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The Man Called Brown Condor

The Forgotten History of an African American Fighter Pilot

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The Man Called Brown Condor

By: Thomas E. Simmons
Narrated by: DeMario Clarke
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About this listen

The forgotten true story of American war hero John Charles Robinson, a.k.a. The Brown Condor of Ethiopia.

How did a Black child, growing up in segregationist Mississippi during the early 1900s, become the commander of the Imperial Ethiopian Air Corps during the brutal Italo-Ethiopian War of 1935? In this gripping, never-before-told tale, biographer Thomas E. Simmons brings to life Robinson’s outstanding success in becoming a pilot, his expertise in building and assembling his own working aircraft, his influence on the establishment of a school of aviation at Tuskegee Institute (there would have been no Tuskegee Airmen without him), and his courageous wartime service in Ethiopia during the Italian invasion in 1935 - for which he won international fame.

It was during Robinson’s service to Ethiopia that he took to the air to combat the first Fascist invasion of what would become World War II. This remarkable hero may have been the first American to oppose Fascism in combat. When Ethiopia was freed by British troops during World War II, Haile Selassie asked Robinson to return to Ethiopia to help reestablish the Ethiopian Air Force. For Robinson and the five men he picked to go with him, just getting to Ethiopia in wartime 1944 was an adventure in itself.

Over the last 23 years, the author has performed original research on John C. Robinson when very little information on this remarkable American hero was available. The Man Called Brown Condor encompasses a vast amount of information based on obscure, forgotten, and heretofore undiscovered facts.

This work is more than the definitive biography of a Black pilot who became a US hero, only to be unfairly forgotten. It provides insight on racial conditions in the first half of the 20th century and illustrates the political intrigue within a League of Nations afraid to face the rise of Fascism. The Man Called Brown Condor is a new, exciting, heroic adventure in history, and provides the reader with an unforgettable story of an incredible American hero.

©2013 Thomas E. Simmons (P)2013 Audible, Inc.
Black & African American Cultural & Regional Historical Military Politicians World World War II War United States Air Force Adventure US Air Force Aviation Italy Transportation
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Editor reviews

Thomas E. Simmons unearths the remarkable true story of John Charles Robinson, an American fighter pilot who aided Ethiopia in its attempts to fight the looming threat of Mussolini and Fascist Italy. DeMario Clarke's performance is riveting, with a remarkably rugged voice that magnifies the incredible theatre of Robinson's life - not that it needs it. The Man Called Brown Condor illuminates the racial climate in the early 1900s, as well as the League of Nations' initial reluctance to confront the threat of fascism, and how all of this led to the actions of a previously forgotten American hero.

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Great true story, I knew nothing of the main character, but an inspiration to all people. The narrator needs to learn the proper pronunciation of place names, as it was bloody annoying. If you like flying and world history, then we’ll worth a read!

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Great story about the first black person to fly an aircraft, really interesting about flying in the twenties and thirties, when you really had to fly an aircraft not rely on modern gadgets like autopilot and such.

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