Silver Wings - Serving and Protecting Croatia Book Review
By David L. Veres
| Date of Review | July 2016 | Title | Silver Wings - Serving and Protecting Croatia |
|---|---|---|---|
| Author | Iñigo Guevara y Moyano | Publisher | Harpia Publishing, LLC |
| Published | 2009 | ISBN | 978-0-9825539-1-6 |
| Format | 160 pages, softbound | MSRP (USD) | $64.95 |
Review
Don’t let this photo book’s colorful, but cryptic contents deter you: it boasts some of the most stunning and evocative aviation photography extant.
In Croatian and English, the six chapters of Silver Wings - Serving and Protecting Croatia embrace the full range of recent Croatian Air Force capabilities – “Defenders”, Firefighters, Transport Elements, Training Elements, “Wings of Storm”, and Maintenance elements.
Further sections feature dual-language captions with matching thumbnails of all images and the current order of battle. Aircraft technical specs, beautiful color profiles by Ugo Crisponi, and artwork of Croatian Air Force badges conclude coverage.
World-famous Japanese aviation photographer Tokunaga really shines. With over 30 pages of gorgeous MiG-21bis shots, “Defenders” proved my favorite section – with “Wings of Storm” a close second. Note that the latter visually essays the country’s Pilatus PC-9M equipped acrobatic team – not “Operation Storm”, Croatia’s 1995 blitzkrieg against separatist Serbs and the largest European land offensive since World War II.
Available again in North American from Casemate, this dazzling delight offers a photo feast of aviation awesomeness. If you’ve studied recent Balkan conflicts, this book deserves a place on your shelf. Now let’s hope Harpia Publishing deigns to consider a companion study of “Operation Storm” and other Croatian air combat operations!
Recommended!
With thanks to Casemate for the review copy.