Fighting Jets

The Epic of Flight

by Bryce Walker

This book from "The Epic of Flight" Time-Life series features the development of military jets from WWII through the early 1980s with emphasis on their use in Korea, Vietnam and the Middle East.

Genres: History, Aviation, Nonfiction, Military History, Military Fiction, Reference

176 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 1983

Reviews

[Christian D. D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nostalgic, fun-filled and informative read, in terms of illustrations, captions, and main body text alike. I used to love the Time-Life Books infomercials for this volume as a wee-bitty kid in the 1980s, and a neighbour & family friend had a copy that I enjoyed flipping through.

Now, as a fortysomething adult (and with an Air Force veteran’s first-hand perspective to boot), I finally have my own copy that I’ve been able to read cover-to-cover. Although it’s a tad dated, having been published in 1987, i.e. before either Operation DESERT STORM (the Persian Gulf War) or Operation ALLIED FORCE (the Kosovo campaign), let alone the Global War on Terror, it is nonetheless a worthwhile read.

RANDOM STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS:

—p. 80: “By 1957 every American city of 25,000 or more inhabitants had been subjected to these radar assaults. San Francisco was bombed more than 600 times in one month.” Too bad General Curtis LeMay didn’t hit San Fran with REAL bombs!! Haha, zing, just kidding, just kidding....

—p. 111: Damn LBJ and his micromanage—and mismanagement—of the Vietnam War, especially the air campaign!

[Henry Luecht · Rating 4 out of 5]

Obviously outdated by now but interesting to read contemporary (1984) accounts of ongoing middle eastern conflict plus great information on north of the jet fighter in WWII Germany.

[Professor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Way too broad overview of a large subject; plus by the end you can hear the Reagan-Era military history buffs panting over the latest in hot weapons systems, which is just kind of nasty. Still, it was a moderately good bathroom read.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very pretty. Loved the artwork and the action photographs. The drawings have exceptional detail.
Good synopsis of various Vietnam and Israel battles. It pre-dated the Gulf War, so details on later aircraft is not present (ex. A-10, F-117, ...)

[Henry Kline · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good read with very good detail and pictures. It has become a review of air power in the late 20th century.

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun (if not mostly US-centered) look at the evolution of aircraft. Unfortunately, this book was published a while back, and thus there’s no discussion on planes of the 21st century. Decent read.

[Chino Fernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very nicely written history of jet combat for the lay person. It doesn't have much for the benefit of the scale modeler and has few illustrations, and is a bit dated. Perhaps some of its information, like the Colonel Toon account, is superseded by the latest clarifications and corrections. But this is still a great book to read.

[Stephanie]

This is his book.

[C.A. Craven · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part of the Time Life "Epic of Flight" series, and probably more entertaining than it was meant to be, since it was written in the 1980s.