Once again, Osprey comes up with a book that helps to fill in some blanks in aviation history. When one thinks of the Arab air forces, rarely does one think that they were successful. While the truth is that overall, they suffered at the hands of their opponents, it was more due to the lack of training and the use of aircraft that were not up to the task than it was because of any lack of personal bravery.

Yet there were successful Arab pilots, some of whom became aces when flying against what was usually a superior opponent.

This book isn't specifically about those aces as, frankly, there were not that many of them. The concentration of this volume is on the units themselves. For this purpose, the air arms in question are mostly Egyptian, Syrian and Iraqi, because those were the nations supplied with MiGs.

MiG 19 and 21s were used in the various Arab-Israeli wars of 1967 and 1973 as well as the continuation wars over the Sinai and Lebanon into the 1980s. There is also coverage of the Iran-Iraq war and a small section on the Gulf War, though by that time, the MiG 21 was pretty well outclassed by its opponents.

It surprised me to learn that the Syrians were probably the most successful users of the MiG-21, having eschewed Soviet influence in tactics and developed successful ways of utilizing the best from their aircraft.

Throughout the book are stories and events that will make this as fascinating a read to you as it was to me. It is a book that those who follow modern air combat will have to have on their shelves.

Available in bookstores everywhere, through Classic Motorbooks at (800) 826-6600 or at www.motorbooks.com. For more on the complete line of Osprey books, visit www.ospreypublishing.com

If you would like your product reviewed fairly and quickly by a site that has over 250,000 visitors a month, please contact me or see other details in the Note to Contributors.