This is a somewhat edited version of Robert M. Smith's diary that he kept during his year with the American Volunteer Group (Flying Tigers). Smith attended college before joining the Army, rather unusual for the time. He joined the AVG for adventure, like most of the pilots and technicians. And he kept a diary, as many of them did.

Smith's diary is especially insightful, and I used it a lot when I was writing my history of the Flying Tigers. He has a good eye for geography; I especially liked his account of driving up the Burma Road to the AVG's home base in Kunming.

I own the paperback; it was chock-a-block with photos, which I assume are included in the Schiffer edition. Good reading for all Flying Tigers buffs.

Robert Smith gives you the lowdown from the air field on what it took to get the Flying Tigers in the air and to the Japanese bombers before they could strike their Chinese targets. Here is the truly brilliant saga of how Chennault's revolutionary combination of ground observation, central data gathering and fighter scramble turned aerial warfare from hunt and peck to dispatch and destroy.

We take these technologies for granted now, but when Chennault first proposed them he was laughed at by the fledgling air forces that stumbled along between the two world wars with no vision. Chennault had the vision of what modern air warfare would become. He proved it with the Flying Tigers by taking an under-manned, under-equipped, and under-funded unit and making it into the bane of the enemy.

Robert Smith puts you there in the radio room, nursing the equipment, listening through static, sifting the reports and making the critical decisions to scramble the planes. The pilots got the glory. Smith told them where the glory was to be gotten.

This is a little known page in the history of aerial warfare that is told clearly, up front and personal, by a man who was right there in the thick of it.

I heartily recommend With Chennault in China to anyone interested in The Flying Tigers and/or air combat history.

I recently bought several kid-oriented versions of the tale of Robin Hood, looking for one that would be right for my 2nd grader. I haven't found one that's right for him to read yet, but this version is excellent for me to read to him. The first one edition I read was the Bullseye "Step into Classics" edition, and this edition is the second children's edition I've read.

The chapters are short (as is the whole book), but the author takes the time to include the elements of feasting and fighting that mark the older, more adult versions of the tale. The language is more complex than the Bullseye edition, but not by too much, and the language has a bit more of the "Olde England" feel I'm used to without going so far as to use archaic words. There's no smiting of pates here, I'm afraid. I'm torn between missing the archaic style and being glad I don't have to explain every other word to my son.

Robin Hood comes off as having a nasty temper, which I suppose he always did, but other versions usually have a bit more build-up before he goes wild. In order to keep the pace fast, the author omits some of the process of Robin getting mad, so he often seems a bit mean.

This book does a bit better than the Bullseye edition as far as telling how the men joined the band, giving better detail on the origin of Robin Hood himself and how Friar Tuck joined the band. It also tells the story of Alan a' Dale with more detail, and gives much better background on Maid Marian and her father. The other members of the band are explained as having been there from the beginning (in this story, an existing band saves Robin from the Sheriff, and Robin comes to lead them.)

The biggest weakness in this edition is that Prince John is virtually absent from the story, and King Richard never comes back to pardon everyone. There are several bits where the sherrif goes to see "the king," and the king he talks to seems a decent sort of fellow. Without a properly evil ruler, it's harder to understand why the people love Robin Hood so much.

Overall, I'd say this edition is a good compromise between being comprehensive and remaining accessible to children. I'd estimate it's at about a 3rd-4th grade reading level, but should be fine for reading to children as young as 6.