Monthly Archives: January 2012

China’s Wings excerpt

Posted on January 18, 2012 by Gregory

An email this morning from Tracy Devine, my delightful and talented editor at Bantam,  brought to my attention a China’s Wings excerpt posted by Powell’s Books. Here it is, Saint Patrick’s Day, 1931, which is Chapter One, in its entirety. … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, aviation history, China, China's Wings, CNAC, Writing, Reading, and Research | 2 Comments

Huge news from Patagonia!

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Gregory

Breaking news from Patagonia, reported by Colin Haley, is that Hayden Kennedy and Jason Kruk have completed the first “fair means” ascent of Cerro Torre’s SE Ridge (the left-hand skyline in the photo), not using any of Maestri’s infamous bolts … Continue reading →

Posted in Enduring Patagonia | 3 Comments

CNAC and the Flying Tigers

Posted on January 15, 2012 by Gregory

CNAC and the Flying Tigers… and that’s the American Volunteer Group, the real Flying Tigers,  not just any old US Army Air Corps pilot who served in China during World War II. (Ask any member of the AVG — they’ll … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, aviation history, China's Wings, CNAC, World War II | 3 Comments

The Maiden flight of CNAC’s Douglas Dolphin over Shanghai, 1934

Posted on January 12, 2012 by Gregory

Down at the bottom you’ll find CNAC’s first Douglas Dolphin on its maiden flight in 1934, but it’s old Shanghai that makes this picture so enjoyable. How many buildings can you identify?

Posted in Aviation, aviation history, China, China's Wings, CNAC | Leave a comment

CNAC wreckage found in Western China

Posted on January 11, 2012 by Gregory

Bob Willett, CNAC association member and author of An Airline at War: The Story of the China National Aviation Corporation and Its Men, and Clayton Kuhles of MIArecoveries.org, recently discovered the wreckage of the first CNAC airplane lost on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, aviation history, China, China's Wings, CNAC, World War II | 1 Comment

Some of my best friends, and some more on Barbara Tuchman

Posted on January 10, 2012 by Gregory

Building on what I said yesterday about how Barbara Tuchman’s book Practicing History helped me organize my research, through the years, I’ve read most of the major works in Barbara Tuchman’s canon: The Guns of August, The Proud Tower, A … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, aviation history, China's Wings, CNAC, World War II, Writing, Reading, and Research | 3 Comments

Practicing History, or, How Barbara Tuchman saved my bacon

Posted on January 9, 2012 by Gregory

Barbara Tuchman is one of the best writers of history. She’s wonderful storyteller, I strongly recommend any of her books, and although she died in 1989 and I never had the opportunity to meet her, she seriously saved my bacon. … Continue reading →

Posted in aviation history, China's Wings, Writing, Reading, and Research | 3 Comments

China’s Wings now available for pre-order

Posted on January 8, 2012 by Gregory

I think it’ll only be another few weeks before I get my advance copies of China’s Wings. My guess is that I’ll have them in the last week of January. And I’m happy to announce that China’s Wings is available … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, aviation history, China, China's Wings, CNAC, Writing, Reading, and Research | 6 Comments

Exciting first ascents completed in Patagonia this season

Posted on January 4, 2012 by Gregory

I’ve got Patagonia on the brain having given Enduring Patagonia’s Winter West Face slide show to the Rock, Ice, Mountain Club in Santa Rosa last night, and this morning, I’m seeing reports from several exciting new routes recently completed in … Continue reading →

Posted in China's Wings, CNAC, Enduring Patagonia, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Strongly recommended — Ian Toll’s Pacific Crucible

Posted on January 2, 2012 by Gregory

Now that I’ve survived the Christmas swivet and am buckling down to ramp up for China’s Wings’ publication (so much so that I’m probably going to curtail my surfing despite the ongoing run of excellence at Ocean Beach), I want … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, aviation history, China's Wings, CNAC, Uncategorized, World War II | 2 Comments