Planes Reviews

This manual gives me a general idea on how an aircraft turbine engine operates. This book is for any teens who want to be a turbine engineer. There are no complex technical drawings or discussions in this book, therefore it's a nice book for begineers.

It was EASY to follow! A must read for all piston engine pilots BEFORE attending a ground school. I wish I had read this manual before my first ground school (which I scraped through by the skin of my teeth). Mr. Brown or Mr. Holt should have been the instructor!

At times, I thought they could have added more information to the manual, but it would have made it more difficult to follow. Brown & Holt made it as easy as ABC!

Very well done. An excellent book and CD

This has got to be the best publication on P-47 air to ground work. The author details information such that you feel that you are right in the middle of the action. A very well put together piece of work. well worth the expense of purchasing and reading, for those interested in this type of action and history of the WW II Air War. I did.

Ihave the good fortune to know someone who flew with Mr. Glen, who wrote this book. I have read the book over and over. It makes you feel as though you are right there in the cockpit with them, which is something I have dreamed about doing since I was a child. These men truly were a breed apart. This book is time well invested for the Thunderbolt enthusiast.

Tom Glenn tells an exceptional story exceptionally well. Glenn brings you into his cockpit and his muddy tent. There you can inhale the horrifying, glorifying experiences of these air warriors. In their Thunderbolts, the fighter bomber pilots soar beyond incredible and dive to the brink of impossible. The book is insightful, riveting and an eye-opener. If you only have room for one book in your current time/money budget--pick this one. Sadly, the missions, the contributions, the victories (& the staggering casualty rate) of the fighter bomber pilot is barely mentioned or omitted entirely from most WWII chronicles. My thanks to Tom Glenn for not letting this bit of history disappear and to he and his fellow pilots who risked all for us.

My son is an airplane and boat fanatic(as is his Father). Solution? Byron Barton books! These little gems offer a few pages of pictures (very simple illustrations using primary colors)describing the different tasks an airplane, boat, train, etc. do everyday. I prefer the chunky board book format, which is virtually impossible for toddlers to completely destroy. Check out Barton's books today.

Byron Barton's "Planes" is a fun and educational book for beginning readers. In it the author/illustrator depicts a jet plane, seaplane, crop duster, helicopter, and other aviation phenomena. A sample of the easy-to-read text: "This is a jet plane with people inside."

The illustrations are basically simplified line drawings enhanced with bright, solid colors. Barton brings a distinctive stylistic flair to this approach. A nice touch is that Barton depicts people of various colors and ethnic appearances. Overall, a good choice for small children.

My baby loves this - he's 21 months - be brings it to me all the time to read. Nice illustrations.

This book not only chronicles historical aspects of air combat but provides an exceedingly in depth study of how to fight and survive in an air combat arena. Very well researched, Mr. Shaw includes the technical aspects of air combat with discussions on weapons (guns, radar missiles and heat seeking missiles) along with how to employ them. There are well drawn diagrams that feature fighter aircraft from all eras to illustrate his very descriptive account of an air-to-air engagement. He includes the tactics involved for energy fighting, angles fighting, and multiple aircraft engagements. Mr. Shaw also covers dissimilar aircraft combat and how to employ the strengths of one airplane against the weaknesses of another. Fighter Combat's contents are highly applicable not only to the fighter pilots that practice this trade day in and day out, but to the masses of flight combat sim flyers out there. "Fighter Combat" is rich with information. Its contents rate an 10+ score but the readability is lower with an 8 owing to my overall score of 9 for this volume.

There are many kinds of people who may be interested in books about fighter combat. Two of the most prominent groups are people who fly real fighter aircraft and those who fancy themselves a fighter pilot and play flight simulation games. With the advance of computing power of today's PCs, computer flight simulators are getting closer and closer to the real thing. Not only does the flight modelling improve, but the enemy's artificial intelligence (AI) are also becoming more and more humanlike. People not satisfied with the AI are now given the opportunity to fly against their friends across the globe by the internet capable multiplayer flight simulator. These two groups of people (real pilots and sim pilots) need an expert's advice of fighter combat tactics and maneuvering. For the first group, the advice may mean the difference between a victory and death. For the second group, the consequences may not be too dire. But a sound advice will enhance their enjoyment of the flight sims they own. Mr. Shaw managed to provide just this kind of advice in his excellent book, Fighter Combat: Tactics and Maneuvering. He described various maneuvers in either defensive or offensive modes with great depth, assisted by various diagrams and pictures. The book is made even more lively by the inclusion of various quotes and wisdom from previous aces, ranging from WWI aces to Vietnam aces. The book, however, cannot be classified as easy reading. Some people might find it a tough reading at times. But those really interested in fighter combat will find this book worth reading. (I recommend having 2 model planes at hand to help you visualize the maneuvers described in the book). And those who really dig into this book will find themselves becoming a better pilot, either in real skies or in the cyber skies. My recommendation is not limited to fighter pilots and flight sim fans, though. Anybody interested in fighter combat, and want to know more about it beyond those depicted in Top Gun or other movies, will find the book satisfying. For fighter pilots and flight sim fans, though, this book is a definite must.

I bought this book to learn tactics and maneuvers to apply to an excellent WWII combat flight simulator I play on my computer called IL-2 Sturmovik. Even though much of the information in this book is geared towards jets and modern weapon systems, I found a great deal of information that was directly applicable to WWII-era planes and weapons. Understanding the principles of relative energy and angles is the heart of air combat, and Shaw explains both in great detail. The book is also sprinkled with exciting and educational real-life accounts from some of the greatest aces ever. The majority of this book deals with strategies for 1-on-1 encounters, but there is also extensive coverage of team tactics. Some of the principles taught do require some thought to fully grasp, and I think my being able to try them out in a computer flight simulator was a big help in understanding them. But, while I approached this book with no real-life flight experience, I found the information presented was surprisingly accessible to a novice like myself.

As complete as this book is, my experience fighting from my computer armchair has taught me that this is by no means an exhaustive treatment of the subjects presented here. Still, I don't know of a better book. If nothing else, Shaw will help you appreciate what a thinking-man's game air combat really is. For the computer fighter jocks out there like me, this is an indispensible book for your library.

Reilly certainly has a view that at times can be labeled as extreme,on both sides of the line. Funny, witty, absurd, irreverent. He hits it from all sides and leaves us laughing in the wake. The book is a compilation (that why I gave it 4 instead of 5)of Reilly's veiws, most of which are or have been shared on the last page of Sports Illustrated. It is hard to put down, highly entertaining, even if you don't agree with the quips, gripes or humor you will find his take on things anything but boring or passe and at times evocative of where sports has been and were it going. Nothing is of limits here, cheerleading, fishing etc. Worth every penny.

Anyone who even read the first few pages of the book would know what I am talking about in my review title. For years, Rick Reilly has been making me laugh on the last page of Sports Illustrated. Now, with this book, I get to relive some of those hilarious moments.

Rick Reilly is one of the best in the business. His writing is funny, off-the-wall, witty, and always informative, even if his subject is not something you really want to be informed about. He has a knack for making light of any subject, and he has written about almost everything imaginable.

This book compiles his absolute best pieces, and they truly are masterful pieces of writing. He uses a very candid language that allows the reader just to take his article in, usually laughing the whole way through.

The Life of Reilly is a perfect book for anyone who is a fan of the columnist, or even for those of you who are sports' fans. This book will make you laugh out loud, as it truly is just pure non-stop enjoyment. This book really is a "can't miss." Besides, anyone chosing Charles Barkley to write the introduction to his book has to be doing something write, er, right!

I had the privilege of being interviewed several times by Rick when I was a high school track athlete and he was a young flip-flop wearing sports writer for the Boulder Daily Camera newspaper in Boulder, Colorado earning his stripes covering high school sports. Even way back then it was obvious that he enjoyed sports writing and it came as little surprise to see him eventually end up as SI's most notable writer. This collection of some of his best (but not all of his best) SI columns is a gem. Not all are "laugh out loud" humorous, but many are (a testament to his versatility as a writer). His postscript comments are also entertaining. After a thorough reading, this book is a keeper. I can't wait for Volume 2.

The portrayal of our defense industry in this story is unfortunately accurate. We have placed so much emphasis on "smart weapons", that we have forgotten the real effectiveness of our military. The action and pace of this book will keep the reader enthralled and they will not want to put it down.

I've read almost all of Ralph Peters' novels, and this is probably my favorite to date. I passed it over in hardcover--frankly it didn't sound very interesting. I couldn't have been more wrong: it's one of the best written, engrossing novels I've read in a long time. Peters is one of the few military thriller writers that can name drop Thomas Hardy novels and actually make us believe his characters read them. I know what a cliche this sounds, but I couldn' t put it down. Peters has within him his best novel yet--some day he'll write the Once An Eagle of his generation of officers.

After 25 years in the defense industry, watching the Services buy big things they don't need while neglecting small things they do (like enough pay so the troops don't have to be on food stamps), it continues to disturb me that the American taxpayer continues to allow Congress to sell out to what Ike Eisenhower called the "military-industrial complex". TRAITOR could have been a documentary. This is a great novel, thrilling and unpredictable, but it is also based on the real world and all the more gripping because of this.

The Handplane Book is a beautiful book. It's an excellent introduction to the aesthetic pleasures of handplanes (if you liked Sandor Nagyszanczy's Art of Fine Tools, I expect you will like this book, too).

There's more to this book than aesthetics. Garrett Hack provides an excellent introduction to the practical side of handplanes. There are a few areas where other experts disagree with Mr. Hack (e.g., whether one must lap the sole of a plane flat, or whether one should snug up the depth adjustment to "take out the slack").

As another reviewer commented, this makes a great coffe table book--but it also makes an excellent and inspiring workshop book. I recommend it whole-heartedly.

A great reference book!! This book is thoughtfully organized and starts with the history/evolution of the handplane. Each following chapter builds upon the previous one. Illustrations and pictures accompany technical information leaving nothing to the imagination. The book is full of picture examples representing the type of plane being discussed, and it's use.

Garrett Hack stears clear of personnal opinions. Although he will let you know which planes he owns/likes. He has a thorough knowlege of his subject, and covers a broad range of topics while keeping the book short in lenght.

This book is filled with encyclopedic information about planes, their history, their use, and their mechanics.

Included is information about different kinds of planes that are used for joining, truing, surfacing, shaping, and specialty planes such as those used by violin makers and others, as well as information on how to select, maintain, and tune a plane. I really liked the way the author gives due consideration to wooden planes, information one can use to help make their own. There are wonderful photographs and illustrations used throughout the book that accompany the professionally written text.

The author has defintely performed an excellent job compiling and presenting the information. Even as a coffee table book, those who peruse it will find it hard to put down. For the woodworker at any skill level this is a must have for the shop.

Mr. Tillman represents one of the best of the breed of historical novelists; he is well-versed in the historical facts and technological details of his subject matter, yet also has the artistic gift of being able to engage the reader by creating interesting characters caught up in the consequences of tremendously important global events.

Both Dauntless! and Hellcats are superb fictional treatments of what it might have been like to fight and survive the Pacific War as a young US Naval aviator.

I hope that the final episode of the trilogy, Sabrejets, will actually be finished and published; I'll be the first in line to purchase it. (And no, I'm not putting my own hard copies of either Dauntless or Hellcats up for sale on E-bay---they'll stay on my bookshelf for years to come.)

Mr. Tillman, you please keep at it! (and by the way, your non-fiction dissertations on the various aircraft used in the Pacific War are superb as well.)

The intended sequel to "Hellcats" was to be "Sabrejet," completing the Rogers/Sakaida trilogy begun in "Dauntless." The publisher of "Hellcats" lapsed from the military fiction market shortly after publication, but since then has resumed interest in the field. I hope to pursue the Korean War saga and will try to notify this site accordingly.
Thanks to everyone who's expressed interest in "Sabrejet" over the years.
(I'd not bother with a rating of my own book if I could post otherwise!)

A great read for anyone with an interest in World War II aviation. Tillman certainly knows his stuff... Exciting and well written.

I only gave the first book in the trilogy, "Dauntless, the Novel" 4 stars, but "Hellcats" is a full 5 star read. Now, if someone would only publish the third book, "Sabrejets, the Novel" and follow his fascinating main characters into Korea.

This is without a doubt one of my favorite children's books. The book is for 4-8 year-olds, but most 4-5 year-olds might not understand the artwork's quirky, abstract nature.

Mr. Lunch is a dog, but a very intelligent dog who gets invited to appear on television for his bird-chasing abilities. Mr. Lunch and his bird-pal Ambrose have many great and goofy adventures along the way (especially on the plane) to the television appearance...which doesn't go exactly as planned...

'Mr. Lunch' gives kids a whole cargo plane full of wonderful learning opportunities in: aviation, identifying animals, how to say "goodbye" in several languages, city and country life, airport procedures, music, science, cooking...you name it! A very imaginative, wacky, fun book!

Ages 4-8
30 pgs.

This is a wonderful and imaginative book. Children will enjoy the sweet simple story of Mr. Lunch (a dog who loves to chase birds, but not catch them)and the adults will certainly not mind reading the story again and again. The illustrations alone are fabulous, I would highly recomend the entire Mr. Lunch series. This is the first in a series of three books starring the "professional" dog. I would also check out, "Olive, the Other Reindeer" and "Monkey Buisness" if you want books both you and your child can enjoy together! I also think they are just fine to have in your collection, if you don't have any children, you'll enjoy them just the same.

We thoroughly enjoyed this book, from the wonderfully implausible story to the extraordinary Matisse/Braques-like pictues. The story concerns a dog's flight for a television appearance--to demonstrate his bird-chasing skills. (No animals were injured in the writing of this book.) The pictures are very detailed and a bit abstract, but not unrecognizable or too cluttered for our 4 year old.

A very unique and funny book, it's great for children between about four and nine. It's a lot of fun for adults to read as well: Highly recommended!

My two-year-old son loves this book but he has already destroyed more than fifty percent of it after two months of use.

This book has many interesting features, from radio sets connected by string, to "radar blips" on a screen in a cockpit, little planes "flying" through the sky, to a steering wheel that changes the view out windscreen as you "come in for a landing--and that isn't even half of the activities in the book.

The problem is that it requires a high degree of fine motor skill to operate many of the activities. The "radar blips" were difficult for me to spin, for example, and the steering wheel kept getting stuck until mommy tore it in one of her many attempts to "Fix it!" under pressure. My son also removed all of the little "flying airplanes" in less than a week of play.

Don't get me wrong--my son still LOVES this book, despite the fact that it is now falling apart! He has a blast using the things that still work, and explaining to me how the things that are broken used to work.

I would recommend waiting until a child is at least four before buying this book for them unless they are very careful players or there will be parental help all the time it is in use.

And, I would like to add that the girls in my son's playgroup loved this book as well--it is DEFINITELY not just for boys!

I am writing in response to the reviewer who said that the book is especially great for boys. (let's not gender-type!) This is our daughter's favorite book. She is 13 1/2 months now and it has been her absolute favorite since we started reading it to her when she was just a few months old and we just ordered a second copy because hers is so tattered from use. Highly recommended for girls as well! :)

This is our daughter's favorite book. She is 13 1/2 months now and it has been her absolute favorite since we started reading it to her when she was just a few months old and we just ordered a second copy because hers is so tattered from use. Highly recommended for girls as well! :)