Presenting this time around brief reviews of three titles somewhat off the beaten track for Stone & Stone Second World War Books:

Prodger, Mick J. Luftwaffe vs. RAF: Flying Equipment of the Air War, 1939-45. Atlgen, PA: Schiffer Military/Aviation History, 1998.

ISBN 0-7643-0249-3
147 pages

Acknowledgments; Foreword; Introduction; photos; Sources and Select Bibliography; Index

Appendix: Aircraft Commander

We reviewed the earlier Luftwaffe vs. RAF volume, Flying Clothing of the Air War, last year and pointed out that -- despite our solemn vow not to extend our collecting activities to air force garb -- Prodger's presentation made a "bright, sparkling, fascinating" case for looking into this stuff.

The new volume follows very much in those footsteps with another 147 pages of beautiful photographs and enlightening text. This time around, Prodger compares and contrasts various kinds of flying gear: parachutes, life preservers, life rafts, escape and evasion items, "tools of the trade" (navigation aids and so forth), weapons and sidearms, and paperwork and prizes (such as citations and certificates).

Prodger seems to know his stuff, the photos are excellent (mostly new shots of beautifully preserved pieces), and collectors will be agog.

Very nice, but probably not the sort of thing your wife is going to let you get into too heavily.

Bruyelle, Frederic; Mansuy, Renaud; Raquillet, Francois. Les Casques de l'Armee Francaise, de 1915 a 1945. Villette de Vienne, France: Editions E.S.P., 1997

ISBN 2-9510969-1-7
144 pages

Foreword; photos.

This beauty has been sitting around the office longer than we care to admit, simply because we weren't quite sure how to approach it. A book about casques is one thing. A book about French casques is something else. And a book about French casques, written entirely in French, is a whole 'nother kettle of fish.

For those of you unable to order beer in Paris, this is a book about the helmets of the French army. If it was hard -- even leather will do -- and rode upon the head of a French soldier between 1915 and 1945 -- heck, the book actually kicks off with les prototypes of 1902-1914 -- then it's in this book. Diagrams. Ample text en francaise. Copious photos (most in color and from modern collections). Some of these you will have seen, others -- such as the rather fetching casque masque -- are unique.

What more can we say?

Hayes, Arthur and Jon Maguire. Uniforms of the Third Reich: A Study in Photographs. Atlgen, PA: Schiffer Military/Aviation History, 1998.

ISBN 0-7643-0358-9
259 pages

Introduction; photos

Like the other two books, this seems to be aimed at the collector "and allow[s] the reader to see what the genuine article looks like". Among page after page of splendid photos there is nothing more than the occasional heading and sporadic caption. Those who seek visual detail will be rewarded; those who expect explication will not. Interestingly, the authors offer a disclaimer: "We have made our best efforts to insure that all items pictured are 100% genuine and we believe them to be so, but we do not claim to be infallible. If any items not of the World War II era have slipped past us, we sincerely apologize." Apparently they aren't kidding when they mention in the Introduction the problem with fake items!

At one level this is simply a feast for the eyes of those who are attracted to uniforms. At another level, it offers the collector a chance to study and recognize the real McCoy. For those handy with needle and thread it might also provide something of a guide for tailoring their own....

Available from online booksellers, local bookshops, or directly from the publishers.

Thanks to the publishers for providing these review copies.