JANE’S POCKET BOOK – AIR FORCES OF THE WORLD compiled by David C Mondey and Kenneth Munson and edited by John W R Taylor. Small pocket sized (12cm x 18.5cm). Hard back with 256 pages and numerous black and white photos. Published by Jane’s Publishing Company Ltd, London in 1981. A Vintage Hardback Book from the 1980s, this book is 43 years old.

This vintage book is a first edition. It is in excellent condition and unmarked with the pages being spotless. All of the pages appear to be crease free even on the top and bottom corners. The covers are also in excellent condition with no ruffling to the edges and actually look good for the book’s age.

From the Introduction: “This first edition of ‘Air Forces of the World’ is of particular importance in the family of reference works, large and small published under the Jane’s imprint…”

“It is the purpose of ‘Air Forces of the World’, which presents comparative data on the size and character of every known air force in standardised quick-reference form, for professional users who want a maximum of pertinent fact and a minimum of history and comment. No subject is more important, for these are the military services whose primary aim is the maintenance of world peace…”

This book covers every known air force from around the world with all the information one might need to know about them, including important dates in their history, basic structure, manpower strength, bases and equipment. Every air force included is illustrated with a black and white photograph of one of its aircraft.

This is an amazing little book that has lived in the same smoke-free home for all of its life. A must have for any collector of vintage aircraft books.