Let’s cut to the chase: if you’re interested in Middle East conflicts, get this outstanding book.
Period.
Tom Cooper and Dr. David Nicolle have penned the definitive history of early Soviet MiG designs in Arab military service. No other English-language work even approaches its value, scope or authority.
The authors themselves require no introduction. Few have so illumined the peripheries of aviation history for English-speaking enthusiasts. And this absorbing account of jet combat in, arguably, the world’s endless war zone doesn’t disappoint.
Cooper and Nicolle scrupulously detail the story in seven spellbinding steps. Chapters 1 and 2 cover initial Egyptian and Syrian MiG deliveries. The 1956 Suez conflict, its aftermath, the “Water War” and Yemen consume the next four. And the final segment culminates in 1967’s decisive Six Day War – the repercussions of which continue dominating Middle-East politics and policies.
Hundreds of fascinating new insights and firsthand accounts pepper the pages. The authors’ description of Yemeni operations and Operation Magic Carpet proved especially enthralling.
And not that coverage completely concentrates on titular Soviet types: Cooper and Nicolle season their story with Vampires, Meteors and Canberras, as well.
Over 170 B&W and color photos, eight appendices, and seven maps supplement the splendidly annotated text. Modelers and markings enthusiasts will particularly prize the 32 brilliantly executed color profiles by coauthor Cooper. Breathtaking!
Reflecting latest research, Cooper and Nicolle’s Arab MiGs (Volume 1) deserves a spot in every enthusiast’s library. Buy, beg or borrow this terrific tome. Then place your order for Volume 2.
I certainly shall!
... für mich ist die Entdeckung des Verlags (der mir vorher unbekannt war) meine hobbytechnisch größte persönliche Bereicherung des Jahres 2011.
