The authors have assembled over 300 airmen with five or more victories, and have photographs of all bar 36. Looking at them, I was struck by the fact that very few looked like either cold blooded killers or swashbuckling James Bond type heroes – in fact many appeared to be rather frightened young men. Each photograph is accompanied with a very brief obituary – how few died of old age, and only one died pursuing poachers on his estate after the war. There is a brief preamble which describes with clarity the way in which claims of victories were processed by the German authorities. They had the advantage of usually having access to the wreckage, unlike the Allies, but it was still an uncertain science. As always with Schiffer, this book is a beautiful work of art with an impeccable provenance.