Nominate best military aviation book of 2016

[Scott Rose]

Looking for nominations for best military aviation book of 2016. Let me know what you think is the best book and I'll create a poll and we can vote.

[JohnB]

By the time I buy a book it's usually more than a year old.
The last "Hot of the press" book I bought was the B-18 /B-23 book.

As a side note, the internet has made finding and buying old books easy, so I've "discovered" some great books that were published long ago but still very worthwhile.

[quemerford]

By the time I buy a book it's usually more than a year old.
The last "Hot of the press" book I bought was the B-18 /B-23 book.

I'd like to de-select the B-18/B-23 book if possible! A big disappointment, missing a big chunk of B-23 and full of qualifying "first time published!" type of statements. I do however applaud the Hagedorns of this world, but that book shows that a good historian does not a good author make.

[Tulio]

I would like to nominate my friends' Mario Overall and Dan Hagedorn book on the aerial operations of the CIA against Guatemala in 1954.

A little known cold war action, involved not only the Guatemalan Air Force, but also a mercenary force flying P-38s, P-47s, C-47s, a few Cessnas and also included the support of the USAF for logistics.

Saludos,


Tulio

http://www.laahs.com/threads/857-New-Bo ... 0#post3530

New Book: PBSuccess - The CIA's covert operation to overthrow Jacobo Arbenz
In January 1954, at the peak of the so-called “Cold War”, the U.S. Government set to overthrow the Guatemalan President Jacobo Arbenz, who had been deemed a Communist and a dangerous influence in Central America. Thus, the Central Intelligence Agency was ordered to launch a clandestine paramilitary operation, code-named “Project PBSuccess”, for setting a precedent in a region that was considered the U.S. backyard. Six months later, Arbenz was out and a new “ruling junta”, more amiable to U.S. interests, had replaced him. In the process, the Agency not only had established the principles and tactics for all its future covert operations, but also had shaped the U.S. foreign policy for years to come.

Based primarily on CIA declassified documents and Guatemalan military sources, this book explores the volatile political and military scenario in which Project PBSuccess unfolded and, for the first time, delves into a rather poorly documented aspect of the operation: The use of air power by both, the CIA and the Guatemalan Air Force.

Backed by more than 20 years of careful research, the book covers the desperate attempts of the Guatemalan air arm for establishing a credible defense plan with very limited resources, and the difficulties that the Agency had to overcome in order to organize a rebel air force while navigating a sea of red tape and bureaucracy. It also examines all air operations launched prior and during the campaign, and brings to life the aircraft and the aviators that flew in those missions, sometimes with tragic results. Besides a selection of photos never published before, the book also features a section on color profiles and markings, and a set of tables detailing the identities of the aircraft involved and the missions flown, on a day-by-day basis.

This book can be pre-ordered through Helion Publishing or Amazon.

Attachments

[henning]

I happened to really enjoy this one, out this past summer from Schiffer:

Training the Right Stuff: The Aircraft That Produced America’s Jet Pilots
Mark A. Frankel & Tommy H. Thomason with illustrations by Jack Morris

Here's the link:
http://www.schifferbooks.com/training-t ... -5914.html

and the writeup:

A comprehensive study of the training aircraft used to transition the United States military into the jet age. At the end of World War II, high-performance jets with unfamiliar operating characteristics were replacing propeller-driven airplanes. As accident rates soared, the Air Force and Navy recognized the need to develop new trainers to introduce fledgling as well as experienced pilots to jet flight. The first step occurred in 1948, when a two-seat jet trainer, the T-33, was developed with private funds. It was welcomed by the Air Force and subsequently the Navy, allowing both services to start building modern air arms. Over time other new trainers were developed to serve specific needs while innovations, such as high fidelity simulators, accelerated the process, reduced costs, and increased safety. The evolution continues today with the goal of producing high-quality newly winged aviators for assignment to operational squadrons.

Size: 8 1/2″ x 11″ | 536 color and b/w images | 352 pp
ISBN13: 9780764350306 | Binding: hard cover

( a fine addition to those of us with eclectic aviation book collections...) Christmas is coming...

Enjoy,
Henning

[Fouga23]

My own book about the Fouga Magister
http://mmpbooks.biz/ksiazki/260

[Zachary]

Technically published last year, but I'll throw it into the ring anyway - Nigel Julian and Peter Randall's Zemke's Wolfpack: A Photographic Odyssey of the 56th Fighter Group during the Second World War.

https://www.amazon.com/Zemkes-Wolfpack- ... 0992620783

[seabee1526]

https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/Products/9781467117296