"Tom Cooper" wrote in message ...
Very nice, sharp one. I've already noticed your attack on amazon.com.

My 'attack' was a critique...which they removed, along with the other
'attacks'
that posted legitimate critisism of that volume. The reviewers'
postings (we are not coordinating our critiques, a lot of readers
simply hate your book) have been removed, but your book retains its
3/5 star rating. There were several lenghty critiques 'attacking' that
book before someone cried to amazon.com and had all those reviews
pulled.


Now that you're here and so willing to "inform" the people about me, I
hope you'll be kind to answer me the following questions:

I've been a silent lurker for years, wholly content on being informed,
but your condescending, yet at the same time undistinguished, postings
bring me out of the woodwork. Yes, you motivate me, because you remind
me of a heckler at a baseball game. You know batting averages, but you
don't know baseball. You attack pro players, you anger them. You said
so yourself. That Iraqi Air Force general you supposedly lectured, and
had in fits, for instance.
His was one of the most heavily funded and professional air forces on
earth. He was a pro, no matter who's team he's on. Those guys, before
the sanctions were pretty good ****s. And you 'lecture' him about the
Iranian F-14 threat? It was they who fought those F-14s, you think
they'd have an idea on their adversaries' capabilities? Not to mention
the posters here who are or were aviators or otherwise in the
business. Your often condescending attitude, when coupled with your
shallow knowledge (usually lorded over the aviators), deserve a
rebuttal of mightier ferocity. Maybe if you had some good ****, you
can dance around, but when you scatter ramblings of your quality, you
get on a lot of peoples' nerves.



- Would you be so kind to mention all these sources which we plagiarized
so much - regardles in which of Farzad's and my publications?

Not one of your volumes are to be found in my library. I am carefull
where I throw my scarce dollars, and will peruse a book thoroughly
before I get it. So I can say I cannot do a word for word relation of
your sins, from recall alone, my boy. But in your Iran-Iraq war book
80-88, you deal with the Iranian purchase of the F-14 system. From the
top of my head, (I don't have your bunk in my shelves), you simply
lifted the portion that Gillchrist describes in "Tomcat!", chapter 7,
page 48, in which a distinguised fighter pilot Capt. John Mitchell,
travells to Iran to sell that system to the Iranian Air staff. Your
version of that story in your book is a near word for word lifting.
But during the looting, it fell in your pages in the broken grammar
and low-minded prose that characterize that whole volume.

Let me in on something; I know Schiffer likes to be quick in putting
out books in the market. Most of their stuff is excellent (like
"Tomcat!"), but some others, like their flight helmet collector books,
are very inconsistent throughout and have an unmistakable tinge of
amatureness...but how did they let such a bloken engrish manuscript
like that Iran 80-88 book pass the editor and into press? I had high
hopes for that volume when I saw it, but since I was familiar with
your bunk on the net, the surprise for me was how Schiffer would allow
a work of such low standard printed under their trademark? To other
readers, go find this book somewhere, and read it. My money is on,
that you won't be walking out with it.


- Which of published sources used for "Iran-Iraq War in the Air,
1980-1988" was not mentioned in footnotes?

Since it's irrefutable where you purloined the John Mitchell visit on
your Iran book (from Gillchrist; it's almost word for word), I never
found it cited anywhere in the book. There are others I cannot recall,
and I don't have your book to wade through. On the next edition, if
there is one, try enclosing the following:

Gillchrist, Paul T. "Tomcat!", Schiffer Publishing Ltd., Altgen, PA.
1994


- Where am I known as a plagiarizer?

See my example above. And there were critiques at Amazon.com sharper
and less vile in tone than mine, yet equally truthfull. The reviews
for your book @ Amazon were near unanimous: it's bunk. And after
several months up there, everyone's postings were removed! Not to
worry, I could write them to remedy this. The consumers have rights,
you know.



- Better yet: "Iran-Iraq War in the Air, 1980-1988" was written by two
authors. How do you know that it's me who should be a plagiarizer of us
two?

Where do we draw the line on who was responsible for the bunk? In your
numerous postings punting about this piece (which I sat through
quietly, knowing the very low and amaturish quality of your work from
your website), you perpetually slink away from mentioning your
partner. Now when the dogs are uncaged, you want to climb on his
shoulders?



- Then, I'd like you to be so kind and explain me the following:

Can you cite the source of such stories like this (excerpt from "Iranian
F-4 Phantom Units in Combat"):

Have not read it. I will find it, and read it. If its good and I like
it, I'll search between the sofa cushions for some coin. I have read
most of the Osprey aviation catalogue, dating from the early 80s. But
this new series looks like a rush job, with Osprey just flooding the
market with shallow works that do not share the earlier volumes'
thoroughness. Compare Mersky's F-8 in Combat to those latest releases
on Davies' F-15 and F-18 Units in OIF Combat. As a sidenote, I've come
across Davies' other works on the F-15 and they are very amaturish
too...aren't both of you from that depthless website ACIG.org which is
mostly dripping with tables of shootdowns (un-cited, do we see a
pattern here?) and articles, again mostly uncited, which are on the
whole unaccomplished. Visit acig.org, people, and see for yourselves.

These books you mention have just been released, and I have not had
the opportunity to see them. Tom, despite my foul, vile tone, I really
don't hate you on a personal level. Seems like a contradiction, but
that's USENET for ya.
These are just opinions of mine, and I'm open to change. I will look
at your other work, and maybe I'll have some for myself.

Good luck.

Tom Cooper
Freelance aviation journalist
Author:

(You mean co-author? Oh right, you only have a co-author when people
start to unravell your...)

- Iranian F-14 Tomcat Units in Combat
http://www.ospreypublishing.com/title detail.php/title=S7875

- Arab MiG-19 and MiG-21 Units in Combat
http://www.ospreypublishing.com/title detail.php/title=S6550

- Iranian F-4 Phantom II Units in Combat
http://www.ospreypublishing.com/title detail.php/title=S6585

- African MiGs
http://www.acig.org/afmig/

- Iran-Iraq War in the Air, 1980-1988
http://www.acig.org/pg1/content.php
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