Essential Histories: The Seven Years War
£4.69
Thorough and interesting - Speaking as a non-historian (and therefore one of the book s intended audience), I found this book to be an excellent general history of a conflict that I previously knew little about. The author did a good job of presenting the various participants and theatres clearly and concisely, as well as succinctly outlining the (potentially confusing) political context in which the war took place. The illustrations and maps provided interest and important supporting information. I thought that this was more than up to Osprey s usual standard of quality, and overall a thorough and interesting exploration of 18th-century history and warfare.
A Frustrating Disappointment - It is rare that a book makes me really angry, but this succeeded so effortlessly that I feel compelled to write this review to warn its potential future readers. If you are looking for an introduction to the Seven Years War look elsewhere. At best the narrative is confused and fragmented. The language and editing are consistently shoddy. For example on page 29 one finds: The naval conflict was chiefly between the British and the French. Then later the same page one encounters: The naval war was chiefly fought between Britain and France. Such poor quality is nothing less than an insult to the reader.Some of the maps will require investment in a high quality magnifying glass to be of any use. I imagine that most coming across the genius of Frederick s manoeuvring at Leuthen for the first time will remain none the wiser. There is nothing wrong with using period maps but reproductions must be of a practical size. More than once the maps are located far from the relevant text. The illustrations are of the usual high quality one expects from Osprey, but they appear to have been scattered throughout the text at random and are poorly labelled.The sole redeeming feature of this book is that it reminds one of high standard that Osprey has set with its other publications.