Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I just received my pre-ordered copy of this new book and I was very impressed with it. This is the first I've seen of any reference books about the U.S. Navy and it's quite good. Osprey does have a comic-book size volume called "The US Navy in WWII" but it's practically worthless.
Of course no book of this type is perfect but in my opinion, this book's faults are minor and are far outweighed by its merits. Here are the pluses and minuses that I discovered although your interpretation might be different.
These are the things I didn't like; the author used live people to model most of the uniforms for the photos. That's okay but it looks like there are only about 5 or 6 guys wearing about 30 different uniforms. It was a little disappointing to see the same few guys wearing so many different uniforms. However, to his credit, the author does apologize for this in the forward.
It looks as though the photo quality is not as crisp and clear as in other books of this type. I know some writers use slide film or new high tech digital imagery these days. The photos in this book just aren't eye-popping quality.
The title is a bit deceptive. About 80% of this book is devoted to Navy Corpsmen and USMC uniforms & field gear. Maybe the title should have included something about Navy Corpsmen.
The price is very high at $79.00 retail.
These are the things I did like; everything is in one volume. This isn't a book about one subject like helmets, knives or patches. Complete uniforms are shown and the subjects are thoroughly covered from A to Z.
This book is very informative, not just pics of WWII stuff. The author has shown step-by-step instructions for assembling packs and other equipment and the complete list of all the medical items carried in the navy corpsman bags is wonderful. Some experimental items and camouflage are shown as well. The official regulations are often quoted in the text for the wearing of insignia and uniforms which adds a lot of credibility to the author's work.
There are a few recent USMC uniform books already in print that feature similar items. Namely, "Grunt Gear" by Alec Tulkoff, "Paramarine" by Chris Mason and "USMC Uniforms, Insignia and Personal Items of WWII" by Harlan Glenn. I have all of these books and I found very little repetition in "Sailors in Forest Green". Notably, the other books devote little or no attention to dress uniforms which is covered very well in this book. Also, none of the other books give little more than a passing honorable mention to corpsmen. The original combat photos of navy corpsmen and the layouts of the gear they used are also covered here in detail. In my opinion, if you have other USMC reference books, this one will compliment them, not rehash the same material.
With all of the overkill of books out there on U.S. paratrooper gear and German SS camouflage, I'm glad that someone has finally taken on the job of writing a series of serious reference books about the U.S. Navy in WWII. After seeing this first book in the series, I'm really looking forward to the rest of them. All things considered, I give it 5 stars.
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