The book, Messerschmitts Over Sicily relates the vivid day-to-day account of the German air defense of Sicily just prior to the successful Allied invasion in 1943.  “Messerschmitts Over Sicily” centers on the period of June 21,1943 and July13, 1943.  This riveting story is told by General Johannes Steinhoff who led the Luftwaffe’s 77th Fighter Group charged with defending against Allied attacks in the skies over Sicily.  General Steinhoff, an ace who ended World War II with 176 allied aircraft kills to his credit tells of the psychological strain and physical perils that the Luftwaffe pilots faced in the battle of attrition they could never win.  Aside from being handicapped with only one fighter for every 10 Allied aircraft, by this point in World War II, most of the 77th Fighter Group pilots were mostly young with relatively few hours of combat flying under their collective belts.  While some of the pilots were seasoned veterans, these too were slowly eliminated through attrition.  The author’s focus on the daily combat exploits of the 77th Fighter Group, serves to convey the intensity of a German fighter pilot’s experience in war and reveals the motivations that drove the outnumbered German fighter pilots flying their Me-109s in a desperate attempt to retrieve an impossible strategic situation.  What Luftwaffe pilots lacked in materials and numbers, they made up for in large part with bravery and skill.  “Messerschmitts Over Sicily” wraps-up with a chapter dedicated to General Steinhoff’s career after the end of World War II.  General Steinhoff went on to become Chief –of-Staff of the post war West German Air Force after returning to fly jets in the early 1950s.  His last position before retirement was Chairman of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s Military Committee in Brussels.  The major sections of “Messerschmitts Over Sicily” are as follows: 1) 21 June 1943; 2) 25 June 1943; 3) 26 June 1943; 4) 5 July 1943; 5) 10 July 1943; 6) 11 July 1943; 7) 12 July 1943; 8) 13 July 1943; 9) Twenty-five Years Later and 10) Scources.  In addition to an informative narrative, “Messerschmitts Over Sicily” includes one map of the Mediterranean Combat Theater during 1943.  This book is 267 pages and is in excellent condition.  The author is Johannes Steinhoff.  Edition published in 1987.