Stokesbury, who's made a one-man industry of this type of book, delivers exactly what the title promises: A concise, factual history of aircraft in combat from the Balkans (1912-1913) to the Falklands (1983). The World Wars are covered in multiple chapters, the interwar and post-1945 periods more briefly, Specialists in military history and aviation history will find nothing new here, and readers looking for gripping tales of combat or detailed nuts-and-bolts comparisons of (say) the Spitfire Mk IX and the Focke-Wulf 190 will be disappointed. They are not the book's intended audience, however, and those for whom it is intended--non-specialists who want to read a book on the subject--will be well-served by Stokesbury's clear narrative and fluid writing. ( )