Spitfire (Motorbooks International Warbird History) [Paperback]

Steve Pace (Author), Jeffrey L. Ethell (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Motorbooks International; First Edition edition (1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0760303002
• ISBN-13: 978-0760303009
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 8.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,008,185 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars I can't believe that Ethell actually wrote this!, December 24, 2009

By 

MB - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Spitfire (Motorbooks International Warbird History) (Paperback)

I have been a Jeff Ethell fan for years and have many of his books. Most are superb as Jeff was an extremely knowledgeable man when it came to the history of military aviation; especially WWII combat aircraft, and a great writer to boot!

I'm a Spitfire fan and I have most of the books out there that cover this aircraft and I am very sorry that I purchased this book. Frankly, I can't believe that Ethell wrote it because it is so poorly written. In fact, this is by far one of the worst books that I have ever seen on the Spitfire. It really does an injustice in presenting this extraordinarily fine combat aircraft.

The photo's are marginal and the combat history of the Spitfire and the more in depth coverage in the book that attempts to cover each 'Mark' of Spitfire is sketchy at best. Aside from the two older GOLD STANDARD books written on the Spifire ('Spitfire' by Alfred Price and 'Spitfire: The History' by Eric B. Morgan and Edward Shacklady) I would highly recommend the more recent book 'Spitfire' by Stewart Wilson which falls somewhere between these two in quality and I found it to be a very pleasant surprise.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not one of Ethell's best, April 8, 2002

By 

pbradley (Flagstaff, AZ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spitfire (Motorbooks International Warbird History) (Paperback)

This is a poorly-written book, with belaboured points, badly-written and often bland captions and a feeling that the authors are turning out a "pot-boiler." The selection of photos is poor, many are old standards and the shots of modern resorations are insipid. Ethell wrote far better books. I get the feeling that this was mainly a Pace work, as I haven't enjoyed his past works either.

5.0 out of 5 stars One of Jeff's last, best works. A must read!, December 6, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Spitfire (Motorbooks International Warbird History) (Paperback)

The late Jeff Ethell's numerous aviation history books are legendary. Spitfire is no different. It's really, really sad that he didn't get to see the finished product when it came off the printing presses. He was a prolific writer and he is sorely missed.