No comments about Elite: The Special Forces of Indonesia 1950-2008.

No comments about Official Price Guide to Military Collectibles: Sixth Edition (Official Price Guide to Military Collectibles).

5 comments about Techniques of Medieval Armour Reproduction: The 14th Century.

1. I am new to making armor, but not so much to metalworking. This book gets you started on techniques (although a few could have a little more attention), and has terrific sections on measuring and padding. The illustrations and photos are a big bonus, and most are helpful to some extent. Overall a great example of a master passing on some of his knowledge to the apprentices of his craft.



2. Good book. BUT compleatly failed to mention safety glasses. These are IMPORTANT. you need to get a good pair and wear them when you are working in your shop. unless you think you will look good with a eyepatch.



3. I have yet to find a better book for armoring. Nearly every fundamental is covered.
   
   Tools, stock, techinque, buying tips, and even history is covered.
   
   The Maille section is somewhat lite but there are other books that are fully dedicated to that discipline.
   
   It's worth every penny. You can't go wrong with this book.



4. This is a book on how to build armor. Tools, techniques, materials, workspace needed, cost estimates are all part of it. I make leather armor for re-enactors, so much of what was taught here was not directly applicable. However, there are chapters on how to measure, pattern, and cut. These are useful even if the material used isn't metal but leather. There are even some basic instructions on leatherworking. Overall, a pretty straightforward work. I recommend it for anyone who is interested in armor construction, collecting, or re-enacting.



5. This book is an awsome read, very interesting and the info on constructing armour is just incredable. Every aspect is covered even lining the armour to make it more comfortable, if you are intersted in medieval armour this book is second to none.

1 comments about The Rapier & Small-Sword: 1460-1820.

1. Norman sets the standards for classifying every rapier and shortsword hilt and component (guards, inner guards, pommels and the like) sufficiently to allow any student of the sword of the period covered to identify and date any blade one is likely to come across. The book is also essential for re-creators and swordsmiths looking to turn out accurate period pieces and use them in a proper manner of combat. It SHOULD be returned to print immediately

1 comments about Post-War Tin Toys: A Collector's Guide.

1. If you're a toy collector (and if you're not, why are you reading this???) you will really enjoy leafing through this book. It isn't all inclusive, by any means, but it gives a very nice overview of the subject and is LOADED with large color photographs. Even my wife liked looking at them -- and that's saying something! There are several tables and a list of manufacturers in the back and an index. Well worth a few bucks.

No comments about Discovering British Military Badges and Buttons (Shire Discovering).

1 comments about Wartime Scrapbook: From Blitz to Victory 1939--1945.

1. The reason I loved the wartime scrapbook, just one of Robert Opie's beautiful books, is that it is is simply glorious to pour over. I can't imagine anyone ever tiring of the colors, the products and momentos from such a crazy yet unflashy era. The war years provided little but shortage in every way, but this book shows just how attentive product design and everyday life reflected what people sorely needed. The pages are filled with beautiful handwritten notes by Opie (I assume). And the glossy pages are strong and turnable. Very coffe table-ish and probably bathroomy as well.

5 comments about Standard Catalog Of Military Firearms: The Collector's Price & Reference Guide.

1. This book goes hand-in-hand with the Standard Catalog of Firearms: 2007. While not quite as complete as that book, Military Firearms is absolutely necessary for the military firearm collector or historian. In fact, Standard references this book when indexing any military gun, as they catalog only commercial versions. The only gripe I have is the organization of the two books. It is quite obvious they were meant to supplement one another, yet they use different methods to catalog the various firearms. Standard goes in alphabetical order by manufacturer name, while Military is by country of origin and sub-catogarized by manufacturer--this can be tough if one is looking for a specific manufacturer, but don't know the country of origin. For this reason, I had to deduct a star, however, I would highly recommend this book and its companion, the Standard Catalog of Firearms: 2007.



2. This book contains a lot of good information. It covers many variants and subclasses that are not covered in detail in generic price guides. I have added a lot to my firearms knowledge by reading this book.



3. I found this to be a good reference. I especially liked the way the firearms are sorted into chapter by county of origin. Of course considering the material, if you want more in-depth information on any particular piece you need to look elsewhere.



4. I have a very consistent library on weapons.
   This particular book was of interest to me especially for the information it contains on the life of most of the models dealt with, first of all the year of introduction and the year in which every single model has been discontinued by the manufacturer.



5. I was looking for a comprehensive guide specific to Military Firearms in order to identify and appraise weaponry. I found that unlike other price guides this one offered a higher degree of credibility due to it's titles and composition. I felt it was a great value for the price.

No comments about Collecting Military Medals.

5 comments about A Collectors Guide to Swords, Daggers, and Cutlasses.

1. I have never seen a published nonfiction book by an author more ignorant of his subject.
   
   Many other reviewers have pointed out Weland's inaccuracies on land swords, and it falls to me only to point out that his chapter on sea swords is no better.
   
   Page 58: a captured "vessel could be dismantled and sold off to help pay the expenses of the successful navy." Of course, money from sold captures did not go to pay the navy'e expenses, but was given as a reward to the captain, officers and crew who made the capture, as an incentive for performance.
   
   Page 62: "[B]y the time cutlasses had appeared, the hey-day of pirates was long past." This would certainly come as a surprise to such famous Golden Age pirate captains as Bonnet, L'Ollonais, Kidd, and Fly, all of whom are documented in contemporary sources as using cutlasses. Not to mention the judges of the Old Bailey during the same time period, who frequently found themselves judging assault, robbery, and murder cases involving cutlasses.
   
   Page 63: Weland informs us that swords that are not curved are "useless for cutting." While a curved blade is indeed ideal for cutting, Weland's exaggeration would consign to uselessness such famous cutting weapons as the Scottish basket-hilted broadsword, the two-handed sword, and the medieval military longsword, all of which had straight edges.
   
   Page 69: Weland misidentifies the Dutch writer Alexandre Esquemeling as a Londoner.
   
   But the crowning error is right at the beginning. On page 9, in describing the parts of a sword handle, Weland completely misidentifies the ricasso! This is an error as fundamental, and as discrediting, as a driving instructor misidentifying the turn signal.



2. Not only is this rife with errors as other reviewers have mentioned, but it completely glosses over Asian edged weaponry and labels it as "mediocre" and "uninteresting".
   
   The book should not be sold as a guide or as a handbook or as anything short of an incomplete and inaccurate school report on European weaponry.



3. If this is the first book on collecting swords that you get, make sure that you get a second and a third before you even -think- of going shopping. If this were the only guide that you were to bring with you into the world of sword collecting, there is a good chance you will embarrass yourself in front of even slightly knowledgeable dealers. Throughout the book, the proofreading is poor; that is, if it was proofread. Numerous captions are incorrect, and the authors research and conclusions are questionable at best. Conversely, this book does have some excellent photographs (many of which I have never seen elsewhere). Given the inexpensive price, it is worth purchasing for that reason alone.



4. This book should have been titled a historical analysis of Swords, Daggers, and Cutlasses. It gives a working basic knowledge of edged weapons. However there is no pricing information to be found in this book.
   It has many excellant pictures of edged weapons. However it gives a limited perspective of each catagory which leaves the reader salivating for more.



5. This book is decent, but I question its accuracy. Its best section is on cutlasses and naval weapons. The pictures are good, but woefully mislabled. (E.g..- the lables for a page with five daggers is supposed to read clockwise from the top. In fact, the labels are completely mixed up.) Also, some categories lack even sketches of the weapons (e.g.-the Indian bhuj) and his verbal description makes no sense. Overall the book will fill out a weapons library, but I would recommend Anthony North's "Swords and Hilt Weapons" for starting out.