Back To Mandalay (1952) By Lowell Thomas
 
Mr. Thomas tells one of the great adventure stories of the Second World War — General Orde Wingate’s second expedition into Burma, in which Phil Cochran’s U.S. Air Commandos played a spectacular role. The glider-borne landing of Wingate’s spearhead is an utterly fabulous episode: several hundred troops, plus heavy equipment, mules, and even a bulldozer, were lowed at night across lofty mountains and deposited, with little loss of life, on a strip of elephant grass far behind the Japanese lines. The leading figures in the story are a picturesque, daredevil bunch; and at the center of everything is the extraordinary personality of Wingate, the “Lawrence” of Burma.
 
It was written by Lowell Thomas, who was a war correspondent during the 1920s, a journalist, broadcaster, writer, and explorer. He followed Lawrence of Arabia in Africa during his well known tour there.

This is an account of the first all air invasion that was conducted by the Army Air Force. It was a coordinated effort agreed upon and authorized by Churchill and Roosevelt in an effort to push the Japanese out of Burma for the second time. British General Orde Wingate had cleared the area the year before, but the Japanese were pushing through China and Burma toward India. This joint effort would be commanded by Wingate with the ground troops with air support from the Army Air Force under Colonels Phil Cochran and John Allison. (This was before there was a US Air Force as a separate branch of the service.)

This is written with a true journalist's style with backgrounds of those who were involved, based on interviews, delving into the thoughts and plans for the invasions, and many "firsts" in the use of air power. They established bases in the jungles of northern Burma using gliders, carrying in mules and soldiers, dozers, and ordinance.
 
Hard Cover with Dust Jacket
255 Pages
In Poor to Fair Condition