A-Train: Memoirs of a Tuskegee Airman

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University Alabama Press

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DVD Details:

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Studio: University Alabama Press
Theatrical Release Date: Dec 31, 1969
DVD Release Date: Dec 31, 1969
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ASIN: 0817308563
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Sales Rank: 1062879

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Editorial Review from Product Description:

This moving memoir of a black military officer illustrates the period of racial integration in both military and civilian life. How does a black American prepare for a career in a profession traditionally closed to blacks? And how does he or she cope with the frustrations and dangers that subsequent experiences generate? As one of the black Americans who, during World War II, graduated from Tuskegee Army Flying School and served as a pilot in the 99th Pursuit Squadron, Charles W. Dryden presents an honest, fast-paced, and vividly written memoir of what it was like to be a black soldier, and specifically a pilot, during World War II and the Korean War. Colonel Dryden's book commands our attention because it is a balanced account by an insightful man who enlisted in a segregated army and retired from an integrated air force. Dryden is poignant in illuminating the hurt inflicted by racism on even the most successful of black people -- one of an elite group of young pilots who fought for their country overseas while being denied civil liberties at home. This story of an authentic American hero will touch each and every reader. "This is an autobiography of a prominent and very active member of the group of several hundred black airmen who were trained to fly in the skies over Alabama in the early 1940s, who fought the air war in Europe during World War II, and who simultaneously lived through the tempestuous life that the United States has imposed on its black citizens throughout all of our lives". -- From the Foreword by General Davis "A vivid and moving account of the experiences of a black career officer in the USAF through two wars and the transition from segregation tointegration. An eloquent addition to the growing body of literature on black airmen". -- John H. Morrow, Jr. University of Georgia "A-Train has a life and sparkle that draws one into the work and gives the reader a sense of Dryden's personality and character. His memoirs are also the memoirs of his comrades as he recounts his contacts with other Tuskegee Airmen and moves from assignment to assignment in the integrated Air Force. His description of the Tuskegee Airmen's informal network of support and friendship after integration provides invaluable insights on the aftermath of desegregation and shows how he and his comrades entered the mainstream of Air Force life". -- Robert J. Jakeman Auburn University

Amazon Customer Reviews:

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

Move over "Scarlet Letter", 2005-03-27
I had the opportunity to read this book. From the moment of the first word to the very last word, the book draws you in to read more. The graphic descriptions can take you to the other side of the world and stand next to the author on his travels. You know what it was like be black during the "Jim Crow" days on the trains in the south. Granted that my 25 years never saw the ugly side of America, his visual imagery is just so vivid that I seriously think they should dump "Scarlett Letter" and place this book on the reading lists of High School Students. br / br /

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

Fighting Germany and America., 2000-04-20
Charles Dryden's book forces people to see the trials and tribulations encountered by black servicemen and women during WWII. I was shocked to read about the different encounters with 'Jim Crow' that Dryden and his peers waded through during their service years. A must for anybody curious about WWII, the Tuskegee Airmen or about the fight for civil rights in America.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

A definitive study in courage, 1999-12-16
I meet Col. Dryden when he gave a talk about his experiences and his book. I then read the book a felt a tremendous respect for the author and all the Tuskeegee Airmen. Col. Dryden tells his personal story in a way that made me feel as though I was there with him the whole time. The challanges of blacks in America in his story left a powerful impact on me, the courage the author displayed is an insperation. A-Train is very well written and reads easily. It is an powerful story that left me feeling inadequate and ashamed to be white. I had the oportunity to meet Col. Dryden again and sought him out just to shake his hand again, knowing him from his book, it was hard to hide my emotions.

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

Every young African American boy should read this book., 1998-12-20
Every young African American boy should read this book. It is an inspiration.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

Excellent memoir of a man from an interesting age, 1998-05-21
I initially bought this book expecting it to be similar to the other slew of WWII books out there ( The ME-109 dove at me out of the sun with guns blazing...). Instead I got an honest account of a man who wanted to fly for his country and be treated with the same respect as any other pilot. Dryden's memories and descriptions of his voyage through training to be a pilot as well as the segregated and de-segregated Air Force are interesting and honest. Dryden't narrative is not the heart-pounding, can't-put-the-book down type but rather the story of a man who, faced with tremendous adversity from his own society and country, persevered. There is no bitterness in Dryden's story, and I put the book down tremendously impressed by his belief in himself, in his religion and his friend. It's a good book