No Easy Days
The Incredible Drama of Naval Aviation
Douglas Keeney
William Butler
ISBN – 1-884532-26-8
USFS Video Inc.
112 pages
Appx. $18.95 US
Review by Mike Gawell
This is a book I had long looked forward to reading, and thought that it would make for a good part of the library. It has all the elements to make a strong book or part of a strong series of books. The photos are good, the subject matter terrifyingly compelling, and the drama is palatable. Still something is missing.
The book features the period of Naval aviation just past world War II, and goes through the present day, but concentrates heavily on the Korean War era, and Vietnam era aviation. The photos capture a naval aviator’s or any sane aviator’s worst nightmares come true in a detail that can be frightening.
So what IS the problem with the book? Not a whole lot of text. Each photo has a caption, and there is some text between sections that lends it self to continuity of the material, but little else. I personally would have liked to see more text on some of the accidents, the status of the pilots, how it happened or what the survey report on the accident found to be the cause. This is done sometimes, but the detailed explanation of the crashed aircraft is missing. It is not because the pages are lacking room on them for more text, it is just missing in action. For the same amount of money, you can get much more book from Osprey Publishing on a regular basis. Sure these photos are dramatic, and show the danger that our brave Naval pilots face on a daily basis, but it does not pull the reader in as it could if there had been some thought put into some mind engaging text, or copies of the accident reports, pilot interviews, etc.
Not recommended. Watch the video instead.
Review copy courtesy of Steve Farrington, of Elizabeth, Colorado.
If you would like to review a book, please send your review to Mike Gawell at mgawell@us-aircraft.com