The Luftwaffe in World War II

School Library Journal

Gr 7-12 Blanco's subject has not been widely covered before, since it is often only a part of any major work on the European theater of World War II. He does a thorough job of describing the aeronautical conditions that existed between the two world wars, including the Allied restrictions on German aviation and the German refusal to obey those restrictions. A couple of the early chapters seem a little heavily laden with statistics concerning the number and types of planes that each side had available at a given time. The text has a wide scope in that it covers the role of the Luftwaffe in each sector of the war including the bombing of England and the campaigns in Russia, the Balkans, Italy, and North Africa. The style is smooth and readable, and German terms are defined within the text. There is an extensive bibliography. Diagrams of some of the planes are very good. Black-and-white photos help readers to visualize the people and the planes discussed in the text. There are maps, but the small symbols on them are hard to read, as they sometimes appear on shaded areas. This title adds a new perspective to World War II collections and deserves a place on most shelves. Eldon Younce, Harper Elementary School, Kans.