The subtitle of this book provides a clear and concise statement of the author's agenda, as Fredriksen documents the operational service of what is usually seen as a marginal warplane in USAF service. Besides low numbers, the classified missions of the units using the Tornado (forward basing of nuclear weapons and strategic reconnnaissance) also served to keep the machine's career under wraps. That so many former crewmen were found to offer their impressions of service in units equipped with this type is the real virtue of this monograph. One might wish for better production values in the book, but it does not greatly undercut its worth. ( )