The Luftwaffe: A Study in Air Power 1933-1945

"The Luftwaffe: A Study in Air Power" by E. R. Hooton offers a concise, detailed, and solid overview of Luftwaffe operations from the German air force's birth in 1933 to its demise in 1945. The book is very detailed, being chock full of statistics with several tables and some photographs. Its biggest weakness is that it boils several major battles down to just a few pages -- the Battle of France for example is covered in less than six pages, and the Battle of Britain in less than nine pages. It also bills itself as a "fresh look" at an old topic although not much information is included here that jumps out as truly "new." The book does include extensive endnotes and bibliography. Overall it is a concise reference to own on the topic of the German air force in World War II.

Excellent analysis of one of the leading experts in the field of military history in the world !!! Numbers, comparisons, proportions and tables - that is what I like very much in every good analysis...

The title is published as, "The Luftwaffe: a Study in Air Power 1933-1945," under the same ISBN. Bottom line is that this book is technically quite good and appears to be well-researched. If you are looking for factual detail, this is a good book. If you are looking for an artfully told story, you will have to look elsewhere. The book does not flow, is difficult to read and when there is some attempt to be artful or narrative it is poorly executed. There are similes and metaphors that are apt, but out of context. While there are many dates and statistics, there is often little deeper explanation of causality. The author is listed as living in Langley, so we can presume he is an analyst. This is a technically good analyst report, but it a pretty awful read.This is a good reference book, but not a good "reader."

A fairly in depth history of the Luftwaffe and appears to be very well researched and written. Well worth the money

A lot of facts and tables, The text is interesting but you would need to read a larger book to get a full understanding of this subject. For instance the jets and the rocket planes hardly get a mention.

I got this for my son because its more of a textbook. Very tecnical but thats what he wanted.

Great Item well received, many thanks. A*

This is an outstanding book and a fine contribution to the history of aviation. I am surprised no one has reviewed it before now. The reason may be that it is not easy reading because the whole subject is dealt with in meticulous detail from beginning to end. It is however, well written and clear. It does not have that fault of so many historians who think that to be scholarly you have to be obscure. I use it as a reference book and whenever a question arises concerning the Luftwaffe my first inclination is to turn to this book and I choose it in preference to the many other books on the Luftwaffe. One of its strengths is the imaginative and extensive use of statistics which can turn up amazing facts. For instance, in December 1944, with the Red Army poised on the eastern borders of Germany, the Luftwaffe in the East lost nearly twice as many aircraft to accidents as to enemy action.I thoroughly recommend this book.