- California, home to many of the great World War 2 aeronautical plants and training fields, and blessed by a year-round flying climate, has become a major centre for the 'warbird' scene. When thousands of war surplus military aircraft were sold off cheaply after VJ-Day, or simply scrapped, nobody could guess that one day private enthusiasts would spend huge amounts in support of a specialist industry restoring these legendary warplanes. Then, you could have bought a P-51 Mustang for $2000; recently a P-38 Lightning made $1.5 million at a California auction.... Through the vision and effort of a few dedicated individuals, and the stimulus of the air racing scene, an extra- ordinary range of old warplanes have been meticu- lously rebuilt, sometimes from mere piles of junk, to give delight to thousands at race meets and airshows some being rebuilt several times, since these veter- ans can be cranky! MICHAEL O'LEARY, famous for his beautiful warbird photography, offers a dazzling gallery of P-51s and Spitfires, Lightnings and P-40s, Corsairs and Invaders, Stearmans and Fortresses even rare Zeros, Marauders, Messerschmitts and B-24 Liberators. His fact-packed text and captions tell the stories of the planes, the restoration companies, the shrines of the warbird world like Chino and the Museum of Flying, and of the brave and resourceful men and women who have given so much to keep these metal legends in the skies.