CHINA CLIPPER

IN THE 1930s, the political stability of the United States in the Pacific was already collapsing, and the United States Navy found itself dangerously vulnerable. Through a popular policy of isolationism and treaty limitation, the United States had only the most feeble, widely scattered defenses in the area, while Japan was energetically building a fierce war machine. Thus, when Pan American Airways announced in 1934 that it planned to fly the Pacific, the Navy instantly knew, after years of frustration, that this was the ruse it needed to fortify the Pacific. By 1938, the trans - Pacific line was well - established, despite Japanese suspicion and sabotage attempts, and the Clippers - the first of the overnight trans - oceanic airplanes - were making weekly flights from San Francisco to China via the strategically vital route through Pearl Harbor, Midway, Wake Island, Guam, and Manila. 

On the eve of the Second World War, in July 1938, one of these flying boats, the Hawaii Clipper, departed from San Francisco with twelve passengers and a crew of nine. Presumably, the flight seemed no different from the 228 that preceded it. But it was. For the Hawaii Clipper and its passengers were about to fly straight into the focal point of all the forces that were converging to ignite the coming war.

( ... ) China Clipper can be read as an exciting war story based on true events, but its major power lies in its incredible recreation of people and events heretofore dimly known by the general public. Tautly written, filled with vivid characterizations, China Clipper is a compelling and frightening examination of the forces that eventually caused Pearl Harbor to explode - and the world to go to war.