MILITARY UNIFORMS IN EUROPE 1900 - 2000 Volume One Paperback – November 23, 2012

This is a topic that is surprisingly poorly served. The "teaser" for this volume seems attractive and the delivered product goes some way to fill a hole in the visual record. However the quality of the art work is really poor. Compared to the beautiful plates from the 19th Century reproduced in Schiffer titles these are very crude drawings. This might not bother some buyers if they simply want uniform details. The drawings included do provide uniform details and the explanatory text gives good detail but the emphasis is very much on combat uniforms. Again this may meet some readers requirements but don't assume the coverage is comprehensive. Dress uniforms are not covered and this might disappoint many potential purchasers.I am unsure who this volume would really appeal to. Anyone with access to the Internet can find a range of period photos that actually show more detail of uniforms. Whilst the market for this sort of book may be limited it is also worth noting that this is quite an expensive book given what it provides. Compare for example to the Chris MacNab Visual Encyclopedia at half the price. That is also a dissatisfying title given its combat only focus but the artwork at least is reasonable and it is less than half the prie. There remains an opening for a much more staisfying and comprehensive book.Would I buy Volume 2? No way.