There were two things that attracted me to this book， number 85 in the Osprey Weapons series， Infantry Antiaircraft Missiles。 One was a topic I need to understand better， the other was the author， Steven J Zaloga， a legend in the Military History field。 Here， he quickly and efficiently gives us the history of the category， starting in the Cold War with the US RedEye system that was quickly countered by the Soviet Strela weapon。 Zaloga follows the desire to take the Infrared air to air Missile sy There were two things that attracted me to this book， number 85 in the Osprey Weapons series， Infantry Antiaircraft Missiles。 One was a topic I need to understand better， the other was the author， Steven J Zaloga， a legend in the Military History field。 Here， he quickly and efficiently gives us the history of the category， starting in the Cold War with the US RedEye system that was quickly countered by the Soviet Strela weapon。 Zaloga follows the desire to take the Infrared air to air Missile systems- and makre it "Man portable" 。 Leaps in Infrared "Seekers"， leaps in electronic miniaturisation， leaps in rocket propulsion and leaps in launching techniques were all required before a dude could in any way reliably take down a live combat aircraft with one of these weapons- but all those hurdles were overcome。 By the late 1960s the weapons were moving from NATO and Warsaw Pact inventories into the proxy wars of the Cold War。 All along we get the typical Osprey treatment， lots of colour and b/w pics， diagrams and some nice colour illustrations- a great little package on a very contemporary topic。Of course the RedEye begat the Stinger and the Blowpipe， and the Strela begat the Igla。。。 The latter part of the book traces the impact of these weapons ， starting with Vietnam and the South African Bush Wars。 Then the War of Attrition and the October War where the IDFAF gained a healthy respect for the Strela。 By the Soviet Afghan War， the MANPAD （MAN Portable Antiaircraft Defense） is a serious tactical factor in changing the nature of the struggle。 Air Forces learn tactics and develop countermeasures， but the hegemony of the helicopter and jet ground attack is severely impacted。 The book went to press as the Ukrainian War Of Independence was beginning so there is little coverage of that struggle- but Zaloga shows how MANPADS can change some wars- and we do see them being used successfully now to defend against Russian air assets and drones。 When Zaloga lays out how a weapon is changing warfare， the reader is in good hands that the information is as good as a Civilian can get 。 I personally was amazed at how many nations now produce their own versions of these missiles。 There are no adult themes or gory passages， so this is a good book for the Junior Reader over 11/12 years。 For the Gamer/Modeler/Military Enthusiast， the usual Zaloga delivery of goodness。 The Gamer gets insight into a weapon used in games from Call of Duty to Team Yankee to BattleGroup Northag to Red Storm Rising- and a survey look at its effects in a number of Cold War Proxy wars of the 1960s-1980s。 The Modeler gets at least one picture of every major model of MANPAD and some diorama ideas thrown in for good measure。 The Military Enthusiast gets a handy quick reference guide to a form of weapon unknown before the Cold War- and a look at conflicts where the weapon figured in the fighting。 I had that familiar "Zaloga gave me the important info" feeling that military history enthusiasts have known for decades。 Another knowledge drop from the master- a straight rec from this reviewer。 。。。more