I appreciate NetGalley giving me the opportunity to preview this fine aviation history of the Cold War before general publication. Although the preview book I received has formatting and some spelling issues - hence four stars; the book has a lot of potential. The photos document well the different types of aircraft that stood off in Europe during the Cold War; the short stories of pilots' missions add a first-person color to the text and really make the history come alive. Once properly edited and formatted, this book has all the potential to become an authoritative aviation history and Cold War history complete with helpful Order of Battle tables in the back.

In Cold War Skies: NATO and Soviet Air Power, 1949–89 by Michael Napier is a history of the development of Cold War aircraft. Napier joined the RAF in 1978 and served with 14 Squadron as a Tornado pilot in the late 1980s and again in the early 1990s. These two tours engendered a deep interest in 14 Squadron’s distinguished history. He was appointed as Honorary Secretary of the 14 Squadron Association in 2003 and since then has carried out extensive research into the Squadron’s heritage. Michael, who is now is an airline captain.

Aircraft had three developmental periods starting with the rickety biplanes of World War I, The peak of propeller power in World War II, and the sleek jet age of the Cold War. With little knowledge of aircraft, most people can place a plane in its era with little difficulty. The Cold War Era was effectively the end of the propeller drive aircraft and the start of the jet era. There were some holdovers from WWII, but they did not last long in the new era, with the notable exception of the Tupolev Tu-95. Just as with the earlier periods, there is a noticeable change and advancement in design and performance. 

Napier gives the reader a pictorial history of the aircraft used by the Soviets and NATO. Many readers who grew up during the Cold War will recognize the Soviet and American aircraft. Many planes are iconic, such as the F4 Phantom, A-10, and the SR-72. Other planes have faded into obscurity like the F-82, CF-100, and the IL-28. Napier also includes NATO and French planes like the Vulcan, Vampire, and Mirage. Also included with the plane's history are command structures for the countries' air forces. The final section of the book dedicated European neutral countries and their air forces.

Several sections have first-hand accounts from pilots and their experiences in the air. A Bulgarian Air Force officer offers a description of the Soviet procedure for dropping an atomic bomb. This added a feeling for the times and environment when war and the threat of war were very real. Photos of the planes in flight fill this album, including pictures of Soviet Badger mid-air refueling, which differed from the American version as the refueling was wingtip to wingtip instead of straight on. 

This is a book the reader will want in a hardback copy. The photos are not done justice in the ebook format. As with most pictures on an e-reader, much of the detail is lost. Napier gives the reader a reasonably comprehensive history of Cold War air power. The mixed style of the writing does well with the photographs. He provides the reader with the feel of what it was like to be a pilot in the standoff that lasted forty years. Very well done and recommended for readers of aviation and military history.

Available August 18, 2020

Thank you to Netgalley for the oppotunity to read and review this book. Wonderful photos and stories about all the aircraft of the Cold War. This includes Nato, Warsaw Pact, and non-alinged nations. If you enjoy aircraft, both warfighting and support, then this is the book you need.

Michael Napier has produced an impressive reference book covering military aircraft types of all major air forces during the Cold War and its immediate aftermath. There is considerable detail, not just of the parallel aircraft development in NATO and Warsaw Pact countries, but also of the equally significant evolution of the command and control structures within which the different air forces operated. The level of detail is immense; this is not a superficial read by any reckoning. However, the dry data is periodically given a flavour of reality by the inclusion of accounts from individual airman as they describe specific incidents and encounters. Depending upon readers’ individual perspectives, the book leaves an impression of a truly awesome and rapid technological advance in military aviation,.......... or a sense of bewildering waste at the cost of the replacement of rapidly superseded types and the never-ending and ruinously expensive pursuit of superiority over the adversary’s aircraft. This reader is equally impressed by the former, and depressed by the latter, but none of that detracts from Napier’s achievement in compiling this book - an outstanding work.

Very good book that covers the Cold War air forces. While most of the text is a summary of the changing orders of battle of various air forces, it's still very interesting. The picture are superb; most I've never seen before, and I've read a lot of books covering this era. Most notable is the coverage on smaller, non-aligned air forces such as Albania, Finland, and Sweden.