DDickey Posted June 4, 2008 Report Share Posted June 4, 2008 Is anyone familiar with the various books on the Roman Army produced by Osprey Publishing? I'm interested in a few, but they're costly. One book, running 48 pages, retails for 17.95. Are they worth it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M. Porcius Cato Posted June 4, 2008 Report Share Posted June 4, 2008 Is anyone familiar with the various books on the Roman Army produced by Osprey Publishing? I'm interested in a few, but they're costly. One book, running 48 pages, retails for 17.95. Are they worth it? I have one on Caesar's civil war, and I enjoyed the lavish illustrations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldrail Posted June 4, 2008 Report Share Posted June 4, 2008 Are they worth it? Yes, provided you accept the limited scope of the titles and that the information is necessarily brief. Incidentially I've a couple of spare titles if you want them. One icovers the Praetorian Guard and the other discusses Auxillary Cavalry. PM me a postal address and I'm pop them over to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DecimusCaesar Posted June 4, 2008 Report Share Posted June 4, 2008 Some are of a better quality than others. The first few books on the subject were published in the 1970s and they are a bit old fashioned eg. 'The Roman Army from Caesar to Trajan'. Others such as 'Late Roman Infantryman' have a few errors here and there. The 'Gladiators' title is often considered to be the worst of the bunch (although it does have some nice illustrations). Ross Cowan's books on the other hand are very well writen and informative - they also cover subjects that aren't usually discussed such as the Severan Field Army. If you want one title with plenty of Osprey Illustrations then I recommend 'Rome and her Enemies' by Jane Penrose. The text is simplistic (it's for beginners in Roman history), but it contains plenty of colour plates and illustrations from a dozen Osprey titles on ancient warfare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northern Neil Posted June 4, 2008 Report Share Posted June 4, 2008 (edited) On the whole I think they are very good; occasionally however (and ONLY occasionally) they make assumptions based on scanty evidence. For example, the book on Saxon Shore forts shows regular spaced barrack blocks, almost 2nd century style, in a reconstruction of the RVTVPIAE (Richborough) fort. I understand there is little evidence to support the presence of such buildings, and like other forts on the Saxon Shore, its internal plan remains open to conjecture. Edited June 4, 2008 by Northern Neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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