One thing that Squadron/Signal has been doing as of late is publishing revised editions of some of their earlier books. The last time that the F-15 was featured was #24  back in 1976 when the Eagle had only been in squadron service for about a year, so an update was definitely needed.

The book covers all the basic types of Eagle and gives a fairly good, but general rundown on the different versions and background information on each type. The few salient features of the planes are pointed out and there is a brief rundown of those aircraft that have been used outside the US. Frankly, the Eagle has not been the overseas success that the F-16 has been mainly because of the complexity and cost of operating the type. There has also been a tendency to limit sales of this plane to known buddies of the US.

I have to preface this next series of comments with the fact that I've bought and read a LOT of books over the decades. As such, you may think that I'm going to be a bit hypercritical. What really struck me was the large numbers of previously seen photographs from the manufacturer or the USAF. Those few that were new to me, were mostly taken by the author and most of them were a disappointment, being either backlit or taken on cloudy or rainy days. Before doing M2, I was a very enthusiastic military aircraft photographer so perhaps it is this background that is showing through. Instead of multiple photos of Eglin AFB Eagles, it would have been nice to have photos of all the different units that flew and fly the plane. There are no Spangdahlem birds, none from the 32nd TFS, none from the 57th FIS, 5th FIS, 318th FIS, 122nd FS (Louisiana ANG), or 110th FS (Missouri ANG). Yeah, I'm sure that there was pressure to get the book out and I can see the desire to have one's own pictures in one's book, but I'd have thought that it would have been nice to have more original photos and to have covered all the US units that are and have been flying the aircraft.

Regardless of my comments on the pictures, this is a good book for those who are just getting into the aircraft and want to have a general reference on the type.

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