It's a great addition to any aviation book collection. There is plenty to see and learn within the covers of this book, and you will not be dissapointed.

I particularly enjoy the reprints of posters from the WWII era which speak to the dangers of working with and near the equipment of war. Some are humorous, some are graphic, but nearly all are timeless.

A very ilustrative book about technical aviation drawings and posters of WWII. It's hard to imagine to do such things when all you have were simple drawing equipment and mangled pieces of reference but the end result is highly inspiring and informative. It was a sheer determination for the artist to provide an accurate reference materials that saved thousands aviators and crews' lives. I would recommend the book to those who like aviation arts and the technical drawings of it.

Donald Nijboer's GRAPHIC WAR, published in 2005 by Boston Mills Press, reveals a side of aviation history seldom seen by the general public, namely illustrations aimed at informing military personnel of 'friendly' and enemy aircraft, equipment and tactics. GRAPHIC WAR'S 272 pages are crammed with drawings and posters, many in full color, dating from the 1930s and WWII, showing Allied and Axis hardware, sometimes in quite minute detail. World War II fans will undoubtedly enjoy this peek at 'behind-the-scenes' information formerly classified 'Restricted - Official Use Only.'

GRAPHIC WAR is a grab-bag of illustrations. The main section of the book reproduces illustrations done by British, German, American and Russian artists of aircraft, weapons, tactics ('Beware the Hun in the Sun'), safety procedures and so on. The work of legendary illustrator Peter Endsleigh Castle is highlighted although the work of other artists is featured. (Curiously, although Nijboer makes the point about publicizing these unknown artists, he doesn't list the name of the artist next to his artwork even when you can clearly read it on the piece!)

While the aircraft artwork will certainly be of interest, some of the other material - engine diagrams, assembly breakdowns, etc. - is less appealing. Likewise the $49.95 price tag seems a bit steep.

In any case, while it's a mixed bag, GRAPHIC WAR is certainly worth a look. There are some wonderful aircraft cutaways on display and other illustrations that will be of interest to air combat enthusiasts. Recommended.

This is a beautiful book that takes us back to the time before the internet DVDs and laptops, and answer the question how do you educate the "user" of the increasing complicated machines of war that were being developed during WWII. This book is of Interest to the graphic artist and the WWII buff. You forget that no matter how awfully bad some of the machines were, and what death traps. They still needed a user manual. It is sobering to see the instructions for the Hampden bomber crews on how to bail out, (a feat that not many achieved) and you wonder how many owed their like to this graphic. The collection is exclusively Aviation, which raises the question of the other two Forces and their contribution (may be there will be a couple of sequels). I would have liked more translation of the foreign language graphics - but overall I have no complaints this was a great book.

Any one interested in the WW II planes will find this useful as well as gaining some history of the process by which this was developed. Less info and illustrations by American illustrators than I would have liked. But worth the investment.

The concept behind "Graphic War" is simple and intriguing. In 272 crisp, glossy 9-by-11-inch pages, author Donald Nijboer presents hundreds of superb examples of aviation-related World War II technical artwork from Great Britain, Germany, the U.S. and the Soviet Union.

Most of the artwork comes from wartime training manuals, operations handbooks, aircraft production and assembly documents, posters, etc. Without exception, the artistic quality is stunning. Sixty-some years ago, when anonymous artists created these amazing works, computer-generated imagery (and, indeed, even the computer itself) was not even a gleam in the eye of the most visionary dreamer. Dedicated and talented artistic craftsmen turned out these exquisite pieces of technical art using "low-tech" items such as India ink pens, colored chalks, airbrushes, rubber cement, vellum and Bristol board. "Graphic War" shows that these artists not only succeeded in conveying complex technical information to the airmen who needed to know it--they also often created beautiful works of art in the process. Check out, for example, the intricate "Halifax III Main Structure" (pp. 78-79), the superbly detailed "Centaurus Aero-Engine" cutaway (pp. 156-157) and the colorful "B-17F Armament--Forward Compartments" diagram (pp. 210-211).

About half of the artwork in "Graphic War" is from Great Britain. The other half is about evenly split between Germany and the U.S. The Soviet Union gets only 14 pages, because wartime Soviet artwork is very rare and hard to find. While I marveled at the superlative illustrations, I also really appreciated the captions. Rather than describing the artwork itself (which is largely self-explanatory), each caption discusses the actual subject that the artwork depicts. For example, the captions for illustrations of aircraft torpedoes describe their use, reliability, warhead types, etc. The captions for aircraft cutaways cover performance characteristics, production numbers, variants, theatres of operation, etc. Thus one not only sees the illustration, impressive in its own right, but also learns something about the subject depicted. I found this to be an exceptionally interesting and effective way to combine visual and textual information.

"Graphic War," an homage to World War II's unsung "heroes" who helped "keep `em flying," deserves a prominent place on every aviation enthusiast's bookshelf. Graphic artists are also sure to find it fascinating and inspirational. I recommend it most highly.

The concept behind "Graphic War" is simple and intriguing. In 272 crisp, glossy 9-by-11-inch pages, author Donald Nijboer presents hundreds of superb examples of aviation-related World War II technical artwork from Great Britain, Germany, the U.S. and the Soviet Union.

Most of the artwork comes from wartime training manuals, operations handbooks, aircraft production and assembly documents, posters, etc. Without exception, the artistic quality is stunning. Sixty-some years ago, when anonymous artists created these amazing works, computer-generated imagery (and, indeed, even the computer itself) was not even a gleam in the eye of the most visionary dreamer. Dedicated and talented artistic craftsmen turned out these exquisite pieces of technical art using "low-tech" items such as India ink pens, colored chalks, airbrushes, rubber cement, vellum and Bristol board. "Graphic War" shows that these artists not only succeeded in conveying complex technical information to the airmen who needed to know it--they also often created beautiful works of art in the process. Check out, for example, the intricate "Halifax III Main Structure" (pp. 78-79), the superbly detailed "Centaurus Aero-Engine" cutaway (pp. 156-157) and the colorful "B-17F Armament--Forward Compartments" diagram (pp. 210-211).

About half of the artwork in "Graphic War" is from Great Britain. The other half is about evenly split between Germany and the U.S. The Soviet Union gets only 14 pages, because wartime Soviet artwork is very rare and hard to find. While I marveled at the superlative illustrations, I also really appreciated the captions. Rather than describing the artwork itself (which is largely self-explanatory), each caption discusses the actual subject that the artwork depicts. For example, the captions for illustrations of aircraft torpedoes describe their use, reliability, warhead types, etc. The captions for aircraft cutaways cover performance characteristics, production numbers, variants, theatres of operation, etc. Thus one not only sees the illustration, impressive in its own right, but also learns something about the subject depicted. I found this to be an exceptionally interesting and effective way to combine visual and textual information.

"Graphic War," an homage to World War II's unsung "heroes" who helped "keep `em flying," deserves a prominent place on every aviation enthusiast's bookshelf. Graphic artists are also sure to find it fascinating and inspirational. I recommend it most highly.

World War Two was a highly mechanised and technical war, perhaps no more so than in the air. Development of increasingly more sophisticated aircraft meant a greater demand for technical and general arrangement drawings, as well as a wide range of training material. This lavishly-illustrated book celebrates the unsung and in many cases unknown artists and technical illustrators who created the many thousands of drawings and posters produced by the combatants during the war. It draws together samples of obscure, arcane artwork that in was either intended for a limited readership, or would be regarded as ephemera. This provides us with a glimpse into a special and little-known world of over six decades ago.

The first three chapters cover the life and contribution of artists who applied the skills learned in peace-time to the wartime production of aircraft, training and advisory material for aircrew and maintenance staff. The bulk of the 270-odd pages are devoted to examples of technical drawings and training posters from Great Britain, Germany, the United States and the Soviet Union.

Where else could you find the inner workings of the FN Type 64 under gun turret (complete with Type B, Mk II periscopic sight), how to dive-bomb with a Junkers 88, what the best-dressed aircrews were wearing, how the superchargers work on a Wright-Cyclone R-3350 aero engine, and why you should regularly burn off oil deposits from your spark plugs? These things might be only of historical interest now, but then they were matters of life and death.

The artwork is often very detailed and beautifully rendered, and is a tribute to the skills of the artists. This is assisted by the large format and high quality of printing. There is some explanatory text with each image, but they are mostly left to speak for themselves. The book will appeal to aviation history buffs, or to those with an interest in the development of technical drawing. It offers many fascinating hours of delving into the inner workings and operation of some classic aircraft. Highly recommended.

This fine book is cover-to-cover artwork, and descriptive text, of aviation documents produced during World War II. The documents include public information, manufacturer publicity, military training manuals, and conceptual views. There are quite a few aircraft cut-away drawings, but most of the pictures are solid view renderings intended to show what things looked like and how they worked/were used. Any student of historic aviation will find this book an exciting read. All other aviation enthusiasts will love it for the pictures alone.

World War II students interested in in-depth detail will relish Graphic War: The Secret Aviation Drawings And Illustrations Of World War II: it offers information which until recently was classified and filed away in archives from Britain and the US to Germany and the Soviet Union. Artists on all sides played a major part in the war, creating visual aids vital to pilot training and the aviation industry as a whole. Graphic War surveys artists, drawings, and how the face of the war was transformed because of their efforts. From color cut-away craft illustration to posters, schematics, charts, and other technical works, Graphic War surveys the total impact of graphic art drawings. A recommended pick for both general collections and in-depth military holdings.

This splendid set of drawings, most of them published here for the first time show a wealth of detail on the aircraft of World War II. The drawings were made for use in training manuals, in safety posters and other printed materials.

There are all kinds of things to be learned in this book from how to tie up a Sunderland flying boat, to ditching your Hadrian Glider at sea, the armament system of the P-61 Black Widow and the emergency exits to get out of a B-29, and a cut-away view of the Soviet V-12 engine.

The book is a large format picture book, printed about half in color. It is broken into four sections to cover drawings from England, Germany, United States and Russia. I wonder what it means when you see some of the pictures from the US and England contain bits of humor (perhaps a bit grizzley like the one labeled Watch That Prop and a cartoon figure is saying What Prop as it cuts off his head) while those of Germany and the Soviet Union are all business.

A fascinating book for any World War II aviation buff.

Donald Nijboer deserves high marks for the research and presentation in his detailed and in-depth book, "Graphic War: The Secret Aviation Drawings and Illustrations of World War II." His book should appeal both to WW II aviation enthusiasts and to graphic artists (especially those either interested in or plying their skills without computers).

Drawing on a wealth of historical materials from military archives, training manuals, posters, and technical diagrams, he organizes the materials into four large collections of images representing Great Britain, Germany, United States, and Soviet Union. Many drawings are elegant, detailed technical schema created by now unknown draftsmen. Depictions of how to abandon an aircraft by parachute, dinghy, or lifeboat or of strategies emergency landings and safe bombing altitudes underscore the harrowing circumstances these pilots faced. Other illustrations offer tips on using cloud cover and reminders to watch for the "Hun in the Sun."

Bright collections of aircrew clothing would not seem out of place among the hordes of Christmas catalogs that pile up every fall. An occasional dose of levity sneaks into some of the British and American graphics about safety and maintenance ("What prop?"), but the use of humor is always to emphasize the many types of danger air crews faced, including accidents.

The German and Soviet collections, to no surprise, lack any humor but contain meticulous, even overwhelming levels of detail. The progression of the war is mirrored in the technological advances in the various aircraft, as captured by the growing complexity and nuance in the later graphics.

One point to ponder is that the aircrews had to memorize and comprehend the information contained in these graphics. Hence, it was incumbent on the artists to create material that was visually interesting, detailed, accurate, and understandable.

The creative elements may be secondary to the technical intention, but aspiring graphic artists may be amazed at how effective and thorough these renderings prove to be, especially considering the limited tools and training many of these folks had. Thousands of graphic artists and technical illustrators worked feverishly to develop this largely unknown array of training guides, technical manuals, and safety materials. Mr. Nijboer does them a great service by rendering their work in a fresh light, and his interviews with British artist Peter Endsleigh Castle are fascinating and insightful.

Mr. Nijboer notes that his book is not a celebration of the darkness of war. Rather, he notes that "the artwork in this book was created for a very different purpose---to help young men win the battles and, it was hoped, survive the war."