Sorry Steve, I haven't been back to RC since I posted the above - have been rushed off my feet with setting up a forum (I hate doing techie stuff

)
Anyway, the reason I was unhappy with the Spitfire book is probably a reflection of my expectations. Though I may sound pompous, I have a very large library, with a 1000+ books on the war. Because of that my needs and expectations have become a lot more technical and specific.
I already own several books on the Spitfire, including the best one out there -
Spitfire: The History by Morgan and Shacklady.
So this new book came across as very perfunctory, and written in a too journalistic a way for my tastes. Maybe for someone who hasn't read a book on the Spitfire before (I hesitate to say a lay-person) it maybe a good read, especially if they don't want to know too much of the technical developments etc.
But for those people I would point out that the book also has a number of mistakes, both in the text and in the photo captions. I thought that may just have been in the HB but I have heard that these have not been corrected in the PB.
So, maybe the Lancaster book is an improvement - but with so many other books on my wishlist that I am confident of being of the quality that I require I cannot really be taking a risk on one based on the track record.
cheers
K