Skies of Thunder
The Deadly World War II Mission Over the Roof of the World
Caroline Alexander, Viking, 2024, 496 pages
Book Review published on: September 18, 2025
Skies of Thunder chronicles the 1942 fall of British Burma to Japanese forces. With U.S. and UK resistance withering against the Japanese, the Allies were desperate to keep the Chinese National Forces in the Alliance. With the loss of the Burma Road, the only land route to China closed by the Japanese, the Allies began a daring and perilous resupply from Eastern India, across northern Burma and into Western China. Along the way pilots faced the "Hump," the forbidding foothills of the Himalayas and horrific weather to ferry supplies to Chinese forces. This is a work of World War II military history where the author moves seamlessly from the strategic, through the operational and down to the tactical levels of war with precision storytelling.
The author sets the stage with an understanding of the strategic consequences of World War II. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill were working to relieve pressure on Russian forces while maintaining a military foothold in the Pacific for future action. To the Western Allied leaders, keeping Chaing Kai-shek and his Chinese nationals in the fight against the Japanese was crucial. Furthermore, Roosevelt envisioned a key role for China in the post war, global order. For these reasons, it was determined that an "air-bridge" across the "Hump" was essential to allow the Chinese to fight and later to thrive in the postwar era. This sets the stage for the operational level.
Operationally, the area of action focused on the China-Burma-India Theater. The environment was led by a colorful cast: Gen. "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell, Lt. Gen. Clarie Lee Chennault of the Flying Tigers, Brig. Gen. Frank Merrill of Merrill's Marauders, and UK Brig. Gen. Orde Wingate of the Chindits. Militarily, the United States and the UK fought to maintain flight access over rugged North Burma to continue supplying the Chinese. It was the burden of airmen to sustain this tenuous sustainment lifeline.
Tactically, the author exposes the reader to the key Allied challenges. First, the Japanese had control of Burma, with only the northern tip out of their grasp. Second, the terrain was formidable. North Burma was a sweltering jungle ringed by steep hills and almost no infrastructure. Burmese hills led further north to the imposing foothills of the Himalayas that were a barrier and created significant atmospheric effects. The aviators were forced to fly in unpredictable and violent storms on a near-daily basis. The pressure to fly the "Hump" led to the loss of many Allied aircraft and air crews.
This is a masterful story, where the author suspends the reader in the exoticness, danger, and the herculean effort that was taken by Allied airmen and associated ground forces to supply Chinese nationals. The book will resonate with someone with an interest in World War II, military campaigning, or travel as the author provides wonderful details of the region. Skies of Thunder is an exploration of a unique World War II military operation and an enduring tribute to the people who lived it. A wonderful read, I highly recommend it.
Book Review written by: Col. Robert Sherrill, U.S. Marine Corps, Retired, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas