Secret US Proposals of the Cold War: Radical Concepts in Military Aircraft

This is an excellent volume for readers interested in the "paper airplanes" aircraft of the cold war. From a historian’s point of view, you get a brief description of the history of company model shops, promotional models, and how the models were used. The aircraft covered here are mostly in the gray area of having gone beyond the back of the napkin to becoming a proposal, but no metal has been cut. Aircraft are divided by class, bomber, fighter, VTOL, etc., except the Navy gets its own chapter as well.There's a bit of coverage on civil airline projects and a couple of passing nods to Russian and WWII German models as well. Some plastic models are also included with old Hawk and Aurora models being illustrated, but they are really not germane to the subject.As caveats, I would say if you have any of Jared Zichek's books on project aircraft, you have a significant portion of this book and I would recommend caution due to the rather ambitious pricing as this review was written. The organization can sometimes get a bit interesting as well. Overall this book is well illustrated with quality photos and manufacturer's concepts.This is a book with the central premise of covering the artifacts of each aircraft program and a bit of aircraft history as background for the model and not the aircraft themselves per se.This is not a book for modelers. I have enjoyed this book but can only recommend it for the most die-hard of aviation fans.

The book reminds me of my trips to US Air Force Museum in Fairborn. They have a magnificent collection of same-scale aircraft through the years. This book has a magnificent collection of models of secret and never-built aircraft from the Cold War era. Whether as a source for historical modeling, kit-bashing, or fantasy modeling, this volume is a unique resource.In my opinion, it's even better than books offering multi-elevation line drawings of aircraft. The models are masterfully done, beautifully and usefully photographed, and well-captioned.I understand from other reviews that it was originally titled with a reference to the models that are its forte. I almost missed the book until I read that review. Glad I didn't.The price seems fair and reasonable and the quality of the volume promises long-lasting life.Hours of incredibly fun reading and innumerable ideas for projects.

Jim Keeshen has done an outstanding job of combining his love of factory display models with his love of experimental/concept aircraft of the 1950s and 1960s. I served 26 years in the Air Force and consider myself a keen and informed aviation buff/historian. Yet I was pleasantly surprised to read about designs of which I was completely unfamiliar. Jim's connections to the model collecting community opened doors to a significant variety of factory models that otherwise would have remained hidden or obscure to the rest of us. The photography was superb and his narrative well written. Thank you Jim for a fine book that is entertaining and will be a valued reference in my aviation library.

How many books do we read which are nothing but compilations of recently excavated ossified old drawings from extinct manufactureres? Jim's book goes far and above this tired formulaic approach to "secret proposals". Springing from the most inventive period of aeronautical engineering the world has ever known, the magic of this book is that we get to survey its wide variety of aircraft from a totally three dimensional perspective. Indeed, this was the very impetus behind the manufacturers creating these gems of miniatures: to show the product to the potential customer. Now, over half a century later in many cases, we too can appreciate the ingenuity and design "problem solving" which the bright engineering minds who came before us offered the defense community. We also have yet another chance to view the craftsmanship of the model makers of that time. This talent is today , sadly, slipping away, with few practitioners of the art remaining or even needed for that matter. I can liken the viewing of this book as similar to the respect and awe one has when seeing the works of a Renaissance painter from six centuries past. Jim Keeshen has managed to ferret-out and photograph often times stupendous aircraft concepts which have disappeared from the conciusness of most everyone who ever had any kind of inkling about or participation in the state of the world and the design prowess of the United States during the inappropriately named white-hot period of conflict known as the Cold War. Easy to read and perfectly categorized by overall mission/type, this book will make smile anyone who collects models, loves aviation, or studies our history. What a fine piece of work! Craig Kodera, June 2013

The book is well-researched volume detailing a history of of forgotten or unbuilt US aircraft proposals from the Cold War. What makes the book unique is that the story is told through contractor models and proposal brochures. This book is well worth your moeny and a welcome addition to any aerospace library.

Better than described...Thank You!!!

Lots of well researched history and only interesting to the airplane nut. (Like me) The F-108 and XB-70 chapters were very good.

Little model information. A little confused organization, more on the side of the side of the collectionist than in the projects searcher.

I hadn't realised that much - if not all - of the book is based on conceptual designs backed up by a plethora of models most of which I'd never heard of. This is frustrating for, as a former model collector, I must have missed out on a great many aircraft close to my heart.I've always been a fan of German end-of-war concepts and in this book we have a follow-on for concepts undertaken after the war but in the hands and minds of the Americans, no doubt helped along by designers lifted from Europe.I have no idea if there are other concepts not covered in this book but I can imagine that it would be only a few, unless, of course, you include all those original ideas scribbled on the back of an envelope and then tossed into the bin. All of mine are in there most certainly!Anyway, the book is really absorbing and since I am reading concurrently German Air Projects Vol 4, I can visualize all sorts of confrontations had events taken a different course.A great book and an excellent price.

As advertised on the tin, most of the information is compiled from models of concept aircraft. Quite well put together, with some interesting detail but a little lacking in describing the technical issues. A book rather for the knowledgeable enthusiast than the amateur.

A great book with a lot of information which I had not seen before.The outline views are really usefull to inspire a modeller.