This book is ideal for those wargaming enthusiasts and painters who want info on artillery pieces of the Napoleonic wars, the colour plates for each countries guns are ideal for painting purposes. I find that alot of the men-at-arms books and any other osprey book has good colour pictures and reasonably good info in them for the average wargamer and painter. So anybody interested in wargamming and like to paint figures then osprey books should defienantly be apart of your library.

To evaluate this book, the reader needs to know what it does and doesn't attempt to do. It isn't intended to be a complete introduction to the subject of heraldry, and very fairly warns the reader of this right off the bat, recommending Warne's _Observer Book of Heraldry_ or something like it for any reader lacking knowledge of the basics. (Having said that, though, this book does explain how to read a blazon, and in describing the evolution of medieval heraldry will give you *some* grounding in the basics.)

In restricting its scope to heraldry of the medieval period, the book is geared toward the military role of heraldry and its usage in the 14th and 15th centuries, so it only goes into the aspects one would have seen on a battlefield or in a tournament. (It doesn't try to go into all the finicky details of mottoes and supporters, for example.) Wise has attempted to cover continental heraldry as well as English heraldry, but gives warning that since many European Colleges of Heralds no longer exist (and thus, no central repositories of records exist for the affected countries), there is a bias toward English heraldry simply because that's where the records are most complete, easily available, and written in a language accessible to a wide audience.

In discussing the evolution of the role of heralds and shields, the basic rules of reading a blazon are eventually presented, but also which tinctures (colours) one would be likely to see, and what colours had to be added as the growing number of registered insignia forced heralds to work harder at coming up with unique devices.

While some examples are given (8 pages of colour plates, and quite a few illustrations of various coats of arms, particularly notable English insignia of the medieval period), the book is not intended as an encyclopedia of medieval blazons; there are too many, and they vary too much depending on a campaign setting. It'll give you the tools to find what you need in such a reference book, though.

Please ignore the usual Amazon anti-catholic smear in the editorial review that attempts to insinuate that the church created these orders of military monks to protect its wealth.

The truth is that the church did not create these orders. For example, the Teutonic Knights were created by German merchants in the Holy Land as a hospital for German crusaders.

Anyway, this volume is a good read for both the casual historian and the serious scholar. While it is by no means exhaustive, it is a good place to begin for those who wish to find out more about the selfless, devoted men who dedicated their lives to serving God and his church.
The color plates are average, Osprey has certainly produced better.

Overall, I recommend it.

this book gives an excellent, although very brief, overview of the medieval military orders. All the usual suspects (Teutonic Knights, Templars etc.) are here, but also some of the lesser know (mostly Iberian) orders. My only critique would be that the color plates lack variety in showing almost excusively the three dominant orders.

Generally, I like all of the Osprey Men-At-Arms books, but this is one of my favorites, considering I'm particularly interested in the crusades and knights of the period. This book gives you a very good overview of the history of the templars, providing a lot of nice images to give you a feel for how things looked. I'd definitely recommend it. As with the other books in this series, they're too brief if you're looking for very detailed and in-depth information-- But as an introduction, a suppliment, or just for general interest, it's absolutely wonderful!

This book is one of osprey finest, its a pity that the section of the conquistadores is so small, but it contains a lot of good information. And it is always cool to read about 400 men with armour and swords who conquer a whole nation. I Love the helmets.
P.S. Osprey is publishing a new book about the conquistadores.

The title of this book is misleading: it is not only the story of Cortez and Pizzaro, but also of their opponents, the Aztecs, the Incas, and the Mayas. The book clearly explains where the military advantages of the Spaniards lay (it wasn't gunpowder as you might think!) and also describes the strengths and weaknesses of the cultures they subdued, sometimes with relative ease and sometimes with great difficulty. You will come away with new respect for all the combatants.

I found this book to be an informative and a highly readable study of the armies of the Carthaginian Wars. It provided useful information on the organisation, weapons, tactics and uniforms of both the Roman and Carthaginian armies. The colour plates, maps, photographs and illustrations were excellent and supplemented the main body of text very well. I would have no hesitation in recommending this book to anyone who is interested in this period of Ancient History. The more serious student of the Carthaginian Wars would probably want to do further study beyond this book, but overall I would say this book is excellent.

I just got it today and have already spent a couple hours paging through it. A nice blend of b&w photos and color paintings. Overall a really nice work! Not lots of text, but a good source to use as a painting guide

The title is essentially two books in one. The first 'Armies of the Carthaginian Wars' is a traditional Osprey Military Library treatment of the subject in a 'Men of Arms' style. (approx. 50 pages) While the 2nd book 'Hannibal's Wars' is in Osprey's 'Campaign' style (approx. 100 pages) and is a much more comprehensive and critical examination of the arms, and armour of the two opposing forces as well as a detailed look of the issues at stake. The colour illustrations are excellent as always. The colour plates arranged together in the 1st book, while interspersed, in the 2nd. There are numerous B/W photographs of primary evidence such as coins, funerary art and sculpture. Inevitably, because these 2 books were written separately and fused together for this compilation, there is no inter-reference, some subjects are covered twice and there is some disagreement. One criticism from a purely academic point of view is the use of primary classical sources. Instead of just 'Polybius says...' I would have preferred a footnote at least referencing the chapter or section this view could be found in a standard translation of the text. The two 'books' have to be read in conjunction to get the most of the whole. For example the wonderful painting of the Roman Tribune (found in the 1st book) is stated to be based on a figure found on a certain altar. It is not until you get to the 2nd book, where this original altar figure is reproduced, can you judge for yourself the accuracy of the painting. On the whole a worthy compilation - an easy read and style and taken together the two books provide an excellent overview of the 2nd Punic War and its effects.

The copy I have is the Osprey Men at Arms title written in 1983, but the pages are identical to the ones shown here. Let's face it...there are scores of books on the War of the Roses. This one gives a good visual grasp of the conflict, and impresses the reader with the sheer slaughter perpetrated...twenty-five percent losses to the cream of English nobility. There are some decent descriptions of battles and the armor and weapons used. Especially of interest is the section on the systems of recruitment and organization of the armies.A long period of chaos and dynastic struggle in English history, finally brought to an end with the House of Tudor. My first Men at Arms title purchased, years ago, so I am somewhat fond of this one. They still need help in the map department. History books without decent maps should be a punishable offense. S'wounds!

Covering 2500 years and a fair chunk of real estate in 40 pages, this volume of the normally quite nice Osprey Military books is only recomendable for the Angus McBride art. It concentrates on the better known states, when the limited size would have done well for a study some of the lesser known states and left the Egyptians, Hittites, Assyrians and such for their own volumes. However, it does have a nice integrated timeline, and the aforementioned wonderful Angus McBride art.

Wholeheartedly agree with the previous review. Too ambitious to catalog so many culturally different peoples over so long a period of time. Would've been better to concentrate on one or two at the most. However, the fabulous artwork is worth the small sum of the book's price.