The American Soldier - 1755 to the present
Philip Katcher
Osprey Publishing
224 Pages, Color and Black and White
A portion of the plates in this book are done by Ron Volstad
Good luck even finding this book anymore, it doesn't seem to be available. The book features color plates of the drawings of various artists that have worked on the Osprey Military Series. Many of the renderings are by Ron Volstad and have served as the inspiration for 1:6th figure offerings from Hasbro, 21st Century and Dragon. The various subjects are a collection of American Soldier subjects from various Osprey books. Even though there aren't color photographs of gear in this book, it still remains one of my favorites because of the great drawings.
Osprey Publishing
224 Pages, Color and Black and White
A portion of the plates in this book are done by Ron Volstad
Good luck even finding this book anymore, it doesn't seem to be available. The book features color plates of the drawings of various artists that have worked on the Osprey Military Series. Many of the renderings are by Ron Volstad and have served as the inspiration for 1:6th figure offerings from Hasbro, 21st Century and Dragon. The various subjects are a collection of American Soldier subjects from various Osprey books. Even though there aren't color photographs of gear in this book, it still remains one of my favorites because of the great drawings.
America's Special Forces - Weapons, Missions, Training
David Bohrer
Motorbooks International
128 Pages, Color
Hardback
As advertised on the cover, this book covers the weapons and gear of America's Special Forces teams. Featured are the Navy Seals, Green Beret, Rangers, Air Force, and Marine Recon. There is a lot of text, but there are some great pictures of all kinds of modern gear. The book is about 10 years old, so there is a lot of stuff that has come out since it's publication. It is still a good guide.
Waffen SS Uniforms in Colour Photographs
Andrew Steven and Peter Amodio
Europa Militaria No. 6
66 Pages, Color
Paperback
For a 66 page book, the authors do a great job of showing a wide variety of SS uniforms worn throughout the war by a variety of Waffen units. Along with the Militaria book on SS Camouflage, you have a pretty thorough coverage of Waffen SS uniforms. This was one of the first reference books I ever got and I still pull it out fairly regularly to research projects.
Europa Militaria No. 6
66 Pages, Color
Paperback
For a 66 page book, the authors do a great job of showing a wide variety of SS uniforms worn throughout the war by a variety of Waffen units. Along with the Militaria book on SS Camouflage, you have a pretty thorough coverage of Waffen SS uniforms. This was one of the first reference books I ever got and I still pull it out fairly regularly to research projects.
Waffen SS Camouflage Uniforms
Daniel Peterson
Europa Militaria No 18
64 Pages, Color
Paperback
Everything you've wanted to know about Oak Pattern and Pea Dot, but were afraid to ask. This book shows quite a variation on several different well known patterns. It is a pretty exhaustive look at SS camo, as well as some of the post war examples that are out there.
VIETNAM: US UNIFORMS in Colour Photographs
Kevin Lyles
Europa Militaria No 3
96 Pages, Color
Paperback
One of the oldest reference books in my collection and still one of my favorites. Through color plates of reenactors and descriptive text, the book takes from the point of time that marks American entrance into the war through the end of the war. Both Marine and Army uniforms and gear are looked at in detail and in the text you get quite a bit of background on the programs that introduced certain uniforms and gear. Still a great book and the perfect beginning guide to a Vietnam collector.
Europa Militaria No 3
96 Pages, Color
Paperback
One of the oldest reference books in my collection and still one of my favorites. Through color plates of reenactors and descriptive text, the book takes from the point of time that marks American entrance into the war through the end of the war. Both Marine and Army uniforms and gear are looked at in detail and in the text you get quite a bit of background on the programs that introduced certain uniforms and gear. Still a great book and the perfect beginning guide to a Vietnam collector.
Deutsche Soldaten
Agustin Saiz
Casemate, Andrea Press
312 Pages, Color
Hardback
The definitive book on German uniforms, gear and weapons. This is the German counterpart to the Government Issue Guide on European GIs. This book has everything imaginable in it. Even a nice section of propaganda and other paper related items. If you are into the German army, this is a must have book. It's not cheap, but it is worth every penny.
Casemate, Andrea Press
312 Pages, Color
Hardback
The definitive book on German uniforms, gear and weapons. This is the German counterpart to the Government Issue Guide on European GIs. This book has everything imaginable in it. Even a nice section of propaganda and other paper related items. If you are into the German army, this is a must have book. It's not cheap, but it is worth every penny.
ECHOES OF GLORY Arms & Equipment of The Confederacy (Union)
TIME LIFE
Color, Black and White
Three volumes available; Arms & Equipment of the Confederacy, Arms & Equipment of the Union,
Campaigns of the Civil War.
Available in Hardback and Paperback
I only have the book on Confederate Arms and Equipment. I owned the Union on at one time, but its fate is lost to memory. If you are into the Civil War, these are good books to have for reference. They are pretty exhaustive in their discussion of weapons, uniform and gear. It's all there. I haven't seen any other guides that I thought were as good.
Color, Black and White
Three volumes available; Arms & Equipment of the Confederacy, Arms & Equipment of the Union,
Campaigns of the Civil War.
Available in Hardback and Paperback
I only have the book on Confederate Arms and Equipment. I owned the Union on at one time, but its fate is lost to memory. If you are into the Civil War, these are good books to have for reference. They are pretty exhaustive in their discussion of weapons, uniform and gear. It's all there. I haven't seen any other guides that I thought were as good.
Warman's Guide Civil War Collectibles
John F Graf
Krause Publications
412 Pages, Color
Paperback
This is also a really good guide on Civil War collectibles and probably even more readily available than the books mentioned above. It will certainly be a little cheaper. It has nice color plates and descriptions on weapons, uniforms and gear. It's actually a pretty good book.
Krause Publications
412 Pages, Color
Paperback
This is also a really good guide on Civil War collectibles and probably even more readily available than the books mentioned above. It will certainly be a little cheaper. It has nice color plates and descriptions on weapons, uniforms and gear. It's actually a pretty good book.
Warman's guide on Vietnam War Collectibles
David Doyle
Krause Publications
254 Pages, Color
Paperback
Though not quite as exhaustive as the GOVERNMENT ISSUE book mentioned earlier, it really does have a lot of information and great pictures of a lot of equipment used during the Vietnam War. Kevin Lyle's book does a nice job of showing you uniforms by year, and this book shows you everything else you could have possibly wanted to know. If you can only buy one book for reference on Vietnam. This is the one I would get. It will be a lot easier to find to as it is still available in most bookstores in the collectibles section.
Krause Publications
254 Pages, Color
Paperback
Though not quite as exhaustive as the GOVERNMENT ISSUE book mentioned earlier, it really does have a lot of information and great pictures of a lot of equipment used during the Vietnam War. Kevin Lyle's book does a nice job of showing you uniforms by year, and this book shows you everything else you could have possibly wanted to know. If you can only buy one book for reference on Vietnam. This is the one I would get. It will be a lot easier to find to as it is still available in most bookstores in the collectibles section.