|
Dataview Publishing |
|
United States Air Force A Chronological History and Guide to Resources Written and Published by Chris Reed |
|
Reviewed By Doug Hamilton, #21985 |
|
|
|
The E Book is a fairly new concept in the
world of publishing, and in making specialized information available.
Produced mainly by smaller and specialty type publishers, these works are
aimed at modelers and others interested in a focused period or particular
piece of equipment. In some cases, given the at times Herculean task of
getting a manuscript published, this format provides the author a more
reasonable conduit in having their work reach the public. This work is one
in a series of four titles currently available from
Dataview Publishing. Computer requirements for viewing these works
include Acrobat Reader, which available as a free download, Windows
98/2000/ME/XP, and at least 64 MB RAM. An .HTML version is also available.
The E Book contains 509 pages in PDF format that is mainly text, and photos. Topics include a chronological history of the Air Force, a guide to resources, and image gallery. A bonus book of US Nuclear Missiles is also included on this disc. The first, and largest area of this book is the chronological history section. It starts with the inception of the Air Force on 26 July 1948, when it was separated from the US Army, and continues right up to 2003, making this a very up to date work. Each year is detailed with historical information relating to participation in conflicts, procurement, leadership changes, and research and development. Combat losses are covered as well as personnel issues such as Congressional Medal of Honor recipients. Some of the more interesting items listed are the milestones in aviation. World speed records, longest flights, first flights and other such events are all included. It’s also easy to follow the flow of aircraft from the procurement to the deployment stages. The Guide to Resources section contains information relating to the many different aircraft and ordinance carried into combat. Each aircraft has a section to point the reader towards available articles and photos to get a greater understanding of the subject. This section relies heavily on articles listed in various issues of Aviation Week and Space Technology. Other sources are listed as well. In some cases, an available book list is also provided. While not totally complete, these lists are very useful in opening the door to further research. They do provide a factual basis for the information presented, are laid out in logical sequence, and are easy to understand. The final section is the Image Gallery. Each aircraft is represented with at least one good quality picture. Many have not been made available before. A few detail shots are included for some aircraft. Each photo is credited to the aircraft it belongs to, being placed under the heading of the appropriate aircraft, but I would have liked to see a detailed caption accompany the photos. This would allow the reader to more closely connect the area of detail to the aircraft it belongs to and it’s significance. The bonus Nuclear Missile book is laid out very much the same as the main book. The information contained in it is also very well done and of high quality. One thing that stood out is the inclusion of Internet sources. With Internet accesses at an all time high, this information is particularly useful. My overall impression of this E Book is quite high. It’s my first encounter with this medium, and I’m very impressed with the overall presentation. This format is easy to use, and allows the reader to bookmark sections for future review. The subject matter covered is very extensive. It’s obvious the author did quite a bit of research to put this information together in such a usable publication. I would recommend this e book to modelers, history buffs, and anyone else who has an interest in the US Air Force. My thanks go to author and publisher Chris Reed for supplying this sample for review. |
|
Information, images, and all
other items placed electronically on this site |
