Soviet X-Planes

I wanted to like this book. I was seduced by the S-37/47 Berkut on the cover, and imagined the book to be filled with exotic designs that marveled the mind and that each would have a fascinating story to tell about the hows and whys and why nots. There is that, once you seperate the fascinating from the not. This book is full. I mean so full that it becomes repetitive and monotonous and I am an aviation enthusiast. The level of detail is impressive, with design ranging from the creative to the absurd. In compiling this level of detail, the authors are to be commended. But I feel that the book would have been so much better had the book focused on 30 of the most intriguing designs and told that story, rather than the 120-odd designs. I would buy this used, because it does make for interesting reading, and the aviation enthusiast will enjoy parts, but probably not the whole. For me, I always enjoyed the Myasishschev designs for their unique grace.