Customer Reviews

Rings of Supersonic Steel: An Introduction & Site Guide Air Defenses of the United States Army 1950-1979 (Nuclear Weapons)

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This Third Edition is a much enhanced version of the best book on U.S. Air Defense
during the Cold War era. 335 well printed pages with much added atomic weapon info, more than 250 Air Defense Artillery insignias in color, expanded everything - Sage, Terrier, Bomark, Missile Master, ... - wonderful :-))

A really must have if you are interested in Nike missiles.

This book is primarily a site guide, so don't expect a lot of detail on the missiles themselves. Only 77 pages of the 350+ page book is used to describe the missiles (including: Nike-Ajax, Nike-Hercules, Nike-Zeus, Terrier, Talos, BOMARC, Hawk, Spartan, Sprint) and a lot of that is taken up with images (black and white and colour images).

If you're looking for detailed explanations of each missile, their constituent components, development histories, radars and ground support infrastructure, you definitely WON'T find it here.

The original edition of 190 pages is priced way to high for a used book at
$ 199.
There is also a black and white reprint available from the Fort MacArthur Museum
Association which, more or less, duplicates the original but has only 156 pages.
Some of its photos are very dark with consequent loss of detail.

This third edition is a first rate production. It covers missiles not included in the two previous books and has many excellent illustrations. The distinctive
insignia section is as complete as one could expect for the Air Defense Artillery
branch - all in color. The book concludes with a 9 page listing of Tech Manuals
associated with the Ajax and Nike missles and their various components. It is
THE book on U. S. cold War air defenses.

Much coveted and awaited - I was a little disappointed by the lack of details on individual sites. I was expecting greater current and past details including specific site pictures and layouts.