Reviews

If you want to see what other professionals in the field of study have to say about this book, or if you just want to get the feel of what the book does, enjoy these reviews.

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Lee Partain
Emeritus Professor of English
Clark College - Vancouver, WA

Larry Weirather’s “The China Clipper, Pan American Airways and Popular Culture” is a comprehensive and well-wrought examination of the vital role the Clippers played in defining, reflecting, and reinforcing many American bedrock beliefs and values, such as manifest destiny, reverence for capitalism, and technology as savior.

The author ably explains the powerful influence the whole Clipper phenomenon had in holding together a nation threatened by the traumas of the 1930’s and 1940’s—the Great Depression and World War II.  And, as the book clearly shows, the image of the Clipper as icon and symbol of American values persists to this day.

Mr. Weirather is a superb chronicler of people, places and events.  He demonstrates a keen responsibility to scholarly detail, but writes in a vernacular accessible to the general reader.  His book is a successful blend of historical fact, complemented by anecdotal embellishment, all lightly seasoned with humor.

“China Clipper” is nicely organized into logical headings and contains scores of helpful pictorial illustrations.  This book will surely have broad appeal;  for historians and popular culture enthusiasts, for those captured by the intriguing fascination that nostalgia holds, for anyone looking for an entertaining and satisfying read.

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Jamie Dodson
Amazon.com Customer Review
Huntsville, AL.

Larry Weirather's excellent book about the cultural impact of the China Clipper is a great read. If you're a Clipper enthusiast or interested in popular culture you will enjoy this thoroughly researched book. I was amazed that Weirather could trace back many of what we think of as cultural norms to the era of the Great Flying Boats. The Clipper pilots were analogous to the astronauts of today. Their exploits help lift American out of the malaise of the Great Depression. A must have book for the serious Clipper buff.