[kolya1]

I just bought volume II (I already had volume I), and I must say that my impression is mixed.


- On the one hand, the text includes a lot of information from German sources and memoirs, and as such is really very interesting, particularly for those of French-speaking readers who cannot read German books on the same subject.

- On the other hand, there can be no doubt that this is not a balanced account. The author clearly does not hold German and Soviet sources to the same standard of criticism, often dismissing Soviet archival sources out of hand (as generally incomplete or inaccurate) while sometimes using very disputable information when they contribute to draw a positive image of JG52 and the Luftwaffe...
I understand that every author has his own judgement on documents and sometimes works preferably on certain sources (also often depending on the languages he speaks) but, in this case, I find it annoying because it alters the quality of the content and, at least in my case, takes away part of the pleasure of reading.


After these somewhat severe comments, I think I must also be fair in saying that, in my opinion, "Batailles aériennes" is generally a very good publication (It's been a real while since I last "missed" an issue), both balanced and well documented, and that my criticism of this issue should certainly not be taken as a criticism of the magazine in itself.