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Harrier: The Biography
The British designed and built the Harrier, the most successful vertical take-off-and-landing aircraft ever made. Combining state-of-the-art fighter plane technology with a helicopter's ability to land vertically the Harrier has played an indispensable role for the RAF and Royal Navy in a number of conflicts, most famously the Falklands War. Jonathan Glancey's biography is a vividly enjoyable account of the invention of this remarkable aeroplane and a fitting tribute to the inspiration and determination of the men and women who created it, and the bravery of the men who flew it, often in the most dangerous conditions.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published November 7, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 14, 2022
Harrier-hävittäjän tarina on nivottu laajempaan sotilaallis-poliittiseen kontekstiin. Otsikon aiheen lisäksi kirjassa on runsaasti ajankuvaa, välillä pitkällekin toisiin aiheisiin rönsyten. Jos toivoo kirjasta tarkkoja ja pitkällisiä teknisiä selostuksia, tulee pettymään. Lopputulos on kaleidoskooppimainen, nostalginen, jos kohta hieman hajanainen. Englantilainen kirjoittaja ei peittele viime vuosisadan puolivälin britti-insinööritieteisiin kohdistuvaa ihailuaan.
July 28, 2018
Before I get into the detail let me be explicit. Is this a ok book? Yes. Is it a great book on the Harrier? No. As an aviation nut I dived into this book wanting it to be amazing and fantastic. I was sorely disappointed, in many ways.
Firstly, the language used throughout the book is overly complex and flowery. where the author could use simple language, he has chosen to go with complex words outside the standard vocabulary. At one point it the language became a barrier to reading it was so distracting. Additionally, the language is overly flowery in parts of the book. I was expecting wonderfully over the top descriptions of the Harrier in the air, but didn't. The flowery language appeared in unexpected places and added nothing to the historical narrative when it did
Secondly, the author clearly loves a good tangent. In fact, the further the tangent goes - the better! In many places the author took a detour to provide historical insights into the times or specific events. while these were very well covered and research, they add nothing to the history of the Harrier. A classic example is Chapter 6. Expecting a detailed discussion of the Gulf War and Iraq/Afghanistan operations, instead I found these glossed over for a detailed geopolitical history of the middle east from WWII onwards. Totally useless.
Yet, despite having spent so much time on history of the irrelevant, when it comes to discussing the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review - which killed off the Harrier from UK service - the author spends 1.5 pages on it. SERIOUSLY???? There is no in depth analysis, just a 'we probably won't know what the discussion was so who cares' line thrown in. Clearly the author was more concerned about easily found research than digging for the good stuff.
What else is missing in this book are some of the unique flying work the Harrier undertook. Whilst it briefly covers flying off the UK's carriers, I was left feeling deeply let down at the superficial nature of the discussion. There is not much detail on flying from Ark Royal, what a cruise would entail, how squadrons worked up to a cruise, nor how the squadrons (including the maintenance staff) were organised whilst underway. Speaking of which, there is no discussion from the maintenance side of the fence at all in the book. Still, the Harrier deployments to Germany and Belize are only glossed over, which is a disappointment as these are wonderfully interesting and have generated many fun stories. My only advice is, if you want to read about flying the Harrier - including Germany and Belize - then read Flying Freestyle by Jerry Pook. Much better written, and contains more on the Harrier's flying than this book does!
Having said all of that, this book covers the transition from Harrier to F-35B very well. it also does a great job up front of taking a quick tour of VTOL attempts by different country until you land on the Harrier.
Overall, if you are interested in the Harrier it is worth reading for the technical history, however if you want to learn about how the aircraft flew - both the good and bad parts - this book is not worth troubling with. Overall I have to say a deep disappointment as I was expecting so much more from this book.
Firstly, the language used throughout the book is overly complex and flowery. where the author could use simple language, he has chosen to go with complex words outside the standard vocabulary. At one point it the language became a barrier to reading it was so distracting. Additionally, the language is overly flowery in parts of the book. I was expecting wonderfully over the top descriptions of the Harrier in the air, but didn't. The flowery language appeared in unexpected places and added nothing to the historical narrative when it did
Secondly, the author clearly loves a good tangent. In fact, the further the tangent goes - the better! In many places the author took a detour to provide historical insights into the times or specific events. while these were very well covered and research, they add nothing to the history of the Harrier. A classic example is Chapter 6. Expecting a detailed discussion of the Gulf War and Iraq/Afghanistan operations, instead I found these glossed over for a detailed geopolitical history of the middle east from WWII onwards. Totally useless.
Yet, despite having spent so much time on history of the irrelevant, when it comes to discussing the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review - which killed off the Harrier from UK service - the author spends 1.5 pages on it. SERIOUSLY???? There is no in depth analysis, just a 'we probably won't know what the discussion was so who cares' line thrown in. Clearly the author was more concerned about easily found research than digging for the good stuff.
What else is missing in this book are some of the unique flying work the Harrier undertook. Whilst it briefly covers flying off the UK's carriers, I was left feeling deeply let down at the superficial nature of the discussion. There is not much detail on flying from Ark Royal, what a cruise would entail, how squadrons worked up to a cruise, nor how the squadrons (including the maintenance staff) were organised whilst underway. Speaking of which, there is no discussion from the maintenance side of the fence at all in the book. Still, the Harrier deployments to Germany and Belize are only glossed over, which is a disappointment as these are wonderfully interesting and have generated many fun stories. My only advice is, if you want to read about flying the Harrier - including Germany and Belize - then read Flying Freestyle by Jerry Pook. Much better written, and contains more on the Harrier's flying than this book does!
Having said all of that, this book covers the transition from Harrier to F-35B very well. it also does a great job up front of taking a quick tour of VTOL attempts by different country until you land on the Harrier.
Overall, if you are interested in the Harrier it is worth reading for the technical history, however if you want to learn about how the aircraft flew - both the good and bad parts - this book is not worth troubling with. Overall I have to say a deep disappointment as I was expecting so much more from this book.
January 26, 2015
Best plane
A great book about a great plane. A shame Britain scrapped what was a perfectly good plane with a few more years left.
A great book about a great plane. A shame Britain scrapped what was a perfectly good plane with a few more years left.
November 21, 2023
It’s OK, is about the best I can manage. It is such an interesting subject but the author Jonathan Glancey alas rambles too much in his approach to the material, and the book has one too many irrelevant references for my liking. Also, Mr Glancey can’t but let his personal views slip out, especially where the politics are concerned, and these views lack any measure of balance which would have given some gravitas to the account. Basically, it doesn’t have the feel of a serious account, but is more like school-boy fandom.
November 28, 2017
Remarkable journey of an amazing aircraft. Fortunate to have seen one close up, rise, tilt up vertical and shoot into the clouds. A thundering body filling event that brought me to overwhelming emotion for its sheer power terror and grace. The book even though filled with model names galore, weaves history into the Harriers life. I really enjoyed it .
November 4, 2023
Even if you’ve read everything else about the Harrier, I’d still recommend this. The author does a great job of explaining a war or situation and then describing how the Harrier fits into the job and how it performed. 5 stars, really enjoyed it.
September 20, 2016
I seem so positive in all my reviews.
It's a really entertaining read; though it, like the Harrier it talks about, is heavily affected by the politics. (If you're a big fan of Maggie Thatcher, or most politicians really, it might not be for you.)
For a 'biography' there feels like a lot missing, the development has so much information yet the actual usage and operational life of the jet seems to have so little to it in comparison.
A bit like if you read about the childhood and teenage years of someone but then only skimmed over their adult life.
It was nice to read something written by someone who clearly shares my love of this awesome vehicle though, the passion is obvious throughout and a little bit of sadness that it no longer serves within the British armed forces is there to.
It's a really entertaining read; though it, like the Harrier it talks about, is heavily affected by the politics. (If you're a big fan of Maggie Thatcher, or most politicians really, it might not be for you.)
For a 'biography' there feels like a lot missing, the development has so much information yet the actual usage and operational life of the jet seems to have so little to it in comparison.
A bit like if you read about the childhood and teenage years of someone but then only skimmed over their adult life.
It was nice to read something written by someone who clearly shares my love of this awesome vehicle though, the passion is obvious throughout and a little bit of sadness that it no longer serves within the British armed forces is there to.
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March 16, 2014Good insider knowledge. But I'm afraid I couldn't always agree with the authors politics.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews