About the Author

Phillip Thomas Tucker has a doctorate in American history from St. Louis University and is the author or editor of more than twenty books devoted to various aspects of African American, Civil War, women’s, and Irish history. For nearly twenty years, Dr. Tucker has worked in Washington, D.C., as a U.S. Air Force historian. He lives in Maryland.

Reviews

“Tucker knows how to mine the data for details lying well below the surface and use them to create an exhilarating narrative. This book demonstrates the power of analysis and the ability of the author to tell of the African American experience.”—Mario Marcel Salas, assistant professor of political science, University of Texas at San Antonio

“Phillip Thomas Tucker resurrects John C. Robinson, once the best-known black pilot in the world, who has since been largely forgotten. Tucker’s book fills an important gap, reminding readers that Robinson, a son of the South, turned Chicago into the greatest center of black aviation in the 1930s, encouraged Tuskegee Institute to establish black pilot training, and then led the Ethiopian air force. Anyone who has ever heard of black aviation pioneers Charles Anderson, Willa Brown, Cornelius Coffey, Dale White, and Chauncey Spencer should also be familiar with John C. Robinson, without whom the others might have never learned to fly. Tucker convinces us that Robinson is one of the greatest of the black aviation pioneers and played an instrumental role, not only in the establishment of black pilot training in the United States, but also in inspiring black pilots to join the fight against fascism, as he did.”—Daniel L. Haulman, chief, Organizational Histories Division, Air Force Historical Research Agency

"This engaging biography of John C. Robinson, the 'Brown Condor,' gives the aviation pioneer his historical due and—while most studies of New World-African connections focus on western Africa—makes an important contribution to our knowledge of links between African Americans and northeast Africa, particularly the independent Ethiopian nation of Emperor Haile Sellassie I."—Tim Carmichael, associate professor of history, College of Charleston