This book from our friends at Osprey is what many would consider to be a 'coffee table' book. It is large, full of superb photos and is in a landscape format. This makes for a book that fits well on a table for browsing, but one that doesn't fit well into a book case as it juts out quite a bit.

The subject of this one is one that should be of interest to everyone who is fascinated by the weapons of WWII, and in this case, US weapons from pistols to machine guns. Each section starts off with a page or two of historical background on the weapon in question and then is followed by several pages of photos of the weapon in use. These images are mostly of the gun in a combat situation, though some are taken during training in the US and some are obviously staged for use in the media back home.

In each case, the gun itself is the highlight of the image. It starts, predictably enough, with the Colt M1911 pistol, one of the iconic US infantry weapons of the war. There are sections on the Thompson submachine gun, Garand M1 rifle, .30 and .50 caliber machine guns, the B.A.R., M1917 Springfield rifle and even the Reising Submachine gun. You'd not expect to see shotguns here, but they were used and are included along with several other weapon types (can't give away everything, you know).

The landscape format is the perfect way to show the many, many images that are in this book. No worries about losing details to the 'trench' in the middle of the book.

It all makes for an excellent photo book and one that I know will bring hours of enjoyable browsing. Very much recommended.

July 2011

 For more on the complete line of Osprey books, visit www.ospreypublishing.com or contact them at Osprey Direct, PO Box 140, Wellingborough, Northants, NN8 2FA, UK. In the US, it is Osprey Direct at 44-02 23rd St, Suite 219, Long Island City, NY 11101., where you can get a catalogue of available books.

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