Brassey's Book of Camouflage (Brassey's History of Uniforms) [Paperback]

Tim Newark (Author), Quentin Newark (Author), J. F. Borsarello (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1857532732 | ISBN-13: 978-1857532739 | Publication Date: March 1998

This volume covers the history and development of camouflage. Modern camouflage appears in everything from soft pastel grey-greens to wildly exotic flourescents. The book is also a recognition guide to 450 camouflage patterns from around the world. Subjects covered include the pioneering and now collectible camouflage equipment of the German Army in World War II, the famous Tigerstripe worn by American soldiers in Vietnam, plus the classic patterns worn by today's armies, including patterns in current use in South East Asia and the former Soviet Union, the US Military "woodlands" pattern and the British DPM (Disruptive Pattern Material). Tim Newark is the author of "The Barbarians and Celtic Warriors".

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Tim Newark is a noted authority on uniforms past and present and has written on many aspects of military history. He is editor of Military History magazine.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Brassey's UK Ltd (March 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1857532732
• ISBN-13: 978-1857532739
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 9.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,950,507 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars This book could have been ALOT better, May 30, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Brassey's Book of Camouflage (Brassey's Special Editions) (Hardcover)

I had high hopes that this would be a comprehensive reference of the world's camouflage uniforms. Although there are several nice pictures throughout the book there are no captions to describe what you are looking at, for example the heading will list a country name and between 1-4 small thumbnail pictures of different uniforms but doesn't list the name of the pattern or the time frame it was used. I find this to be a terrible oversight as it's inclusion would have made this book a good reference as it stands now, the book's layout is too cumbersome to be much use as a reference.

The so-called "close-up" plates are nothing special as they were photographed too close to be of any real use. Also, several of the subjects were old and faded thusly giving an incorrect impression of the actual colors.

All in all, I can't really recommend this book. It is an interesting piece of work but the author and publisher seem to have released this work in an unfinished state. With just a small amount of time and effort, this could have been a solid reference but as it stands is nothing more than an intersting picture book.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good reference with vague scope..., October 21, 2000

By 

[e-mail] (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Brassey's Book of Camouflage (Brassey's History of Uniforms) (Paperback)

If you buy this book as an overview of the history and evolution of camouflage with full examples, you're going to be exceptionally disappointed. If, however, you want a reasonably good survey of current and historical infantry camouflage uniforms, this is a good reference. I've found it to be a useful tool for wargamers...

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A general, noncomprehensive reference book., August 3, 1998

By 

Jeff Keenan ([e-mail]) (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Brassey's Book of Camouflage (Brassey's Special Editions) (Hardcover)

I had expected a more comprehensive look at camouflage patterns from around the world. The pictures tend to be high-quality, but small and poorly identified (especially in the most important section, the "catalog"). It also has inconsistent data. For example, it states that the six-color US desert pattern was tested in the 1980s, but later in the book it has the same pattern with the caption "US 1970s". The book contains pictures of rare and trial patterns, which is a plus. It also offers pictures of swatches, which allows close-up looks at the actual patterns. This book can be a useful reference book for scale modelers and camouflage connoisseurs. I haven't read any other Brassey's books, so I don't know how it compares to others in its series.