Messerschmitt Bf 109 (Living History)
The text content of this book is completely mediocre; what gives it its value are the sharp close-up photographs of two restored Bf 109s. This book has been a great help when modelling and I'd like a similar volume on an early-war 109. --By Kai-Mikael Jää-AroI picked this book up on a whim (and also based on how cheap it is - $15.95 NEW? That's unbelievable!), because I'm a computer flight-sim geek who just "enlisted" with an online squadron flying 109s. I wanted to get a good history of the craft in order to bolster my understanding of the plane I'll be spending the majority of my virtual time in. All I can say is - wow. This book well exceeded my expectations. It has an incredibly detailed 16-page textual history of the Bf109, from its conception in 1934, through its final flights with the Luftwaffe in 1945, followed by almost 40 pages of full-color photographs of some restored 109s both on the ground and in the air. There is a close-up photo of the 109's cockpit, which really helped me to appreciate the cockpit I see all the time in my flight sim. There are several photos of a gentleman dressed out in typical Luftwaffe flight gear, going through the pre-flight checklist and taking off. Very cool. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in this plane. --Larry PetersenThis is my favorite book on the '109, and I've seen many. It has great photographs of two restored 109's. One is the Mark Hanna restored G-10 on the cover, and the other is a G-2 tropical. My favorite are the closups of the 2,000 HP DB 605D engine showing the huge supercharger and cannon. Also of note are the stories and modern reunion photographs of two aces with this plane, one being #2 ace Gunther Rall. Fantastic. To sum up, a great picture book, but with good text (14 large page small print history at front of book)...not comprehensive as far as blow by blow combat accounts, but a great look at a great plane --By William David McGehee -