Aviation Books

This is a wonderfully rich and enjoyable biography on a very important woman in history. Not only does the author make Bessie's amazing story come to life, but it is written in an enjoyable stye that helps you absorb the facts and significants of her life & times. I'd highly recomend this to anyone intersted in flight, black history, or women's rights.

This book is intended for children, but can be profitably read by adults as well. I read this at the same time as Doris L. Rich's Queen Bessie, probably the best full-length biography. I was impressed at how well this book conveyed Bessie Coleman's life and character, although the reader may also want to read Rich's book for additional personal, historical and contextual information.

The book is lavishly illustrated with black and white photographs. The Rich book is also well-illustrated, and since there is not a great overlap, the reader in search of visuals should probably consult both.

The book is well annotated and indexed. There is a very short biography and a few relevant websites.

Bessie Coleman was a truly remarkable woman. During the 1920s, not many women or black Americans were drawn to flying. Bessy, a black American woman, had to fight many prejudices to realize her dream. Plantz tells Bessie's story from birth to her tragic and suspicious death in a plane crash as a compelling narative. Bessie tackled many challenges in her short life and can be considered a role model, if not hero, for black Americans and all women. This is a good read for 10-year-olds to adult.

As an airline employee and aviation enthusiant I love this book. I have finished my fifth reading of it and I keep discovering more insight. I can read it for hours and slip away from present existence to Alexander Frater's world. Truly one of the greatest books for those who love airlines and different cultures. Wonderful.....

this book is currently available in paperback from amazon.co.u

This is excellent and one of those rare books that you can read again and again. Alexander Frater writes about a journey he made using modern air transport that retraces the original route of Imperial Airways (predecessor of today's British Airways) on their pioneering route from London to Brisbane, Australia in the 1930's. Not only is it an extremely interesting travelogue but it also is highly informative in a historical sense. There are also many funny and poignant moments that he relates from his journey. The only downside is that unfortunately it is currently out of print

This book is just excellent!
Everything you want to know is in there.

If you have plenty of books on the Luftwaffe, these little Osprey books usually provide lots of "unpublished before" photos and a wealth of color profiles, and this one is no exception. Great mini-history of the theater itself from the German perspective, and a must for any library on the subject of Western Front Luftwaffe aces.
Get the Russian Front 109 aces book as well, and check out the FW-190 series on both fronts too to round out your collection. As visual references these gems are unmatched for the price.

Mr. Weal has done a great job in this book. A large review of the operations of the 109 units in the western front. Lots of information about units combats. Shows the hard work of the german fighter pilot in this theatre, lots of amazing pictures and excellent color plates. Tons of pages has been published on this subject, but this book is a good choice for modeleres and for anyone interested in german fighters, specially the 109. Strongly recommended.

This is a fascinating look at the history and beauty of the wonderfully remote Big Moose Lake in the Adirondacks. The site of many historic great camps, a couple of which are still open for accomodations, the lake is also the site of the Gilette - Brown murder, the first "trial of the century" of the 1900's. This book even lists the history of each parcel of property on the lake. Many historic photographs show Big Moose in all its glory.

"Big Moose Lake in the Adirondacks" has been recognized for excellence in state and local history by the national organization, the American Association for State and Local History and also by the New York State Upstate History Alliance.

Big Moose Lake In The Adirondacks: The Story Of The Lake, The Land, And The People is a local history project under the editorship of Jane Barlow and authorized by the Big Moose Lake History Project Committee. It tells the true story of the growth of the lakeside community that became famous because of the incident that inspired Theodore Dreiser's "An American Tragedy." Beginning in the 1870's, and following how people's lives changed over the course of 100 years, Big Moose Lake In The Adirondacks uses both extensive, well-documented detail and black-and-white photographs to paint a revealing picture of humble daily life across the span of a century.

This book is a fine and engrossing study of the Battle of Arras in 1917, focusing on the climatic month of April when British and Canadian forces succeeded in driving back the Germans.

Hart begins with a thorough introduction to the battle, explaining how the Allies and the Germans came to fight near a village that had seen war ever since the Romans built it. He brilliantly describes the actions and preparations made prior to Spring, 1917, making excellent use of reports, maps, and personal letters.

The core of the book is centered on the air battle in April. British success--and high casualty rates in the Royal Flying Corps as it tried to make do with mediocre planes and little training--made possible the breakthroughs realized by the British and Canadian infantry, allowing them to capture Vimy Ridge. Along the way we run into some familiar figures, Richtofen and Göring among them, but most of the men we meet are now long forgotten except perhaps for a letter or, with luck, a picture. Hart tries to tell a bit of their story too.

This is an important and worthwhile book. Oh, one more thing is worth noting: You really must read the acknowledgments. Hart's original idea for the title of his book will make you laugh out loud.

Bloody April is about the air war over Arras in 1917: the
British lost large numbers of aircraft to the Germans, and
the life expectancy of a rookie pilot could be measured in
days. Yet, paradoxically, the British won the battle that
month. Bloody April goes into depth on the characteristics
of the aircraft, the training, the prelude to April and the
aftermath: there are innumerable quotes from diaries,
letters home, and other accounts that help show the attitudes
and the stress.

The romantic view of the war in the air in W.W. I is usually
that of single-seat fighters in combat with each other. The
reality is that for the RFC in the Arras sector, only a third
of the aircraft were single-seaters: the rest were all two-
seaters, although some of these had to be employed as fighters
at times. The primary mission of the RFC was to help with
photo reconnaissance (thousands of photographs had to be taken
each day) and artillery spotting (using wireless transmitters
to help artillery zero in on targets). The primary role of the
fighters was to escort the photo recon and artillery spotting
aircraft and to screen them by offensive patrols. Trench-
strafing, anti-balloon attacks, and bombing were of secondary
importance, as was the need to prevent photo recon and artillery
spotting by the Germans.

The German fighters were far superior to almost all of the
British two-seaters, and were superior to most of the British
fighters, but the Germans had only half as many aircraft in
the sector as the British, and so they usually played a
defensive role. The British accepted very heavy losses in
exchange for getting the photographs and the artillery
spotting done. There are quotes about how a squadron with
32 planes lost 35 pilots during April--replacement pilots
would survive only a few days. Flying a BE2 with only 10 hours'
flying experience against veteran German pilots whose planes
were twice as fast and had twice the firepower was not
conducive to lasting very long.

Bloody April never gets bogged down in small details--it gives
a first-class flavor to what things were really like, and it
helps dispell the romantic myths. It's a fine book.

addendum: august, 2007. Aces Falling by Peter Hart (available Amazon UK
august, USA October?) carries the air war through 1918--it's a good sequel
to Bloody April.

This book describes the terrible loss rate of the RFC two-seater aircrews during the month of April 1917, a period known as "Bloody April". The stage is set by introducing the reasons why these casualties were accepted as a necessary consequence of the requirements of the ground war on the Western Front. Considerable use is made of first person accounts by various two-seater aircrew personnel, most of whom have seldom if ever had their thoughts and fears depicted in such a graphic manner. These first person accounts give the book a personal air which came as quite a surprise, and which makes the book a remarkably easy read. Throughout, the book shows signs of considerable reaearch of high quality.
I will confess that I bought this book primarily because the price was right, and my expectations were quite modest. Having read the book, I can now say that this should be required reading for any serious student of the Great War in the air. It makes the suffering of the RFC Corps aircraft flight crews come alive in a way that few other references have matched.

Bodenplatte is an excellent book and very interesting, the more so since I was at Eindhoven on New Year's day 1945 and was wounded with many others. I can certainly confirm the verocity of the attack.

Hikoki Publications has a well-deserved reputation for producing high-quality military aviation history books.

BODENPLATTE is a perfect example of Hikoki's commitment to quality. There have been other books on the Luftwaffe's ill-fated attacks on Allied airfields on 1 January 1945, most notably Norman Frank's book, but the Manrho and Putz book must stand as the definitive book on the subject.

The depth of research in this book is truly impressive. Comments from dozens of German and Allied personnel help trace the fate of each Jagdgeschwader over France, Belgium and Holland. The book's final chapter detailing actual losses on both sides is especially helpful in showing what a pyrrhic victory Bodenplatte was for the Luftwaffe.

The book is well-illustrated with over 400 photos, including shots of Luftwaffe aircraft caught in the act of strafing Allied airfields. (I wish Hikoki had included color profiles of some of the FW 190s and Me 109s involved but that's a minor quibble).

In short, Buy this book! Military aviation history doesn't get much better than this!

Bodenplatte proves to be Luftwaffe's last major aerial offensive of World War II and this book shows why this raid proves to be so ill-fated, ill conceived and badly planned. Superbly researched by the two authors with hundreds of first hand accounts that gives much clarity to this often overlooked one day effort that totally compromised the Luftwaffe military effort along the western front for the rest of the war.

The book is divided so each fighter wing (Jagdgeschwader) who took part of the operation had their own chapter. Each chapter shows how they prepared and how they fared during the New Year Day raid. As in most cases, these Jagdgeschwaders did not fared very well at all. It pretty interesting to read that almost 50% of all Luftwaffe losses were due to anti-aircraft, mostly Allied although German lost some more to their own anti-aircraft units. The lost of German pilots proves to be the hinchpin of doom for the Luftwaffe while Allies easily replaced all pilots and planes lost in that raid.

The book read pretty well, there are over 400 black and white photos that goes with the account given and many of photos proves to be interesting ones. The book is written with certain German centric point of view although first hand accounts were given from both sides. There is also a very detail appendixs of who shot down who, what unit lost what planes and pilots and host of other material that reflect on the details of the raid. The research, as I write again, proves to be superb.

If there was a weakness, I would say that the maps could have been better design. Also, this book wasn't meant to be read by beginner reader. The authors fully expect their readers to understand the full aspect of World War II history during this period and readily be able to tell the difference between a FW190D and ME109G. There isn't much in this book for elementary education on World War II. The authors take you straight into the military narrative of the raid.

Overall, a definitive account of Bodenplatte Raid and as it turned out, it wasn't much hope for the Luftwaffe after this. The book come highly recommended for experience readers. (Funny, Hikoki Publications - Hikoki is Japanese word for "plane".)

What a superb book! Whether you simply love airplanes, and the joys of flying, or whether you want to know detailed, technical information, I found this book offers it all. Colorful, well-documented and easily readable. Highly recommended for all who enjoy flight and planes.

The series continues. John Proctor does a great job with Volume 7 of the series of Great Airliners!

A fantastic review of the 707/720 series.

As with all the Great Airliner series, this is a must have book

Though the Boeing 747 has been eclipsed by the Airbus A380 in size, the original Jumbo remains the most recognizable of commercial airliners and maintains a dedicated fan base. Those who love the Boeing 747 as much as I do will enjoy looking through the wealth of photos, documenting the evolution of the aircraft from the original Series -100 through the -400, covering nearly three decades of service and production.

Each civilian model (military variants are not covered here) is given a well-written introduction covering the most important aspects of the jetliner. The only thing lacking is a more detailed introduction, that is the events that led to the world-famous design and commentary from chief designer, Joe Stutter. The photographs are all of high quality and show the aircraft from various angles, both on the ground and in flight. Enthusiasts will be grateful for the photographic record of aircraft no longer in service. Each pictures is accompanied by a detailed caption. My only criticism is that some photos span both pages, making them somewhat hard to view in their entirety.

All in all, anyone interested in the Boeing 747 will appreciate this fine book.

Many readers will understand that I am a most avid researcher of any matters aeronautical: military, covert, or civil. Osprey Publications, a leading publisher of the transportation genre, have, yet again, with the help of the world renowned Robbie Shaw, compiled a fascinating documentary of every Boeing 747 ever produced. Shaw, an author who must have travelled the earth to find so many wonderfully graceful pictures of the so called 'Jumbo Jet', has, along with all of his other works, collected an unmistakable collection of photos to accompany Osprey's growing range of books. The fairly large sized book, filled with large, glossy, colour pictures, and outstandingly accurate essays delves in to each and every version of the 'forty seven: the -100, -200, -F, -200F, -300, -SP-, -SR, and the -400, as well as describing how they are designed to be such perfect machines, and, inevitably, what sort of company shall part with so much cash for one. Indeed, nearly every large airline has atleast one of these graceful machines: BA, American, Delta, Royal Deutsch... and what's more, not a word is against such beautiful planes- the author talently describes the positive and negative viewpoints about the aircraft, but I must applaud him on how well he handles such a taskful genre to write about. Osprey, and Mr. Shaw, you are, some of the best documentors of aeronautical technology the world has come across: I shall certainly award five stars for such an excellent book, and I shall undoubtedly read more and more of your books in the future. A great, great book.

This book is the greatest Boeing 747 book I have read so far; I have my own copy and I never tire of looking through it and admiring the great photos and detailed captions telling the whole story of the particular aircraft pictured, including its name, tail number, previous owners, etc. I also love the text; it is a great history of all the series of 747s: -100, -200, cargo, SP, -300, and -400. Some of my favorite photos are of a TWA 747-100, the Pan Am 747s, the SPs, and the Aer Lingus 747-100. The only things that are missing that I'd like to see are "classic" 747s (Delta, American, Braniff, National, etc) and interior shots. Otherwise, an A-1 747 book for Jumbo fans like me!

Francis Smith (smitfj01@holmes.ipfw.edu) Garrett, Indiana USA

This book has some great valuable information about 747 series.
I wish it had some more details about 747-400 series (megatop).
Picture quality is excellent, best price for an used book. Seller was very prompt and shipment arrived well before the estimated date.

This is another in a growing list of outstanding publications in the "Airliner Color History" series! Every possible detail you could ever want to know regarding the early ("Classic") models of Boeing's magnificently-enormous 747 Jumbo jet airliner are included in this very well-illustrated 128-page volume!! Tons of information about these awesome flying machines are at your fingertips here. All kinds of technical data & graphs & charts are provided, as well as sections covering "747 accidents", "airline operators" (featuring info & photos on just about EVERY airline ever to operate a B747 Classic!), and "production history" (which is a listing of all 800+ aircraft, including the date each one first took to the skies).
Of course, there are also lots and lots of excellent photographs throughout this comprehensive volume, including many shots of jetliners under construction. In all, this is a MUST for aviation fans, or for anyone who likes to look and read about Boeing's mightiest achievement.

The Airlife's Airliner series of books cover individual commercial aircraft types in an interesting, in-depth manner.

Each volume of this British series covers a unique commercial aircraft type from its design, production, entry into service, its usage by airlines, and in some cases eventual demise.

Each volume features plenty of color and black and white photographs of the subject aircraft along with a complete construction list (accurate to date of publication for aircraft types still being built).

This volume covers the original incarnations of the Boeing 747 ... the 100, 200, 300 and short-bodied SP. Together these variants are the most successful widebody airliner ever built.

The 747 may be credited with bringing air travel to the masses ... making airfares affordable to the general population due to the large amount of seats available.

This book takes an interesting look at the genesis of this aircraft ... its design (it was designed to eventually become a freighter only aircraft, according to Boeing, because by the 1990s we would all be flying on supersonic airliners) ... to the radical idea of a 400 passenger airliner.

Northwest 747-200 flies from Minneapolis to Amsterdam from Minneapolis to Tokyo Narita New York to Tokyo Narita San Francisco to Tokyo Narita Los Angeles to Tokyo Narita Seattle to Tokyo Narita International Airport. Detroit to Tokyo Narita.
Honolulu to Tokyo Narita. Detroit to Osaka Kansai Honolulu to Osaka Kansai

This book provides a great overview of the largest commercial jet liner yet built. There are lots of good diagrams and photos, but most of them are in B&W instead of color. Lots of history and technical information. There are more extensive books available on the 747, but if you are just looking for a fairly detailed technical description and history, then this is th ebook for you.

The Boeing 747 was originally conceived as a transition aircraft to replace the 707s and DC-8s until the Supersonic designs could be developed. Now, many years and more than 1,400 aircraft later, the Boeing 747 continues to be the premier workhorse of the aviation transportation system. Volume 6 in the Speciality Press "AirlinerTech" series, Dennis Jenkins' Boeing 747 - 100/200/300/SP presents a detailed, technical look at the design and construction of the world's first and most enduring jumbo jet. Highly recommended for all aviation enthusiasts, this profusely illustrated photo history covers all the problems that had to be overcome in developing, operating, and maintaining this remarkable jet aircraft.