During the Cold War, the Soviets produced thousands of planes. Many in the west thought these jets were inferior to western designs. The MIG-29 was a nasty shock - although it did have flaws, it was a much better plane than the west thought. This was discovered when West and East Germany reunited. The West German Air Force kept some of the MIGs for evaluation. At least 12 other nations thought they were good enough to buy.
This is another of the many Squadrom Signal books that follow a very winning format. Lots of B&W photos, line drawings that show each version of the plane. The narrative is brief, but thorough, and captures what went into the decisions in building this plane...