While a handsome book (one regrets the collapse of the Ian Allan publishing program) my opinion is that this volume works somewhat better as a reference work to be dipped into rather than as a narrative history. If there is a particular theme it is of how Imperial Airways tried to achieve great things on a tight budget while operating with aircraft that were not the most cutting edge; a result of the aforementioned budget limitations and the sense that the hard environment the airline functioned in demanded an emphasis on reliability. Keep in mind that mail delivery was rather more important than the carriage of passengers in the corporate calculus. If I sounds like I'm damning with faint praise this work is still well-worth acquiring if you have the opportunity and care about the subject. ( )