"What are your favorite Osprey books?" Topic

It doesn't matter if it's a MAA, a Campaign, a Warrior, etc.

My two favorites are Rene Chartrand's Quebec 1759 from the OOB series, and Brendan Morrissey's Boston 1775 from the Campaign series.

The first is about as complete a guide as you can get. It is full of uniforms, flags, maps, campaign data, etc. Sadly, it got overwhelmed in the OOB series with the Battle of the Bulge "Clervaux, Noon, Outside the Bakery Shop December 17" books.

The second one has a nice concise history, maps of the principal battles, keyed with the facing colors(!) of the British regiments involved (with one tiny typo).

If only all Ospreys were as good, there would be no complaints about them.

BTW, there are a few other publishers who put out Osprey like material. They can count too!

"St. Nazaire 1942: The Great Commando Raid" holds a place near my heart, for the biggest project I'm still fully intending to bring to light someday.

All the Byzantine books. Can't get enough of them.

The Battle of Lutzen TYW book. Terrific!

I like the Almena's Guerreros y Battallas series for all the information on the Spanish army that is not in any Osprey book. My favorite is Los Húsares Españoles en la Guerra de Independencia 1800-1814.

Rick

If only all Ospreys were as good, there would be no complaints about them.

OFM, If Osprey offered time traveler's photos and narrative, there would STILL be complaints.

Sad but true.

Having written the above, I have most of the MAA series and could hardly pick out my top thirty let alone a handful. For the money VERY, VERY few Osprey titles are worthless, most are adequate to excellent primers on their subject collecting often disparate information sources (especially during the pre-internet era) and at least a "decent" array of illustrations.

Overall, excellent value for money.

Just my two coppers.

Charlie

Any of the books which I can find quite a few mistakes…it makes me feel as if I know the material better. The fact I still "agree" (or do not know better) with most of the ones I have, is somewhat discouraging.

Regardless of the above statement, I do like the two Gustavus books, and the one on the TYW Lutzen. I waited so long for another TYW MAA book to come out…I later learned the Imperialist one's were not quite up to par.

ilodic.

Of Osprey's I like the Boyne campaign book best and after that probably the one on the Taiping Rebellion. For Osprey like books the Montvert Persian Army book.

I'm partial to any Osprey by Leigh Neville. He's a meticulous researcher with excellent access to primary source material.

Shawn.

I also like "Le Guerre Coloniali Italiane 1885-1900", on the Italian campaigns in Abyssinia by an Italian publisher. EMI?.
It's like an MAA on steroids, and the English translation is … charming. Very nice plates.

I'm partial to any illustrated by Angus McBride. If I to pick one, I'd say MAA55 Napoleon's Dragoons and Lancers. It was my first and I read it cover to cover multiple times in my youth.

Malta 1565 Campaign.

47 Ronin from the Raid series.

"Spanish Army of the Napoleonic Wars", volumes 1 to 3, by Rene Chartrand.

If anyone else has ever come closer to sorting out and describing the rather arcane mess which constitutes Spanish Napoleonic uniforms, well, I'll eat my 1811 issue round hat.

Elite 3 The Vikings, happy memories of battle re-enactment in my younger days, and a pretty good book too.

I don't have a single favorite book. My favorite Osprey author is David Nicolle, who seems to be really well-versed in his field (Middle Ages, and especially the Near and Middle East).

As reference material for painting miniatures, I've found the Warrior series of books to be the most useful, generally speaking.

I like the TYW MAAs on Gustavus Adolphous and Lutzen campaign and honorable mention to Campaign Poltava.

Rick

Any of the model building ones…

I love the Kalka River book. I find myself going back to it over and over again and wishing that there were more books with as much information and the same artist.

I'm also a huge fan of the FIW Rangers book and the 20th century Freikorps book. Osprey's frequently criticized for being "superficial" but those two books show just how much information you can pack into a small volume.

The Raid books are also a very entertaining read--although a bit like a history channel documentary ;-)

Osprey – The Russian Civil War 1918–22. A great book that helped me get my head around a complicated civil war.

Non Osprey – WRG armies of the Macedonian and Punic wars a wealth of good information.

I am a fan of their WWI "Vs" series on aircraft.

Pavia 1525 is my most used one. My sentimental favorite is thenIndian Mutiny as it was my first colonial war reference.

The Walls of Troy….Mycenaean fortifications comes close.

Anything illustrated by Mike Chappell. Sadly now retired.

In Her Majesty's Name.

Never had much use for that historical mucky mucky….

The compilation book on the French & Indian wars "When Empires Collide". Very good – incorporates most of several smaller books.

The TYW Lutzen is a classic.

Mollinary

I really like all the Aircraft of the Aces books I have which includes most of the WW1 titles.

The ECW Elite titles on horse and foot are both good. The Angus McBride pirate title is a classic IMHO.

Oddly I don't think any of their Napoleonic titles have really struck a chord with me in spite of the fact that I have quite a few of them.

Pavia 1525 is my most used one.

Personally I was a bit disappointed at that book, though I also got very positively surprised by their just previous Campaign volume Fornovo 1495.

My personal favourite has to be the MAA book Medieval Burgundian Armies. Interesting reading and nice artwork by Gerry Embleton, this book helped to start my interest in medieval Burgundy.

I like the one on WW2 Infntry tactics and all the Byzantines.
I sold a bunch of Napoleonic and Campaign titles earlier this year as I felt I no longer really had any use for them…….

Oh, man… so many Ospreys, over so many years… but if I had to choose… probably vol. 3 of Michael Barthop (author) and Pierre Turner's (artist) 4 volume history of British Army uniforms and equipment in the field from after Waterloo to the end of the Second Boer War: "The British Army on Campaign, 1816-1902 (3): 1856-1881" -- which among many other colonial conflicts, does a fine overview of British Army uniforms, weapons, & equipment in the Second Second Afghan War.

…and I'll throw in "The Armies of Crecy & Poitiers" -- I believe both written and illustrated by Christopher Rothero -- for my sadly dormant Medieval self.

Napoleon's Specialist Troops is a favorite. Many of the uniforms are hard to find elsewhere. It has provided inspiration for staff figures and aides around a general when making a 3 or 4 figure staff group. Surgeons, topographical officers, pioneers, and even a commissary officer. Neat book.

Duel series – the KV1.

Any of their Battle Orders series.

Lutzen 1632 and Poltava 1709.

Top of the leader board is: Montvert series – Seleucid & Ptolemaic 2 vols., Sassanian, and Tang – blew any Osprey away when published. Osprey raised their game when they saw Montvert and rightly so!

WRG Armies of the Macedonian and Punic wars.

Osprey – Armies of Muslim Conquests and Armies of Islam 7th – 11th Century – outstanding artwork by the Late Angus McBride and SAS simply because it was my very first Osprey and for Campaign a very tough one indeed but I would go with Platea, Poitiers 1356, Vienna 1683, Poltava 1709 and Austerlitz 1805 (latest edition).

Also the Concord Fight men – Imperial Rome at War!

Lastly, I would consider the WAB books – Punic Wars, Alexander the Great and Age of Arthur as being excellent as well.

Good call OFM – great topic!

As a series I generally like the Campaign books but there are so many to choose!

The Fallschirmjager v British Para Combat one is excellent.

I love the Franco Prussian War MAAs.

Big fan of the WWI Aces series.

Japanese WWII Warships ones are excellent as is the Anglo Dutch War one.

SYW Russian ones.

Not always a fanboy though as I was very disappointed in the recent Hitlers Blitzkreig Enemies one. An osprey MAA is barely big enough to cover one army let alone four.

I really enjoyed the Cannae book.

Some great titles here TMP link
;-)

I like the ones with pictures.

The Campaign Series ones for which Osprey paid me to write the Wargaming appendices!

Are those the ones where you usually said something along the lines of 'This is too big to wargame, so don't bother. Instead play a committee/matrix game…'?

Meh.

R. Mark Davies, that's a sweeping generalisation – which implies that committee/matrix games are not valid wargame options to portray aspects of a campaign or battle – and not really true, as I always offered ideas for figure games, though some of them may have been too unconventional for your taste.

Since Osprey has long abandoned that feature of their Campaign Series, you must be pleased to be spared my ideas!

Turnbull and Nicolle both have a pile of Osprey compilation books. It's better to buy these at Half Price Books at around $10 USD, than what the going rate is now. And I have enjoyed all of them.