Warbirds: American Legends of World War 2

The title would have been more appropriately named "P38/P40/P51" since those are the only planes featured. However, there are a large number of photos with good, descriptive captions that cover a wide range of operating environments and locations. Buy this book for the photos, not for a lengthy description of the aircraft or service history. Each chapter has a couple pages summarizing the development of the subject aircraft. After that, it is all photos and captions. Besides extensive war time photos are descriptions and illustrations of post-WWII service (including both the Korean war and service with foreign forces)and post-military retirement, either as rotting hulks, camera platforms, storefront novelties, or restored collectables. I particularly liked the large number of photos that included pilots and ground crews in either posed or candid shots with the planes; it was an effective reminder that it was the combination of man+machine that made these planes successful. Some of the photos appear to have suffered somewhat in reproduction, with details obscurred as a result of contrast and/or brightness not optimized. Overall, though, this book is a keeper.