This book is a detailed (over 300 pages) of NATO and Warsaw Pact airpower during the Cold War. That is a huge topic. You could have a 300 page volume on just RAF Germany or USAFE or Cold War fighter interceptors alone. This book does well in covering Cold War airpower in more than just a superficial way. Also very nicely illustrated with many photos. Also contains a brief summary of non-aligned European nations air power (it makes sense to mention countries like Sweden and Yugoslavia and others in telling the story of the Cold War in Europe). And has a few orders of battle in Europe in 1955, 65, 75 and 85.
Now for the huge gaps. Firstly battlefield helicopters. There is a paragraph on the rise of the attack helicopter with a photo of a Mil Mi 24. But where is the Apache, Westland Lynx or Bo-105? Also missing are battlefield transport helicopters like the Puma & Chinook. Naval power gets a mention with a paragraph on the rise of Soviet naval aviation, and maritime patrol aircraft are mentioned. But not carrier aviation. Carrier aviation had a vital role in NATO's strategy to reinforce Europe. The author does mention in the last sentence of the introduction he is going to exclude carrier aviation. There has to be a page limit, I get that. But to briefly touch on these areas but exclude most of it is a missing opportunity.
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