“The Visual Dictionary of Military Uniforms”, by DK Publishing

DK Visual Dictionaries, 64 pages, ISBN-13: 978-1564580108

The Visual Dictionary of Military Uniforms is exactly what it says it is: any question you may ever had about uniforms and why they look the way they do is answered within. While it is one of a series of reference books (designed for children aged 9-years-old and upwards), I can see this book being attractive for historical reenactors and modelers looking for that extra detail found in real artifacts, not just drawings; with its “exploded view” photographs and 3500 specific words presented in a labelled form (both of which are designed to help expand the anyone’s knowledge and vocabulary), this book, I think, has a place on any military historian’s shelf, not just a kid’s. Seeing as this is an American company, the bias here seems to be a focused coverage toward American forces – a little overkill on the American War of Independence, American Civil War and the Iraqi Conflict, which, I guess, shouldn’t be surprising, as this thing was published in 1992. Anyway, it is what it is.