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The following list contains reviews of books used in creating Aerospaceweb.org. Use the contact form if you have any comments, recommendations, or questions. We are especially interested in finding good sources on World War II and earlier aircraft as well as for missiles and rockets.
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Brassey's Modern Fighters by Mike Spick (Brassey's, 2000) |
In many ways an updated version of the classic Modern Air Combat (see below), Spick's treatment doesn't cover quite the same range of aircraft or topics, but it does go into great depth on the princiapl fighters currently in use as well as several still years away, such as the F-22, S-37, and Joint Strike Fighter. |
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Brassey's World Aircraft & Systems Directory 1999/2000 by Michael J. H. Taylor (Brassey's, 1999) |
Perhaps the most complete aviation reference in print today, Brassey's WA&SD provides much the same coverage as Jane's All the Worlds Aircraft at only a fraction of the cost. The Directory covers it all--combat aircraft, reconnaissance platforms, airliners, helicopters, general aviation, gliders, rockets, airships, aviation engines, missiles, radars, and airport data. |
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The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft by David Donald, editor (Barnes & Noble, 1997) |
Though it may not be as "complete" as the title implies, you will be hard pressed to find any other book that covers as many aircraft in as much detail for as low a price. The coverage of modern (jet age) aircraft is quite good, but some notable historic aircraft are lacking. |
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The Encyclopedia of Modern Military Weapons by Chris Bishop, editor (Barnes & Noble, 1999) |
Despite its 1999 copyright date, this book is compiled from a reference set originally written during the early 1980s. Had the entries been sufficiently updated to reflect 15 or more years of progress, this would be an excellent resource. Unfortunately, much of the information is out of date and the book's organization is terrible. | |
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Encyclopedia of Modern U.S. Military Weapons by Timothy M. Laur and Steven L. Llanso (Berkley Books, 1995) |
This very complete book covers the entire American arsenal: planes, artillery, ground vehicles, missiles, ships, and sensors. Each entry is conveniently broken down into a brief overview of the system design, development history, specifications, and even a history of the item's combat experience. |
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The Encyclopedia of Modern Warplanes by Bill Gunston, editor (Barnes & Noble, 1995) |
Probably Bill Gunston's best and most complete work yet, this is a superb collection of military aircraft, from fighters and bombers to trainers and cargo aircraft. What sets this book apart from others is the devotion of new entries to different variants of the same aircraft (such as separate entries for the KC-135, EC-135, and RC-135). |
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The Encyclopedia of World Military Aircraft by David Donald and Jone Lake, editors (Barnes & Noble, 2000) |
This is an exceptioanlly well put together volume with in-depth profiles, specifications, and 3-view drawings for over 2,000 military planes up through the mid-1990s. Many entries include detailed listings of weapon options and even operational squadrons. |
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The Encyclopedia of Civil Aircraft by David Donald, editor (Thunder Bay Press, 1999) |
Primarily covering airliners, commuters, and business jets with a few historic designs thrown in, this volume goes into far more depth than Donald's other encyclopedias. Each entry features several pages of development and usage history, modifications, pictures, and often detailed cutaway drawings. Also includedas apendices are a civil aviation chronology and a nice collection of aircraft specifications. |
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Jane's Aircraft Recognition Guide, 2nd ed. by David Rendall (Harper Collins Publishers, 1999) |
Although lacking the detailed dimensions, weights, and performance data of other books, this guide is exceptional in the range of aircraft included. Some 464 aircraft are well organized into several military and civil categories making for easy lookups, and the book is recent enough to include many advanced aircraft not yet in service. |
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Jane's Civil Aircraft by Richard Aboulafia (Harper Collins Publishers, 1996) |
Though it covers only more recent aircraft, Jane's Civil Aircraft is still a very useful and handy book. Its small size makes it easy to fit in your pocket and carry to the airport or to airshows. Aircraft included are commercial jetliners, regional commuters, business jets, a small selection of helicopters, and a few general aviation aircraft. |
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Jane's Combat Aircraft by Bob Munro and Christopher Chant (Harper Collins Publishers, 1995) |
Like Jane's Civil Aircraft, Combat Aircraft is a handy reference for aircraft recognition though it contains only fighters, bombers, attack aircraft, and armed helicopters in service or soon to be in service at the time of its printing. |
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Jane's Combat Simulations: ATF Gold Users Manual by Jennifer Spohrer and Tuesday Frase (Electronic Arts, 1997) |
This "book" is actually the users manual supplied with the combat flight simulator ATF Gold, but it contains a surprisingly complete description of the aircraft available in the game. This manual becomes even more useful since most of the aircraft profiled are advanced designs not found in many books. |
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Jane's Combat Simulations: Longbow Gold Users Manual by Tuesday Frase and Jennifer Spohrer (Origin Systems, 1997) |
Similar to the ATF Gold manual, but this manual is focused on the history, design, systems, and capabilities of the AH-64 Apache, although a few other helicopters are also covered. |
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Jane's Combat Simulations: USNF '97 Users Manual by Jennifer Spohrer (Electronic Arts, 1996) |
Like the ATF Gold manual, this book is an excellent source of information on the aircraft available in US Navy Fighters. |
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Jane's Fighter Combat in the Jet Age by David C. Isby (Harper Collins Publishers, 1997) |
This book contains very little aircraft data for only a few better known fighters, but is an interesting look at the evolution of combat and fighter operations over the course of the Cold War. |
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Modern Air Combat by Bill Gunston and Mike Spick (Crescent Books, 1983) |
Though nearly 20 years old, Modern Air Combat is still a very useful book. The aircraft data included only covers a selection of representative fighters and attack aircraft, and the data for many Eastern Bloc designs is conjectural, but this book is mostly valuable for its coverage of combat tactics and aircraft design concepts. |
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Modern Fighting Helicopters by Bill Gunston and Mike Spick (Salamandar Books, 1998) |
This revised edition includes several more recent helicopters like the RAH-66 Comanchee and Ka-50, but some of the original entries could have used a bit more updating. Regardless, this is the best reference for military helicopters I have yet come across. |
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The Modern US War Machine by Ray Bonds, editor (Military Press, 1987) |
It's not quite so modern anymore, but this book still has value as it provides information for several aircraft difficult to find elsewhere. |
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The Osprey Encyclopedia of Russian Aircraft by Bill Gunston (Osprey Publishing, 1995) |
Dispelling decades of mystery and false information about Russian and Soviet aircraft from pre-revolutionary times to today, the Encyclopedia includes literally over 1,000 planes ranging from early gliders to the monstrous Ekranoplanes. Though the text is abbreviated and sometimes cryptic, this volume is the definitive resource on the vast contributions of the Russian, Ukranian, and Uzbek aviation industries. |
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