Aviation Books

As a distant relative of Oliver, I was surprised that I had never heard his story. What amazes me more is the fact that countless people like Ras never recieved recognition. All in all, however, the story is one of the best I've ever read in my life.

When I was a little boy, I grew up hearing about my Uncle Oliver's story and some of the wondrous adventures he had and shared with us. Finally I am able to read a accurate accounting and in-depth look at my family's history and its impact on my life.

When Oz's brother, Danwood, (my father), died, Oz became my father and mentor. Over the years, I would talk to him and feel his story come alive.

Before I took my turn as a warrior protecting my people, as a young Marine, I went to see Oz in California to talk about my turn in combat. His words to me gave me strength during my time in hell. Bakite ishin, "hit me if you dare," was his gift to me that protected me along with my heritage and my father's spirit.

Oz's spirit live on within these pages. His gift of life for his children, wife, and his relatives is one of struggle, within his own roots, happiness, and glory. To many in the Native American community, his life is one of the Ogitchidaa, (warrior): one who defends, protects, serves his family, community and their way of life. Now in this time of mourning over the World Trade Center disaster, his story can provide a special insight into a way of strength and overcoming the hardships of life.

My uncle's gift to me lies within those simple words,Bakite Ishin. They continue to give me the strength and insight to survive in today's world. I sit here now putting a Native American publishing house together with my wife. We suffer and endure for the people of our lives and heritage. Our first book, "Freddie Came Home & Other Coyote Tales," reflects the courage of my uncle's spirit and life. Our struggle with life, whether it be in business, traditions, family or community is supported by my Uncle Oliver's legacy. He truly gives hope to the world and to the people.

Bakite Ishin. Hit me if you dare. Words of the old ones in our proud heritage. Words for people to stand up to, to be proud of, and to stay strong. Che-Miigwech, Uncle, Che-Miigwech

This is a gripping tale of a real American hero surviving behind enemy lines in WWII. It is a definite must-read. Kudos to the author for bringing this story to print!

I met Oliver Rasmussen in the 1950s when I was a U.S. Navy apprentice and he was a chief. He was short, dark, rugged, didn't talk much and there was a kind of legend about him. He had walked down out of the Japanese hills at the end of the war and had quite a story to tell. But he didn't.

He also did strange things-going without food, making marathon runs (long before they became popular), and peeling paper matches to get two lights out of one. He didn't waste words or anything else.

Rasmussen had given a press conference after his ordeal in 1945. The media kissed it off as a joke with headlines like, "Aviator Wandered Around Japan." So he stopped talking.

I left the Navy in 1955 after a four-year hitch but I never forgot the mystery of Rasmussen's sojourn in Japan. In 1997 I was retired and decided to find him and ask him about it. I found his widow, Esther, living in California. She told me that in the late 1960s a friend asked her husband if she could tape his story. He agreed with the idea that she would write a book so he could "leave something for his children." But the book never materialized. Chief Rasmussen died in 1980 and his friend died not long after, without starting the project. The tapes were delivered to Esther Rasmussen who kept them in her garage for seventeen years, but didn't listen to them. Esther loaned me the tapes. The book they produced makes an exciting read, with plenty of tips on how to survive in the wild.

As Chuck Yeager put it: Rasmussen went down in Japan and I went down in Nazi-occupied France-a couple of bad places for Americans to visit during World War II. But both of us knew how to trap and hunt and live off Mother Nature. That helped. We were country boys-combat fliers, but still country boys. When our planes went down and we found ourselves in the wild, we knew what to do.

This book is about my uncle Oliver (Oz). I wish some reader has an "in" with Steven Spielberg. My uncle survived in Japan for 60+ days, undetected. His skills, stamina and heroism deserve legendary status. In our family he has that and more. I hope others find this book of interest. Heroes come few and far between, this book is a real heroic tale.

I felt that this book is extremely good especially to people in their late teens.... it is very inspirational and helps in understanding what you really want out of life, what you want to make out of it. It offers an interesting insight on his adventures and the way the story unfolds is very beautiful as well.... A must read especially for people in their late teens and aviation enthusiasts !!!

Dr. Gahlinger chronicles his experience flying from CA to South Africa (actually Egypt, but that is beside the point) in this wonderfully lucid and entertaining book. Superficially, the book is about flight, but metaphorically, however, Dr. Gahlinger takes us on his mental & emotional transformation from what appears to be a transition from being an academic doctor to becoming a medical doctor (among other things). I've taken a course from Dr. Gahlinger and very much enjoyed reveling in the details of his life --- his story is an inspirational one!! An outstanding read!

I just finished reading this book in about 4 hours (which is rare for me) and was very interested in his joys and tribulations that
he encountered in his personal life and in his trip from Santa Cruz all the way to Egypt with his Cessna Cardinal. On the plus
side he has a very interesting personal life and flight across the USA, Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Europe, and Egypt with a
brief bio of his stay in South Africa. I was disappointed in his cancellation of his African flight with his Cessna. He did a very
good job of describing the northern States and Labrador from the air but he barely covers the land between Ottawa and
Labrador. He is also quite brief about his flight over a good chunk of populated Europe. On the other hand his description of
his flying experiences over dangerous areas are very interesting and a must read for all real and virtual pilots. His is very good
with his avionic explanations except for a small number of mistakes on the functioning of certain instruments.

I really enjoyed a good chunk of the book but wished he would of included some scenic pictures, maps, and pictures of his
characters.

Pilot (East coast America, Utah, and Arizona)

A beautifully written story of one man and his airplane searching for an elusive goal, which he has not yet found. A brilliant PhD and MD, he relates so many accomplishments in his matter-of fact way that I was tempted to create a time-line to see how he could have accomplished so much at such a young age. He weaves the art and science of flying into his tale, explaining how the instruments work, adding entertaining bits of history, astronomy, and other sciences, educating while entertaining, much like Asimov. I am a fast reader, but read this book twice, to savor in the second reading the beautifully crafted prose. An exceptional book.

The Cockpit: A Flight Of Escape And Discovery is the story of Paul Gahlinger, a university science professor who decided to fly his small Cessna aircraft from California to South Africa. Gahlinger ignored the pronouncements of every aviation official that such a flight could not be done. From the beginning nothing came easy or worked quite right. Governments refused to give him permission to fly over their countries. The weather was horrendous. His airplane as an aging, under-equipped machine beset by mechanical glitches. But he persevered through ice-storms, sand-storms, an earthquake, and the threat of civile war to successfully accomplish his flight and make it to his intended destination. As his story progresses, Gahlinger weaves together the history and mechanics of flight with his real-life adventure. The Cockpit is a unique, fascinating, true-life tale of hazardous personal adventure and the unconquerable human spirit.

I found this book interesting & informative. It includes some great pictures & first hand information from a hero that was actually there defending our country.

God Bless the U.S.A.!

If you liked "Band of Brothers," you'll enjoy this book. It follows one member of Easy company from when he joined the Airborne until the end of the war. The book is filled with photos taken by Cpl. Guth during training, the Normandy Invasion and the Battle of the Bulge. There are also photos of the uniforms and equipment he carried. It's really a fascinating account of what this one man experienced during the war. Be sure to check out De Trez's other Airborne books. You won't be disappointed.

Amazing collection of photo's from a 101st member on D-Day. If you are a fan of the Band of Brothers series on HBO or enjoyed Ambrose's book you'll love these photos.
You will see up close photos of uniforms and equipment of the 101st Airborne Division as well as some German gear. This makes a perfect reference for WWII Re-enactors.
Also included are some great stories behind the photos. As a huge WWII buff and re-enactor I highly recommend this book for your collection.

Cpl. Forrest Guth, of Wilmington, Delaware, was one of the real "Band of Brothers" featured in Stephen Ambrose's book and the HBO movie series of the same name.

This book is written in English and French and chronicles the training, D-Day experiences and European service of Cpl. Guth (including the Battle of the Bulge) as he and other members of his 101st Airborne company liberated Europe from German control.

This is a coffee table type book with great pictures and long captions that tell the story of one man's duty in that great war. The pictures are terrific and are a good impression of the look, equipment and wear of a combat parachutist. A good companion book for fans of "Band of Brothers."

I have had the honor of meeting Cpl. Guth. He is a matter-of-fact man who did is duty honorably and is humble regarding the attention Mr. Ambrose's book has placed upon him. This book is a nice brief picture of a regular young man called to do big and dangerous things during wartime.

Mr. DeTrez does a fabulous job in telling Corporal Guth's story of his time in the Airborne. Tons of pictures, many with long, information-filled captions. The pictures are from Mr. Guth's private collection, and give a great perspective on his time in the 101st Airborne. It's almost like you're sitting in his house, looking at his personal photo albums.

I met Mr. Guth on one occasion, and correspond with him occasionally. He's a very nice man, polite, modest, and takes very little credit for the incredible job he performed in the military.
If you like the Band of Brothers Mini-series, you need to buy this book; it's a must!

It's hard to imagine anyone bettering 'Diz' Dean and Dan Hagedorn's history of Curtiss fighters. The amount of information and photographs uncovered by the two authors and presented in this 2007 Schiffer book is simply amazing. Anyone interested in Curtiss fighters - whether they be the classic 'Hawk' biplane, Navy 'Helldiver' dive-bomber, Model 75/P-36 or the workhorse P-40 - will want to pick up a copy of this book.

Though subtitled 'A Photographic History, 1917-1948,' that qualifier really doesn't do justice to the book's makeup. The book is illustrated with hundreds of black & white and color photographs, diagrams, cutaways and profiles. Yet the bulk of the book's 384 pages is devoted to text. And that text is a goldmine for Curtiss enthusiasts! Dean and Hagedorn accessed databases previously unavailable to researchers, the result being a fascinating account of the development of Curtiss fighters including the first comprehensive survey of all those confusing Curtiss aircraft designations.

CURTISS FIGHTER AIRCRAFT is not only a nuts-and-bolts breakdown of fighter aircraft. It includes background history of the company, the changing requirements for fighter aircraft over the years, Curtiss' dealings with the military and operational usage of the different Curtiss warbirds. (The Model 75 and P-40 were not the only Curtiss fighters to see combat!)

In short, the authors have crafted a first rate narrative, blending technical data with history. CURTISS FIGHTER AIRCRAFT is aviation history research and writing at its best.

Highly recommended.

Dan Hagedorn took the time to complete this great book on Curtiss fighters started by the late Francis Dean and has made it the definitive work on the subject. The comprehensive text decribing every Curtiss fighter and their variants from WW-I through 1948 is complemented by 100's of photos. The book is a valuable reference and a must for any enthusiast's library.

The authors have written an excellent book covering all fighter aircraft built by Curtiss. It is loaded with pictures and there is an extensive narrative. There are many illustration of interesting and unusual versions of the various Curtiss models. There is a picture of a Japanese P-40 and information about a squadron of P-40s captured by and use operationally by the Japanese during World War 2 (for a short time until parts ran out). The P-36 (Hawk 75) and P-40 sections are a book in themselves. The section on post World War 2 models through the P-87 jet are quite good. Early Curtiss models are also covered very well. This book covers only fighter aircraft and does not cover other important Curtiss transports, seaplanes, dive bombers, etc. A book that covers all Curtiss aircraft is the excellent Putnam book "Curtiss Aircraft 1907-1947" by the late Peter Bowers. I do not believe it to be in print though it appears to be available used. If anyone wishes to have a large information base on Curtiss aircraft, these two books would do it.

Curtis was at one time the largest manufacturer of aircraft in the United States, and they produced virtually every type of air plane. This book is on the fighters they produced from 1917 through the end of World War II. Of course the largest sections in the book have to do with the P-36, a very popular pre-war fighter and the P-40 one of the standard fighters of the war with some 14,000 produced. (About 15,500 P-51s and P-47s were produced so the P-40 was right up there.)

The amount of information in this book is amazing. In the case of the P-40, every model is discussed, and you get the feeling that just about every design modification. There is also extensive coverage of the attempts by the company to produce effective follow-on designs. Some of these are most interesting, especially the P-60C which was to have a Chrysler XV-2220 V-16 engine of 2,300 HP of which I had never heard.

I can only hope that there's another similar book like this one on the other Curtis designs such as the C-46 Commando and the SB2C Helldiver.

A Great Reference Book.

What didn't make the notes is that "Diz" Dean (my father) passed away in 2001 before he was able to finish this book but, Dan Hagedorn, noted Curtiss historian, stepped in to complete it. Here is a section that didn't make the publication:

"Francis Hale Dean was born in Bridgeport, CT in 1925 where at a very young age he became fasinated with airplanes when his father, a second-generation Harvard-educated engineer took him to the local airport one weekend. Later, when his father suddenly passed away at 31, his young widowed mother and baby sister moved in with his mother's parents in the sleepy seaport town of Marblehead, MA -- but the memories of his visiting the Bridgeport airport lasted a lifetime, and we are all the benficiaries.

For years afterword young "Franny" would send to aircraft manufacturers for their sales brochures, collecting information on the aircraft of the times. One day two salesmen fron Stinson traveled from Boston several hours away and called on the residence of the man who had requested information on their Reliance, only to be told by his bewildered mother answering the door that Francis was only seven years old!

As a teenage, young "Diz" (nick-named for the famous pitcher Dizzy Dean) while pitching during a high school baseball game brought the game to a complete halt for several minutes, stopping to study a formation of fighter aircraft passing overhead (ferrying to England?), much to the chagrin of his coach. Thus he secured his reputation as an aircraft afficionado in the small town. Always a good student, he graduated fifth in his class.

A supportive grandfather living in nearby Lexington, MA (an established steam manufacturing engineer and principal of the Boston engineering firm Dean and Main (now Charles T. Main), and professor at Harvard)encouraged young Dean to pursue an education at Harvard. However Diz disappointed him by favoring the "other" engineering school in Boston, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and their Aeronautical Engineering program.

A stint in the Navy interrupted his college career when all able-bodied men were called to serve during WWII. At eighteen, he was stationed at sea and in mainland China. He would later say that he wanted to go to flight school but a strong-willed widowed mother forbad it, fearing for his safety. Dreams of flight never left him during the service; as an excellent freehand drawer, at sea he often passed the time decorating his bunk with his realistically-rendered action pictures of fighter aircraft of the period, mostly drawn in detail from memory.

Returning from the War to Marblehead to complete his studies, he married resident and high school classmate Evelyn Gardner who me met when he returned to the high school where she worked in the office processing transcripts for returning vets. After graduating from MIT with an AE degree he took a job with The Curtiss Wright Corp. of West Caldwell, NJ (now Fairfield) in the propeller division. He worked at C-W until 1965. When he left he worked in preliminary design where he was head design engineer of the VTOL aircraft X-19, which also is the subject of one of his books. In 1965 he moved his family to Swarthmore, PA and spent the rest of his career as design engineer at Boeing-Vertol of Ridley, PA until retiring in 1986.

During his career he also spent many personal hours adding to his growing collection of historical aviation material, including cataloging of production data on many models and versions of American miltary aircraft; swapping rare historical photos and negatives with other prominent collectors nationally, and otherwise researching topics with a particular interest in different production types and their engineering foundation. He also collected aviation books; became active in the American Aviation Historical Society and the American Helicoptor Society. Curtiss Aviation was a life-long area of particular interest.

When he retired in 1986 he turned to writing and editing aircraft history books. Before he died in November, 2001 he had written and published five books including the primer on the subject of comparative performance of WWII fighters, America's Hundred Thousand. His life-long collection is now part of the Air and Space division of the Smithsonian, where it can be viewed upon request ("Dean Collection"). This work was his last contribution, as he passed before he could complete it. HIs family is very grateful to Dan Hagedorn, a long time friend of Diz and Evie for completing it including securing and adding a previously-undiscovered list of all Curtiss production aircraft from the collection of noted historian and author Pete Bower also passed; and at great trouble and expense adding some color photos as well as many other contributions throughout."

Bob Dean, 4/07

This is an epic pictorial of the US Navy of the 1980's. "Edge" came out in the 1980's, in the wake of the popularity over "Top Gun", though it does less to cash in on the hype than generate its own. (Remember how in 1986, leather aviator jackets covered in patches like some old steamer trunk were all the rage?) With George Hall's "Top Gun", "Edge" occupied a spot on my bookshelf, but never sat unread very long. Heatley's camera picks up life aboard an aircraft carrier - mostly on deck. Though an F-14 pilot, Heatley also captures the adventures of those who fly "Helos", Hawkeye radar planes, Viking sub-hunters, Corsair strike fighters, Intruder bombers, tankers, and ELInt planes. "Edge" is mostly a picture book - with little emphasis on telling very detailed stories. Nevertheless, between thin blurbs from shipmates and Heatley's pictures, a very nuanced picture of carrier aviation comes across - F-14's going supersonic or dogfighting against each other; Sea-Knight helicopters bringing needed supplies; deck-crew managing millions of dollars worth of hardware on a pitching carrier deck; a mammoth warship is dwarfed by the vast seas in a great vista shot; stricken planes making emergency barricade landings; Soviet planes being intercepted near the carrier. (I doubt that the Tu-95 "Bear" has ever appeared so classically beautiful by Soviet photogs.) Mid-way through, Heatley goes to Miramar to capture the sights of legendary Top-Gun (since moved to Yuma) and also capture the (then) new F/A-18 which was just entering the fleet. Heatley gets some great shots of aggressor pilots and their planes - McDonnel Skyhawks and Northrop Tigers with Soviet-style paint jobs - but the results aren't as dramatic as those achieved on the carrier (maybe the rigors of naval aviation have a way of creating their own narrative.)

Heatley's pictures are incredible - it's hard to believe that they're being taken while the guy is driving a $36 million plane (one of his shots appears as a mural in the bar scene in "Top Gun".)

While the pictures are unforgettable, "Edge" excels in the uncommon and still unsurpassed sincerity that Heatley brings out of his crewmates. They're faithful to their roles as strike-fighter aviators or helo drivers, but aren't afraid to talk about their limits (we know that the Corsair doesn't come with the bells and whistles of an F-14, but its pilots appreciate being able to make all the decisions themselves; sub hunting isn't a fast-moving job, but Viking crewmen appreciate the thrill of the chase). If you want a more detailed story of Navy carrier aviation, I'd recommend George Hall's book - which has some great pictures to be sure, but nothing that can touch the visual splendor of "The Cutting Edge".

As a long time airdale/sailor this is the only book of it the kind. This is a must have book for the ex-Navy flight deck 24 hours/7 days a week action packed photo album! The photo's are superb! Most photo's are action photo's and not a bunch of birds sitting on the deck of the boat! As a jet mech (AD2), I've been there done that! This is a close to the real thing as your going to get, plus you get to see the Navy in her prime with a A-3, A-6, A-7 and of course the cat's! Buy this book and you'll enjoy it for life. I guarrantee it!!! AD2 Pols

C.J. Heatley takes you into the cockpit to show you what it's like to fly an jet fighter off a carrier deck. Most of the pictures show an insight that few civilian photogs get the chance to see; Navy aircraft in their operating environment out at sea. An excellent addition to the library of any aircraft afficionado.

The best pictorial of high performance aircraft in action ever produced. Not the usual press corps pictures of aircraft in formation. The author spent years in service and flew with cameras on every mission. His still pictures capture an amazing amount of energy and motion. My two favorite pictures: 1) A rainbow ring around an F-14 as it breaks the sound barrier in a tropical environment--shot from the author's plane while doing the same; 2) an F-14 at the moment of touchdown on a carrier with a hint of tire smoke and the arresting cable whipping taught. WOW!

I was 13 when I first purchased Heater's book. At 14 I called him on the phone to ask him how to to become a Navy pilot. He realized I was a star-struck kid and was polite and encouraging. Now, 17 years later, I've been a Navy pilot for almost 10 years. I often think back to the days that I dreamed of flying and I have to say that "The Cutting Edge" was one of the biggest influences and motivations from my childhood. It was his photographs and the world that they depicted that gave me the motivation and pushed me forward through college and flight school and ultimately to earn my wings of gold. I lent my copy of the book to a friend 14 years ago (who is now an F-16 pilot), and I never got it back. So, I decided to buy another copy to show my wife (and hopefully someday my kids). I want to show my family what this book has meant to me throughout my life, and how you really can make your dreams come true if you take an image from a book, or whatever, and decide to make it come true. C.J., if you ever check this site, I just want to say Thank You. You helped me make my dreams come true and I can never fully express to you what that has meant to me. I'm finally in those skies you captured years ago. Thank You.

I was not sure how good of a read this book would be, and figured it would be something I'd shove under the coffee table after a bit and only look at it from time to time. I was wrong. I haven't been able to put it down. There's no better way to hear these stories than to get them directly from the pilots, and that's exactly the idea the author had.

Thanks for a great read, Quizmo.

In this invaluable 2007 volume, ex-USAF fighter pilot Craig Brown presents blow-by-blow accounts of all 56 successful air combats fought by U.S. air units between 1981 and 1999. In terms of accuracy and excitement, Brown's book can't be beat since, in almost all cases, the accounts were supplied by the aircrew involved in the engagement. Air combat enthusiasts will want to add this exciting, well-illustrated book from Schiffer Publishing to their collection post-haste.

The engagements covered in DEBRIEF are a real smorgasbord of aircraft types and geographic locations. Not unexpectedly the Air Force and Navy's top-line fighters - the F-14, F-15 and F-16 - were the main players not to mention the occasional odd-duck like the A-10! Likewise their opponents were a mixed bag of MiGs, Mirages, Sukhois, helos, transports, trainers, etc. With few exceptions the kills were made with AAMs, mainly AIM-7 Sparrows, which may surprise some readers considering the Sparrow's dismal record over North Vietnam.

Though I gave DEBRIEF five stars, to be honest I felt 4 1/2 stars a more appropriate rating. Don't get me wrong: DEBRIEF is a great read and stands as THE definitive account of post-Vietnam War engagements. The air combat junkie in me loves this book. The first-person accounts, though heavy with fighter pilot techno-babble, put you right in the cockpit for some very exciting missions. Then too the narratives are illustrated with hundreds of photographs, mostly in color, of aircrew, aircraft, in-flight formations, ships, squadron patches, etc. and ten artworks depicting specific engagements.

The amateur historian in me, though, wishes Brown had done more with his material. Having compiled all this raw data, he could have made the book much more useful by doing some basic analysis of all those engagements. Specifically, what do all those combats MEAN in terms of modern air combat?

Reading through DEBRIEF, several points easily come to mind: what a killer machine the F-15 is, what a dominant role U.S. AWACS platforms play in modern air combat, the outstanding performance of the AIM-7, etc. So why did the F-15 perform so well? How have AWACs aircraft reshaped air combat? How come the Sparrow performed as well as it did and so on?

Then too I wondered if there were unsuccessful engagements during that timeframe and, if so, why did they fail? When I was doing the research for my MIG KILLERS OF YANKEE STATION I felt it was equally as important to discuss the failures as well as the successes to get the complete story. I would have enjoyed reading Brown's take on fighter combat in the 1980-90 timeframe.

In any case, if you like reading about air combat, pick up a copy of DEBRIEF asap. You won't regret it!

This book is a MUST HAVE for anyone interested in modern military aviation - it covers every successful Air to Air engagement by the US military since the Vietnam war through the present day. Full of first hand accounts and personal photographs of the aircrew and aircraft involved, this is the most comprehensive book on this topic to date. The only thing that would have made this book better would be the addition of the unsuccessful engagements during the same time period, like Michael O'connor's 'Mig Killers of Yankee Station' does. I also recommend - MIG Killers of Yankee Station, Aces Against Japan, Aces Against Germany

I found Debrief to be a excellent collection of First hand accounts of US Air to Air Combat Victories covering the period of 1981 to the Present. The text and photos are first rate. A must have book for anyone interested in Military Aviation history. I am a proud and very satisfied owner of the Debrief book.

Craig "Quizmo" Brown is a former US Air Force fighter pilot who has used his considerable connections and expertise to compile this complete list of US air-to-air victories dating back to 1981.

The beauty of this book does not lie with the reproduction or illustrations, although both of these are very pleasing, but with the authority of the text. The entire book has clout not because Brown has interpreted the engagements as he believes they occurred, but because he has tracked down and interviewed a great many of the pilots involved in the fifty-six different kills described within; what you read is almost always the recollection of the man in the cockpit at the time. There are only a few exceptions to this, and Brown is clear about the source and the timeline in which the information was obtained at the start of each narrative.

This is a great book for anyone interested in modern military air combat, and in particular the cutting edge technologies employed by the United States Air Force and Navy to achieve total air dominance in major conflicts since 1981, with Iraq and the Balkans being the two major theatres. There's no 'gung ho' attitude or blatant bias to the narratives - the candid nature of the fighter pilots interviewed means that many recall their kills warts 'n all. That means they highlight what went wrong as well as what went right, and for the reader it's a privilege to be treated without condescension.

The subtext to all of this is that there are acronyms in this book - there would simply be no way to write this book without incorporating them, and they are an integral part of modern air combat. They usually relate to some technical device or concept that are easy to understand. None are left unexplained, and they barely detract from the flow of the text since their use has been kept to a minimum. A full glossary is provided at the beginning to help establish what these all mean before you delve into the action.

In summary, Debrief is an excellent book containing what are effectively fifty-six short stories. That makes it ideal for those seeking a short read (or with short attention spans!), but does not alienate the more analytical and hard core of aviation enthusiasts and historians because there are a significant number of learning points to discover in each engagement narrative.

Debrief has certainly earned a prominent spot in my overcrowded book case, and I believe it is a `must have' reference work.

I received the book with the book cover upside down and reversed with respect to the book.

Professor's Nancy Lynch's "Distributed Algorithms" is a definite reference for theoretical treatments of many hard problems in distributed computing. It is a textbook, but written in such a clear style that makes it almost a pleasure read. Rarely have I seen something like that! The book has a right proportion of theoretical proofs, practical applications, philosophical appreciation of the problems, research questions, examples and study points.

"Distributed Algorithms" has 3 main parts - synchronous, asynchronous and partially synchronous network algorisms. Each part describes consensus resolution, mutual exclusion, resource allocation, leader election, termination detection and failure detection as main problems in distributed computing theory. Lynch has done a masterful job of leading us from simple to complex, from theoretically solvable to practically intractable problems.

For a practitioner of computer science, who is not necessarily involved in fundamental research, this book gives a clear appreciation of problems of 2PC, resource management, failure profiles in faulty and noisy networks, optimization and fault management in distributed networks. All those things are foundations of databases, network computing and enterprise scalability. It also helped me greatly in estimating the best and worst case boundaries in certain practical distributed system optimization problems.

This book is in the same class as "Discrete mathematics" by Knuth and others. Important topic, extensive coverage, good English, zero vendor's propaganda. Super. An unexpected gift from up above (after struggling with reams of MS's (dis) information .) I am working on something distributed and ran into this book accidentally, while browsing in a bookstore--I'm glad I did. Btw, it's a few bucks cheaper in B&N store (here goes my review .)

At MIT, I took the course 6.852 Distributed Algorithms under Professor Nancy Lynch. It was an excellence course. This books is based on her lecture notes. Before this book, there is really no book that covers these material in rigorious and consistent matter. One usually have to read the actual published academic papers. Because different author may use different notations or models, sometimes it is hard to see the whole picture. This book shows exactly that. The algorithms are presented in a consistent notation, and the models and the assumptions all the explicit, clear and consistent. However, Professor Lynch's lecture style can get really dry and boring, sometimes I can't help felling asleep because the class was so early in the morning. For that, I decided to give it only 4 stars.

Together with Mrs. Lynch's other book "Atomic Transactions", this book has been my "Bible" for years already. And now that I am starting my own company in software development, I think about making this book obligatory reading for my first new employee. Not only because of the nature of its contents, but also because of the way these are presented, and the thought-work behind it. Ideas like the provability of algorithms, seeing the user as an automaton and showing that Lamport time >>really>> works, are rare to be found together in the same textbook. This book puts research back where it belongs: before practice, not over it. Mrs. Lynch has done a great job. It is upon this work of hers, together with "Atomic Transactions", that the IOA specification language is based, created in the LCS of MIT. IOA is now in near-operational working order, and puts into application almost all of the thoughts expressed in this book.

A must-read for any software engineer who takes him-/herself seriously.

Bought this for our 5 year old and he loves it. It has plenty of beautiful color pictures. We found it great because the pictures are so clear and sharp, my son loves to look at all the airplane details. If your child is a airplane fan, this is a great book. It's a larger (height) book, so doesn't fit on a book shelf that's not sized larger. The only complaint that I have is that I wish it had more pages with even more pictures! My son didn't want the book to end!

My 2 year old son is already heavy into airplanes and he LOVES this book. (This is the only non-board book I let him handle and he is so careful with this prized possession!) It's nice that there are snipets of information about each plane on the page so we learn a lot without having to read through paragraphs of text. It's great because as he gets older we can delve even deeper into the details of each plane. We both know so much more about planes than before picking up this book. Highly recommend!

My 2-1/2 year old son loves to "read" this book, and I enjoy reading it to him.

The text is definitely written to an older child (I would say that a child would have to be in at least second grade before reading it on his or her own). Fortunately, there are enough snippets of information that an adult can tailor the words to fit the child as she or he reads aloud.

The photos, though, are what make this book so attractive. Each type of aircraft (to include experimental aircraft, Chinook helicopters, and future space-shuttle-like craft)has a two-page spread of photos in this oversized book. Most types feature at least three photos: one from the side, one from directly in front (the SR-71 Blackbird and the jumbo jet are particularly striking!) and one from the rear. Every type of aircraft has a photo taken while flying.

My young son is learning that jet planes don't have propellers and that rocket engines look different from jet engines. Of course, at first, he was more interested in the striking colors of the aircraft chosen for the photos, but this book allows him to grow. He has a while yet before he learns "it all", unlike some of the other airplane books for young children.

An enthusiastic thumbs up!

This book is such a great treat to read with my 4-year old plane-crazy son. The photos are so clean and uncluttered. There's a ton of information, so this book would be great for older kids as well. From this book alone, my son has learned so much. We recently visited the Air museum in Chantilly, VA, and he ran around naming the different planes. As soon as we walked in, he said "A Blackbird!". Super book!

As a 70 year old, I was so fascinated with this Big Book of Airplanes while at the dentist's office that I have since sent one to my grandson for Christmas and recently purchased a second one for a neighbor boy and a third one for myself.

Hard to say what I like best about the DC-8 edition of this series, which I wish offered more volumes. The pictures are great, many never seen before. There's interesting and in-depth reading on the development and roll out of the 8, a comprehenive model list and inventory, and more.

As a DC-8 Mechanic "Great Airlines Douglas DC-8" is a must have reference. With DC-8s still flying I'm looking forward to the next book.

I just received this book, but I am already very happy with it. It is full of lots of details on this wonderful old aircraft and a large number of color photos. It makes me remember a childhood trip I took on a Delta DC-8 and we got to sit in this lounge type set up in the very front of the airplane, ahead of the galley. With 2 sets of 2 seats facing each other with a table between them. What a wonderful and elegant airplane. I can't wait to finish the book.

I've searched for a long time a good DC 8 book which would show and describe what happened in the planning-time, in the production-time, what for problems the engeeners had and so on.
And I've found it, I recommend this book strongly to everybody who loves the DC 8 and the early jetliners.

Beautifully illustrated referene book covering every aspect of the Douglas DC-8. This is by far one of America's greatest aviation achievements and this title certainly demonstrates that honor. As part of a top-of-the-line series (Great Airliners), the reader will find this addition to thier airliner book collection priceless.

I always knew this type of information was out there somewhere...

The surface of the earth is over 2 million square miles. Using only a pocket watch, and observing the sun and stars, you can determine where you are on the planet to within about 50 miles. If you don't find that fact astounding, you probably won't be interested in reading Burch's book.

I'm no sailor, but have a great interest in naked eye or minimalist navigation. Some of the techniques require little more than the naked eye, your watch, and a piece of string. These techniques can easily be used on dry land.

The book contains a tome of information-as much a reference book as a straight read: several books could have been written from the information contained-for that matter, the two chapters on navigating by the sun and the stars are well worth the price of the book.

The last time I checked the book was out of print. I downloaded it online from elibra books for less than $20. Get it while you still can.

I honestly doubt I will ever be in a situation such as described in this book. For me that is not the real value of it. Rather it presents a number of navigational concepts that are important to understand if you care to do more than rely on electronic navigation.

If you are interested in celestial navigation or polynesian navigation or any other "ancient and obsolete" techniques you should read this book. If you want an overview that will help you get a seat of the pants feel for where you are this is it.

Ok here's the situation, you are in the middle of the atlantic on your sailing boat, a huge wave has just broached you, but the yacht is OK, nothing seriously damaged. However, the electronic navigation equipment is suffering from it's salt water bath and when you dust the cobwebs off your sextant your trusty crewman drops it over the side. You have your almanac, but you can't find a hand compass anywhere. A fog is beginning to come down and you are afraid that you might be drifting into a busy shipping lane. What to do?

Well, if you had read this book, and if you were diligent enough to practice the techniques regularly you would still have some fingernails left and instead of spending the night sounding off your foghorn at three minute intervals you could have been sleeping comfortably below in the knowledge that the sextant dropper owed you a night watch.

This is a highly readable treatise on marine navigation with applicability to all voyages. The topics covered provide real motivation to become a navigator. The techniques developed scream out to be tried as exercises, if only to stay mentally on edge during an otherwise boring watch. Loran, (D)gps, ... even your compass can be zapped by a bolt of lightening. Get mentally prepared. Deep Six the Sunday Times crossword puzzle. Calculate your position with just your ten dollar watch and the Nautical Almanach!

This book covers simple and indepth information of all aspects of emergency navigation. The material includes use of celestial observation tools that are hand made, navigation with and without a time piece and use of surrounding weather conditions. This book is very user friendly and a must have for the serious mariners and student of traditional navigation. It must be remembered that batteries will only last so long in the GPS.