this book a real thriller. Despite Boyington's endless flaws and rough edges (which he never ceases to remind you of), he comes across as a character to admire and to identify with--even if you often want to smack him a good one. Definitely recommended.

I am planning to give this to my brother as a gift this year. I believe he will enjoy having it.

Great for kids

Questo volume venne tradotto decenni fa da Longanesi, pubblicandolo poi in una collana tascabile (i Pocket) che raccoglieva interessanti volumi dedicati alla Seconda Guerra Mondiale (all'epoca "recente" come lo e' per noi la guerra della Falkland). Il titolo originale era "L'asso della bottiglia" facendo riferimento all'amore per gli alcolici del protagonista, decorato "postumo" di Medaglia d'Onore. A fine anni '70 vennero realizzate due serie di telefilm con Robert Conrad protagonista tratti liberamente dal libro, tradotti in Italia con La squadriglia delle pecore nere (con alcune comparsate del colonnello Boyington in persona, scomparso poi nel 1988) e il volume venne ripubblicato come L'asso delle Tigri Volanti (in maniera piu' politicamente corretta). Volumi ormai introvabili. Adesso c'e' l'occasione di leggere l'originale per meno di 2 euro. Se siete appassionati d'aviazione non perdetevelo.

Erhalten wie gewünscht. Sauber und gut verpackt. Immer wieder. Bin sehr zufrieden und freue mich dieses Buch gekauft zu haben.

I am a bit older. And, this mass market paperback is REALLY written in fine print. That doesn't distract from the content, though. This is a great first-hand account of the experiences of Col. Boyington in his Flying Tigers and Black Sheep days--and a bit of his struggles with alcoholism. Don't miss reading this one if you are interested in the genre.