audiobook War over the Steppes: The air campaigns on the Eastern Front 1941–45 (General Aviation) by E. R. Hooton in History

Review

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Detailed but repetitiveBy MPA lot of details about the air war on the eastern front. Very effective as a timeline for the campaign but at times becomes very repetitive with stating the number of sorties flown and tonnes of ordinance dropped without anecdotes to add context.4 of 5 people found the following review helpful. Accessible InformationBy Cap'nThis book makes accessible information regarding the war on the Eastern Front that was previously difficult to find by Western readers. Through this book; the reader gains insights into an air war and its combat and logistics issues that has been difficult to comprehend.11 of 11 people found the following review helpful. An Impressively Researched Single Volume Account of the Air War in the EastBy Writing HistorianA disclaimer: Normally one would see "Verified Purchase" for this review; but I must confess that this book was sent to me by a good friend as a birthday present. He doesn't always choose what I would like to read; but in this case I am glad that he picked Hooton's latest work.As the cover photo might indicate; this book focuses on both the Luftwaffe and Soviet Air Force during the years leading up to Barbarossa as well as the events that took place once war between the totalitarian giants began on 22 June 1941.Most; if not all; readers with some knowledge of the air war in the East can probably point out a topic that the author did not discuss or perhaps only covered it in cursory fashion. For those of us (including me) who have not read a lot about the aerial campaigns in the East; this book is chock full of facts; figures; and information. At times; the reader is awash in numbers and names; but one should not be surprised to experience this considering it is limited to 251 pages of actual narrative (discounting foreword; consolidated illustration captions and index).A quick look at organization: Hooton divides the narrative into five chapters of approximately 40 - 45 pages each. They are as follows: CHAPTER 1: FROM FRIENDS TO FOES - Russian and German Airpower 1924 to 1941; CHAPTER 2: INVASION AND RETREAT - June 1941 to April 1942; CHAPTER 3: TIDE TURNS - May 1942 to February 1043; CHAPTER 4: THE RUSSIANS ADVANCE - March 1943 to April 1944; CHAPTER 5: RED STAR TRIUMPHANT - May 1944 to May 1945.The strongest feature of this book is that is deals with events in a refreshingly objective fashion; with no hint of exaggerated Soviet official history claims nor post-war Luftwaffe accounts that aviation enthusiasts seem to accept without question; I also felt that the author had explored a number of sources when setting the foundation for the account; which guarantees that the general reader will find himself or herself learning about many things they had no knowledge of previously. He also covers a broad amount of topics; to include pilot training; aircraft development and fielding; the impact of Lend Lease USAAF and RAF aircraft; and a host of other subjects.Highly recommended as a primer on the topic with the caution that Hooton does not follow a strictly chronological path within chapters; which may lead to a bit of confusion. In addition; the only potential editing errors that I came across seemingly involved confusing 1942 with 1943 and 1944 with 1943; otherwise I cannot explain why the narrative suddenly jumps a year in one paragraph before resuming discussion of the previous time period. A small distraction in any case.