Outsiders to the culture have long focused on the physical artifacts of shamanism - like the costume and drum - and on ritual healing practices, but far less is known about the images shamans and storytellers use to entertain, heal, and educate. Van Deusen describes the lives of the people of the Amur during a period of dramatic transition, as they attempt to find some way to relate ancient traditions to an uncertain future. She emphasizes the contributions of women - often overlooked in the literature on shamanism - in traditional and contemporary society, and their concerns with ecology and the education of children. Their magnificent embroidery, illustrated by the author's photographs, echoes these women's stories. The Flying Tiger will appeal to anyone interested in shamanism, storytelling and folklore, Russia, indigenous people, women's studies, and spirituality.

The Flying Tigers and the U.S. Fourteenth will be the subject of a huge upcoming film from IMAX and director John Woo. The film is scheduled to start shooting in spring 2011 with no firm release date stated yet. The role of Chenault in the film is likely to be the role of a lifetime for a huge star. When a sickly, half-deaf, forty-seven-year-old retired U.S. Army Air Corps Captain went to China in 1937 to survey Chiang Kai-shek’s Chinese Air Force, little did the world know this would be the man to stem the Japanese tide in the Far East. Almost every military expert predicted his handful of pilots of the American Volunteer Group would not last three weeks. Yet in seven months in 1942, the AVG, fighting a rear-guard action over Burma, China, Thailand, and French Indonesia, destroyed a confirmed 199 planes, with another 153 “probables” as well. They did this losing only four pilots and twelve P-40s in air combat and sixty-one on the ground. In this definitive biography of General Claire Chennault, veteran reporter Jack Samson offers a rare and fascinating inside look at this legendary man behind the Flying Tigers. Unlike Eisenhower and MacArthur, Chennault was no saintly military leader. He was a chain-smoking, bourbon-drinking, womanizing man. He was the kind of leader his men knew could and did fly better than they--in any kind of plane. But first and last, he was a fighter--a tough, single-minded warrior who was never confused by who the enemy was in Asia, regardless of what the State Department thought. Following Chennault from this command of the Fourteenth U.S. Army Air Force during World War II to the part of his life that is not well known--the intriguing postwar years in China and Formosa, where his Civilian Air Transport (CAT) became the scourge of the Red Chinese--The Flying Tiger is an extraordinary portrait of one of America’s great military commanders.

" Draws aside the curtain of mythology and shows the AVG members--pilots, mechanics, nurses, and Chennault himself--as recognizable humans with a full spectrum of virtues and faults. Yet, the glory remains undiminished . . . A Flying Tiger's Diary is highly readable and is wholeheartedly recommended."--Military Review The Flying Tigers, under the leadership of Claire Chennault, fought legendary air battles in the skies over Burma and China. This journal of ace pilot Charles Bond, now in its fifth printing, vividly preserves his experiences in aerial combat against the Japanese, all recorded within twenty-four hours of the action. It also documents the training and living conditions of the men whom Gen. Bruce K. Holloway has called "the most colorful group of warriors in modern times." A limited, specially bound edition of A Flying Tiger's Diary, signed and with a laid-in print by Terry Pyles, is available while supply lasts."

"Whitey- - From Farm Kid to Flying Tiger to Attorney, is the fascinating and riveting story of a boy, the 11th of 14 children of Norwegian immigrant parents, who grew up on tenant farms in rural Minnesota during the Great Depression. Johnson describes in graphic detail the harsh conditions under which the family lived and survived. "We were poor but didn't know it." With commendable honesty, Johnson's story illuminates the indiscretions of youth against the backdrop of a rural farm family. His story takes us through the extraordinary journey of one man who has seen more in his life, so far, than most of us could ever imagine. Wayne "Whitey" Johnson enlisted in the Air Corps on 8 December, 1941, the day after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Trained as a fighter pilot in the P-40 Warhawk and the P-51 Mustang, Wayne was sent to China to join the famed Flying Tigers. He was stationed in an area of far eastern China referred to as the "pocket," surrounded by Japanese troops less than 50 miles away. He relates the grim realities of war with startling realism, graphically portraying the triumphs and tragedies - and the joys and sorrows - of young men at war. Whitey, as part of a flight of 16 P-51 Mustang fighters, participated in the first fighter strike against Japanese airdromes near Shanghai. Coming in at tree-top level, and catching the enemy by complete surprise, they destroyed 97 Japanese planes - mostly on the ground - without loss of any Americans. After the war, he became a successful attorney, setting a record as the longest-serving City Attorney in the United States, serving two cities for over fifty years. Continuing his activity in Aviation, Johnson was named Mr. Aviation of Minnesota in 1968. He was inducted into the Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame in 2001. The Silver Bay (MN) airport was renamed the Wayne Johnson Airport in his honor in 2005 - an honor few living airmen enjoy. He has flown over 60 military and civilian aircraft and piloted his own plane into his mid-eighties."--Back cover.

This book is a poignant story of a small-town boy, who stumbled into a lifelong flying career spanning 38 years as a pilot. Now at 99, Captain Ho Weng Toh, one of the last few remaining Flying Tigers, recalls the many events that shaped his life. It takes the readers through his journey of good and bad years, the trials and tribulations encountered, his journey from being a refugee student to becoming a Chinese Air Force B-25 bomber pilot, his will to live, the burning desire to contribute towards the WWII effort and his endurance of all the trials and hardships all alone and often in silent solitude.Captain Ho shares memories of his childhood days and his growing-up years in Ipoh, his family and important values imparted by his father, his wonderful friendship with his buddy of eight decades, Meng Seng and his romantic encounters.In 1941, while being a student in Hong Kong, Captain Ho witnessed bombs dropped by Japanese bombers which signalled the start of WWII — a war which not only altered the course of history but was a major turning point in his life. Its impact consequently shaped the course of his life.He encountered many trials and uncertainties during the war years. But beyond the dark clouds and thunder storms, there was new hope and adventure. He encountered new adventures in Singapore, where he used his flying experience to carve out an illustrious career. In 1951, he started flying for Malayan Airways, the predecessor of Singapore Airlines (SIA). Through his 30 years of flying career with SIA, he saw the Airline grow from a fledgling Airline of three DC-3s to a modern international Airline.His strong passion for people, sports and travel were hallmarks of his life which enabled him to live a long and fulfilling life. Having a deep appreciation of the importance of friendship, he values his friends dearly and often travels the globe to reconnect. Being keenly interested in people and world affairs, he is extremely aware of human needs and is ever concerned for people that comes his way, fighting for the underdogs, offering guidance and a little helping hand to those in need. Such qualities together with his flying experience has helped him successfully train and groom several generations of young local pilots who eventually had successful careers at SIA.Related Link(s)

This is the story of Flying Tiger Robert Brouk, a Flight Leader in the 3rd Squadron of the American Volunteer Group. In the months prior to Pearl Harbor, until the disbandment of the American Volunteer Group in July 1942, the Flying Tigers valiantly fought the Japanese over the skies of Burma and China. This story contains Robert's complete war diary. The diary outlines his dramatic experiences from the moment he enlisted in the American Volunteer Group to its disbandment. His story also contains snapshots of the life he led upon his return to his home in Cicero, Illinois; a graphic account of his untimely death; and accounts of how Robert has been remembered through the years.

In this book, Ulrich Krotz draws from two theoretical approaches--social constructivism and historical institutionalism--to reframe our understanding of how international relationships evolve. While other scholars have touched on these issues, until now no one has provided a sustained, finely-grained, and historically-informed analysis that explains how international relations inform domestic realities and how, in turn, domestic politics and institutions structure interstate relationships. Fully researched in French, German, and English, Krotz's account of how the Tiger Helicopter project was conceived and funded, and how the combat helicopter was built and exported, presents a clear analysis about the dialectical relationship between 'high' interstate politics and 'low' domestic politics, making a groundbreaking theoretical contribution to international relations scholarship.

The thrilling story behind the American pilots who were secretly recruited to defend the nation’s desperate Chinese allies before Pearl Harbor and ended up on the front lines of the war against the Japanese in the Pacific. Sam Kleiner’s The Flying Tigers uncovers the hidden story of the group of young American men and women who crossed the Pacific before Pearl Harbor to risk their lives defending China. Led by legendary army pilot Claire Chennault, these men left behind an America still at peace in the summer of 1941 using false identities to travel across the Pacific to a run-down airbase in the jungles of Burma. In the wake of the disaster at Pearl Harbor this motley crew was the first group of Americans to take on the Japanese in combat, shooting down hundreds of Japanese aircraft in the skies over Burma, Thailand, and China. At a time when the Allies were being defeated across the globe, the Flying Tigers’ exploits gave hope to Americans and Chinese alike. Kleiner takes readers into the cockpits of their iconic shark-nosed P-40 planes—one of the most familiar images of the war—as the Tigers perform nail-biting missions against the Japanese. He profiles the outsize personalities involved in the operation, including Chennault, whose aggressive tactics went against the prevailing wisdom of military strategy; Greg “Pappy” Boyington, the man who would become the nation’s most beloved pilot until he was shot down and became a POW; Emma Foster, one of the nurses in the unit who had a passionate romance with a pilot named John Petach; and Madame Chiang Kai-shek herself, who first brought Chennault to China and who would come to visit these young Americans. A dramatic story of a covert operation whose very existence would have scandalized an isolationist United States, The Flying Tigers is the unforgettable account of a group of Americans whose heroism changed the world, and who cemented an alliance between the United States and China as both nations fought against seemingly insurmountable odds.

About the Author AL Lopez was born in Antonito, Colorado and learned to fly during his last year in high school while being absent from school. Principal, George Schilthuis, summoned AL to his office to expel him. Upon learning what AL was doing during his absence Mr. Schilthuis, chose to give AL permission to miss school three afternoons a week to work at the airport and fly. Al was a pilot for the Flying Tigers for 35 years. Since retirement AL has been a Real Estate Broker, Toastmaster, Auctioneer, Youth Motivational Speaker, and is an author. AL resides in Leesburg, Florida

Bill Reed had it all ­– brains, looks, athleticism, courage and a talent for leadership. After a challenging childhood in Depression-era Iowa, Reed joined the US Army Air Corps, but the outbreak of World War II saw him give up his commission. Instead, he travelled to China to fly for the American Volunteer Group – the legendary Flying Tigers. After a brief return to America, he resumed the fight as a senior pilot and later squadron commander in the Chinese-American Composite Wing. Soon afterwards, Reed tragically lost his life in a desperate parachute jump late in the war, by which point he was a fighter ace with nine confirmed aerial victories. His obituary was front-page news throughout the state of Iowa. This book is a biography of his extraordinary life, focusing on his time spent flying with some of the famous aerial groups of World War II. It draws heavily on Reed's own words, along with the author's deep knowledge of the China air war and years of research into Reed's life, to tell his compelling story.