LAUSR

RAF. In this structure, the authors provide an even-handed narrative spanning the service’s history that is crisply written, concise yet comprehensive, and well-articulated. One of the refreshing elements of the book is how it addresses the building and managing of an air fleet. As airpower is more than just planes and pilots, this work addresses those elements equally important to the development of an air force and external factors that affect its growth. While only 250 pages, the book covers much, but does it with wellstructured prose, and an excellent chronological organization. While a lesser historian would spend most of the treatise addressing the battle of Britain, RAF Bomber Command, and the air battle over the Somme, Buckley and Beaver provide an excellent account of the history of the service and how it fit into the United Kingdom’s national defence policies and objectives during times of peace and war. This is a work for the serious student of military history and is a must for the aviation academic. Buckley has yet again proven his mettle as an aviation historian as this book will become required reading as much as his earlier work on airpower. The publishing of this work is not only timely and fitting, but serves as a cornerstone for serious study not just for the RAF but military aviation in general.