Pros:    Thorough treatment of subject matter, good text, illustrations & charts excellent 

Cons:   Volume 2 of a 2-volume set–may be too expensive for a number of potential buyers

 With this release in the Men-at-Arms series, Osprey completes its treatment of the Japanese Army in WW2. Last autumn they reprinted & re-released one their earliest volumes in the series on this same topic, followed last winter by Volume 1 in this set. (See Modeling Madness on 12/31/01 for my review of the reprinted work; see Modeling Madness on2/12/02 for my review of Volume 1) This completes the set. (And, really, of land forces of the Axis powers in WW2–see their many volumes on the Germans, their Eastern Front allies, and their 3-volume set on the Italian Army.)

 This work follows the current Osprey format: text, photos, charts, and 8 pages of color plates in the center section. These plates are in the present Osprey fashion and have much good detail which will be of great aid to the armor or figure modeler. The text focuses mainly on operations during the period 1942-45, as well as organizational descriptions and some narratives on uniforms. Accompanying charts illustrate the rank insignia. Japanese uniforms during this period lacked the diversity of, say, the German Army during this period, but there are numerous subtle differences in uniforms which are captured in the plates and photos. The variety of weaponry and insignia are also well illustrated in the color plates.

 All that having been said, we must ask the question, is this work worth purchasing? The answer is yes, but with this caveat: purchasing all three volumes–the reprint, plus these two–will inevitably lead to some duplication and an overall purchase price of $45 for all three of these works may be cost-prohibitive for some. That stated, the information contained in the current 2-volumes is useful, detailed, and very accurate. I recommend it to those interested in Japanese military subjects in WW2.

 (There’s a bit more: Osprey has, in its AIRCRAFT OF THE ACES Series, covered some flight crew uniforms in # 13-JAAF Aces and # 22–JNAF Aces. Beyond this, Osprey has announced that JNAF uniforms & equipment will be the subject of a book in their Elite series to be issued this autumn as #86 and as well, their training and background will be the subject of still ANOTHER Osprey book in their Warrior series, #55, also to be issued this autumn. Osprey hasn’t finished with the Japanese military yet!)