Rating: 
Summary: Insight into an interesting man ...
Review: Years after having first read Greg Boyington's 'Baa Baa Black Sheep', I stumbled upon my beat-up copy in a pile of books and decided to re-read it. Boyington painted a fascinating picture of the Flying Tigers, VMF-214, and life as a POW -- and I found that I enjoyed the book more upon re-reading than when I first bought it. Curious if any of the associated people in the book had ever written autobiographies, I did a quick search on the net and found not only Frank Walton's honest book, but two fantastic books by Bruce Gamble. The collection painted a far more detailed picture (than Boyington's book) of VMF-214's (fall/winter '43) pilots. Among the pilots described was Chris Magee -- someone who seemed unique among his comrades. [The often-told story about Magee and the grenade on a strafing run is alone enough to make me wonder about the guy.] Information on what many of the rest of the Squadron had chosen to do with their lives was relatively easy to find. Magee, however, seemed to fade into the ether of time -- and it appeared that neither Frank Walton or Bruce Gamble had much information available to them. I was surprised on a recent search to come across Robert Reed's book about Chris Magee, especially when noting that it had only recently been published. That didn't deter me from ordering it, and I read the book over the past few evenings. Robert's writing style is straightforward and sincere. He breaks the book really into two components; the first being background about Chris in a narrative, and the second being from Robert in first person. It wasn't difficult to determine what Robert's association with Chris was, even after reading only the dust jacket. [Were this fiction, I'd suggest that Robert use a slightly less common plot twist. :) ] I enjoyed the book, but was at first critical of some parts. First, large chunks of Chris' life are unexplained. Chris' experiences in the Israeli Air Force are only briefly discussed, and you regularly get the feeling that you're getting short glimpses (... into Chris' life ...) almost randomly. Second, the book lacked the intense thoroughness that I'd enjoyed in Bruce Gamble's work. After re-reading some of Robert's statements near the end of the book, I realized that this isn't completely fair criticism. It's clear that Chris never spoke of many of the details of his past, and that the details and history that Robert relayed were those things that he _could_. Most of the holes in time and mysteries about Chris' life will probably never be understood. Throughout the book, Robert did an excellent job of displaying the fact that Chris was an ... 'independant spirit'. [So independant that I still have difficultly fathoming what Chris' rationale could have been for some of his actions. Late in the book, Robert describes what a potential motive for the Bank Robberies might have been.] If you have an interest in VMF-214, I'd first recommend Bruce Gamble's books. If you've already passed through those, I'd feel comfortable recommending 'Lost Black Sheep'. It's an enjoyable read, and perhaps you'll feel as I did -- that although you've met many fascinating people in your life, you regret that Chris Magee wasn't among them.
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