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Articles by Joe May
Travel for aircraft bookshelf – Chipmunk at 80: Volume I by Ben Griffiths and Ian Black
Chipmunk at 80: Volume I by Ben Griffiths and Ian Black, reviewed by Joe May, available at The Aviation Bookshop Authors Griffiths and Black created an unusual and marvelous book with Chipmunk at 80 by letting the world know about the remarkable yet unsung de Havilland Chipmunk. Chipmunk at 80 is not a technical book about de Havilland's remarkable trainer, though there is insightful technical information sprinkled throughout its pages which is not usually found in other books.
Travel For Aircraft Bookshelf – Chipmunk at 80: Volume I by Ben Griffiths and Ian Black
Chipmunk at 80: Volume I by Ben Griffiths and Ian Black, reviewed by Joe May, available at The Aviation Bookshop. Authors Griffiths and Black created an unusual and marvelous book with Chipmunk at 80 by letting the world know about the remarkable yet unsung de Havilland Chipmunk. Chipmunk at 80 is not a technical book about de Havilland’s remarkable trainer, though there is insightful technical information sprinkled throughout its pages which is not usually found in other books.
Travel for aircraft bookshelf – Admiral Yamamoto: The gripping story of the legendary naval commander who planned and executed the Pearl Harbor attack
Admiral Yamamoto: The Gripping Story of the Legendary Naval Commander Who Planned and Executed the Pearl Harbor Attack by Ronald Drabkin, reviewed by Joe May, available on Amazon.com. Fortunately for those interested in the fomenting of the Pacific War, author Ronald Drabkin* became interested in Admiral Yamamoto. He did so while researching through recently declassified Japanese archives during an investigation into another person, the subject of his first book.
Travel For Aircraft Bookshelf – Admiral Yamamoto: The Gripping Story of the Legendary Naval Commander Who Planned and Executed the Pearl Harbor Attack
Admiral Yamamoto: The Gripping Story of the Legendary Naval Commander Who Planned and Executed the Pearl Harbor Attack by Ronald Drabkin, reviewed by Joe May, available on Amazon.com. Fortunately for those interested in the fomenting of the Pacific War, author Ronald Drabkin* became interested in Admiral Yamamoto. He did so while researching through recently declassified Japanese archives during an investigation into another person, the subject of his first book.
Travel For Aircraft Bookshelf – German Gliders in World War II: Luftwaffe Gliders and their Powered Variants by Heinz Mankau & Peter Petrick
German Gliders in World War II: Luftwaffe Gliders and their Powered Variants by Heinz Mankau & Peter Petrick, reviewed by Joe May, available on Amazon. During WWII, only three of the nations involved employed gliders on a large scale. They were used for landing assault troops, transporting weapons, delivering ammunition, or toting cargo—usually into active combat zones. The countries were Nazi Germany, Great Britain, and the United States (USA).
Travel For Aircraft Bookshelf – Japanese Aircraft Carriers 1920-1945 by Ermanno Martino
Japanese Aircraft Carriers 1920-1945 by Ermanno Martino, reviewed by Joe May, available on Amazon. Ermanno Martino is greatly esteemed as a naval historian, especially regarding the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). His newest book, Japanese Aircraft Carriers 1920-1945, is prized for its attention to detail as well as deep knowledge. One example of this trait is noting the armor and the steel involved in each ship’s construction, since Martino gives specific alloys and thicknesses of these materials.
Travel For Aircraft Bookshelf – The Greatest Force: How RAF Bomber Command rose to become the No. 1 factor in the destruction of Germany in WW2 by Marcus Gibson
The Greatest Force: How RAF Bomber Command rose to become the No. 1 factor in the destruction of Germany in WW2 by Marcus Gibson, reviewed by Joe May, available on Amazon. Marcus Gibson worked for a decade, deeply researching the Royal Air Force’s (RAF) Bomber Force and its contribution to the Allied victory ending WWII in Europe. He is brilliant as a writer, economist, as well as a researcher. A self-admitted “serial contrarian,” he cold-forges opinions and is not shy about presenting them.
Travel For Aircraft Bookshelf – Mentor to the Rising Sun: Britain’s role in founding Japan’s Naval Air Service by Dick Wise
Mentor to the Rising Sun: Britain’s role in founding Japan’s Naval Air Service by Dick Wise, reviewed by Joe May, available on Amazon.
Travel for aircraft bookshelf – Fairey Fulmar: the Fleet Air Arm's unlikely hero by Matthew Willis
Fairey Fulmar: the Fleet Air Arm's Unlikely Hero by Matthew Willis, reviewed by Joe May, available on Amazon Matthew Willis has written the authoritative book on the woefully underappreciated Fairey Fulmar. The Fulmar's story also brings readers through the dire history of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm (FAA) from just prior to WWII through to the gaining of initiative against the Axis powers. Their histories are inextricably intertwined.
Travel For Aircraft Bookshelf – Fairey Fulmar: the Fleet Air Arm’s Unlikely Hero by Matthew Willis
Fairey Fulmar: the Fleet Air Arm’s Unlikely Hero by Matthew Willis, reviewed by Joe May, available on Amazon. Matthew Willis has written the authoritative book on the woefully underappreciated Fairey Fulmar. The Fulmar’s story also brings readers through the dire history of the Royal Navy’s Fleet Air Arm (FAA) from just prior to WWII through to the gaining of initiative against the Axis powers. Their histories are inextricably intertwined.
Travel For Aircraft Bookshelf – F4U Corsair by Ernest M. Snowden
F4U Corsair by Ernest M. Snowden, reviewed by Joe May, available on Amazon. Snowden’s F4U Corsair follows closely with his F8U Crusader (check HERE) just as notably and enjoyably. It is the story of the U.S. Navy (USN) acquiring an aircraft designed for power as well as for speed to dominate the air battle space.
Travel For Aircraft Bookshelf – Skyhookers: An Illustrated History of Hook-On Aircraft and Their Dirigible Motherships by William Wolf
Skyhookers: An Illustrated History of Hook-On Aircraft and Their Dirigible Motherships by William Wolf, reviewed by Joe May, available on Amazon. Aircraft operating from airships? Flying Heavier-Than-Air (HTA) aircraft based on Lighter-Than-Air (LTA) airship aviation? How curious.
Travel For Aircraft Bookshelf – Reggiane Fighters: RE.2000 Falco, RE.2001 Ariete I, RE.2002 Ariete II, RE.2005 Sagittario by Luigino Caliaro
Reggiane Fighters: RE.2000 Falco, RE.2001 Ariete I, RE.2002 Ariete II, RE.2005 Sagittario by Luigino Caliaro, reviewed by Joe May, available on Amazon. Caliaro has scored a writing hat trick with Reggiane Fighters: Reggio Emilia RE.2000 Falco, RE.2001 Ariete I, RE.2002 Ariete II, RE.2005 Sagittario. This is his third and latest book on Italian fighters and interceptors of the 1930s and 1940s, thus encompassing WWII.
Travel For Aircraft Bookshelf – F8U Crusader by Ernest M. Snowden
F8U Crusader by Ernest M. Snowden, reviewed by Joe May, available on Amazon. I first saw Vought’s breathtaking F-8 Crusader while sitting in a theater watching Lt. Robin Crusoe, U.S.N. (1966 film), and have never forgotten the sight of it. Young at the time, I was unaware that this aircraft (designated F8U originally) was Chance Vought’s brilliant comeback after his underwhelming initial entries into the jet age from the illustrious F4U Corsair.
Travel For Aircraft Bookshelf – Passenger Flying Boats by Leslie Dawson
Passenger Flying Boats by Leslie Dawson, reviewed by Joe May, available on Amazon. Leslie Dawson’s superb authorship and superior history detective work have, again, paid off. His previous book—Fabulous Flying Boats: a history of the World’s passenger flying boats—has been extremely well received. It is jam-packed with unique photos as well as researched stories, giving the flavor as well as the adventure that was the world of flying boats in their heyday.
Travel For Aircraft Bookshelf – A Sky Never Forgotten: a WWII Pilot’s Journey Through War and Captivity by Maida Purdy
A Sky Never Forgotten: a WWII Pilot’s Journey Through War and Captivity by Maida Purdy, reviewed by Joe May, available on Amazon. Screenshot of the book A Sky Never Forgotten: a WWII Pilot’s Journey Through War and Captivity by Maida Purdy 28 December 2025 was the day I read A Sky Never Forgotten, and it turns out to also be the anniversary date for when John Purdy was shot down.
Travel For Aircraft Bookshelf - The Secret Horsepower Race: Western Front Fighter Engine Development by Calum Douglas
The Secret Horsepower Race: Western Front Fighter Engine Development by Calum Douglas, reviewed by Joe May, available on Amazon. Author of The Secret Horsepower Race, Calum Douglas, is an expert with internal combustion engines, having a master’s degree in mechanical engineering and having studied under former chief motor racing designer for Cosworth, Geoff Goddard. He further enhanced his expertise while working for Toyota, studying Formula 1 engine technology.
Travel For Aircraft Bookshelf - Wings Like Eagles: The Evolution of Military Aircraft from Wright to Warbird by John Thow
Wings Like Eagles: The Evolution of Military Aircraft from Wright to Warbird by John Thow, reviewed by Joe May, available on Amazon. Author Mike Thow is more than an accomplished graphic designer, and this, in concert with his passion for aircraft, produced a visually stunning book. An unusual book. A spirally bound book.
Travel For Aircraft Bookshelf - Suicide Jockeys: The Making of the WWII Combat Pilot by Monique Taylor
Suicide Jockeys: The Making of the WWII Combat Pilot by Monique Taylor, reviewed by Joe May, available on Amazon. When we mostly read about World War II (WWII) airborne operations, we read in-depth about parachute insertions. We read about the paratroopers with their trials, confusion, derring-do, and initiative. When we read of glider-borne insertions, if we have that opportunity, glider pilots rate hardly a footnote, if any mention at all is ever made of them.
Travel For Aircraft Bookshelf - Night of the Bear by Alan Cockrell and Richard Hess
Night of the Bear by Alan Cockrell and Richard Hess, reviewed by Joe May, available on Amazon. Alan Cockrell and Richard Hess have written a thriller novel revolving around nuclear armageddon within the United States that can end with Russian domination using one surgical operation. Is such precise operation plausible? Yes, and scarily so! How to take out all the U.S. civilian and military leadership authorized to launch a retaliatory nuclear strike?
Travel For Aircraft Bookshelf - USAAF Antisubmarine Operations in World War Two by Alan C. Carey
USAAF Antisubmarine Operations in World War Two by Alan C. Carey, reviewed by Joe May, available on Amazon. Readers know that World War II’s (WWII) submarine war was drawn out, ugly, and desperate. Desperate for the Allies in early WWII, then desperate for the Kriegsmarine as the war continued to be prosecuted. Ships set afire and sunk. Aircraft lost at sea without a trace. Submarines imploded as they settled below their crush depth.
Travel For Aircraft Bookshelf - FIAT Aeritalia Fighters: CR.32, CR.42 Falco, G.50 Freccia, G.55 Centauro by Luigino Caliaro
FIAT Aeritalia Fighters: CR.32, CR.42 Falco, G.50 Freccia, G.55 Centauro by Luigino Caliaro, reviewed by Joe May, available on Amazon. Coming off two outstanding books (Savoia Marchetti S.79 Sparviero: From Airliner and Record Breaker to Bomber and Torpedo Bomber 1934-1947 and Macchi Fighters: Mc.22 Saetta, Mc 202 Folgore, Mc 205 Veltro) is this extraordinary book. Extraordinary for its expertise, production quality, authenticity, and context. Context, you may ask? Yes…context.
Travel For Aircraft Bookshelf - Forgotten Souls: the Search for the Lost Tuskegee Airmen by Cheryl W. Thompson
Forgotten Souls: the Search for the Lost Tuskegee Airmen by Cheryl W. Thompson, reviewed by Joe May, available on Amazon. MIA—Missing in Action. The acronym signifies a service person lost in combat with remains unaccounted for, death uncertain. Once 366 days pass, with no recovery of remains or positive conclusion of death, the MIA is declared KIA—Killed in Action. The MIA acronym brings despondency to affected families along with an emotional void.
Travel For Aircraft Bookshelf - Messerschmitt Me 309 - Development & Politics by Dan Sharp & Calum Douglas
Messerschmitt Me 309 – Development & Politics by Dan Sharp & Calum Douglas, reviewed by Joe May, available on Amazon. When I first saw the pre-publication announcement for Messerschmitt 309, I was puzzled, being unaware of the design. So I looked it up in Wikipedia, of course, where I found a sparse two paragraphs on an unremarkable story. Sharp and Douglas have remedied that and provided much more with Messerschmitt Me 309: Development & Politics.
Travel For Aircraft Bookshelf - Aeronautica Macchi Fighters: C.200 Saetta C.202 Folgore C.205 Veltro
Travel For Aircraft Bookshelf – Aeronautica Macchi Fighters: C.200 Saetta, C.202 Folgore, C.205 Veltroby Luigino Caliaro, reviewed by Joe May When seeing the NASM’s Aeronautica Macchi C.202 Folgore fighter, I immediately thought what a beauty it is, though knowing little about Italy’s World War II designs, since there is a dearth of English-language publications about them. Author Luigino Caliaro is on a mission to fix that issue and fill in that somewhat empty niche.
Travel For Aircraft Bookshelf - The Bugatti 100P Record Plane: Created by Ettore Bugatti and Louis de Monge
The Bugatti 100P record plane: Created by Ettore Bugatti and Louis de Monge, by Jaap Horst, reviewed by Joe May Jaap Horst (Bugatti Aircraft Association) has written a masterful work of this prescient aircraft design, once years ahead of its time in the late 1930s—Ettore Bugatti’s SciFi-esque 100P.
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