[Sylvester Stadler]

The nomination for THE BOOK OF THE YEAR would be an understatement. Let us hope that aviation historians of the war in Europe during the Second World War will use Jochen Prien's histories for a fair and balanced account of the clashes of the fighter forces of Germany versus those of the British and Americans. The first thing I look at when I acquire a book is to look at the bibliography to determine if both sides have been researched. This book should answer many mysteries which have seen the light of day and should demolish many myths which have been accepted as the gospel truth. As an example, I looked at the date of 26 June 1943 on which it was claimed that the future American ace Robert Johnson was attacked and claimed by Egon Mayer, who, according to one author and the History Channel, claimed three P-47s on this date including Johnson's by describing the three letters on the side of the P-47. Mayer made no claims on this date but did claim three P-47s later on 1 December 1943.