Another book from the hoard that it's taken me forever to get to. When I was a kid, the vibe about this plane, was "what if," though I don't remember the sort of vehement resentment that the cancellation of the British TSR.2 or the Canadian CF-105 Arrow generated. There is a little bit of wistfulness in this book from the authors, but it's heavily tempered by the understanding that the operational requirement was almost impossible to meet within a reasonable timeframe, and that this plane only made sense in a force structure where there were "Mach 3" fighters, along with "Mach 3" bombers, and that world didn't happen. There were just easier and more efficient ways to maintain a nuclear strike force.

As for work itself, it's very nuts-and-bolts, as the authors take you through the technology incorporated in the plane; the visual documentation is great. The development path of the plane also turns out to have been very convoluted as, to a certain degree, the Valkyrie was a parallel option to building a nuclear-powered bomber (speaking of shudder-inducing technology). Frankly, having read about most of the very-fast aircraft of this period, several generations after the fact they look like dead-end efforts, where the technology needed to operationalize these machines really didn't keep up with the aerodynamics. There's a book to be written on materials science, metallurgy, and high-performance aircraft.

About the only down-side to this book is that the hardcover is an expensive collector's item if you need to own it, though it does seem readily available if you live in the United States and go the inter-library loan route. ( )

This is another product of Specialty Press, which produces both intense studies of aviation subjects and photo books aimed at a more general audience. This book is one of the former. It's a detailed history of the XB-70, including much information on design, construction and flight testing. The book is lavishly illustrated with photos, drawings and other illustrations. Jenkins & Landis have established a reputation for well researched and written aviation histories and this book is well up to that standard. For the aviation enthusiast it is well worth the very reasonable price. Others might find the level of detail in the text a big overwhelming, but may be worth their time to read. ( )