The Mexican-American War, 1846-1848 (Men-At-Arms Series, 56)

Osprey books, due to being written by a variety of different authors, are not always consistent in their quality, so you gamble a bit on what you buy. Having said that, Osprey publishes some fantastic historical books, and this one is decent.The content itself regarding the history is good, as are the illustrations. My main complaints are simply that the literature itself isn't the most inticing, it certainly isn't some of the better English has to offer. But for what the book is meant for I think it's alright, not great but not poor either.

Very good book that shows the military uniforms of the armies back that time.

This series always presents good illustration of the equipment of war. This particular volume brings the uniforms of both the U.S. and Mexican armies vividly to mind and lends immeasurably to one's understanding of the conflict. -Ted

As describe.

Osprey, military history, do I need to say more?

Not at all what I expected. I was looking for a book on the History of the War with some insight on the junior officers of the American Army who would later become the senior officers on both sides 13 years later during the Civil War.

This book came out several decades ago and was my introduction to the Osprey "Men-At-Arms" series. The author, Philip Katcher has been a reenactor and student of period uniforms for many years and his text is a good, basic primer. Gerry Embleton is one of the better illustrators for this series. The information on the U.S troops, both militia/volunteer and Regulars came primarily from the works of James Walker and Samuel Chamberlain. These two sources were eyewitnesses to the war, and while Chamberlain is cocky, and self centered, his comments on clothing and equipment are accurate.Its significant in that photography was coming into use at this time and provides a "first hand" look at some of the uniforms. Katcher and Embleton relied on the late Joseph Hefter for sources on the Mexican Army. At the time this book was first published, Hefter was THE source on the Mexican troops but new information has come to light and I'd like to see the text updated and have Embleton do more detailed plates, but as is, this book is useful.Very few photographs exist of "soldados" from this period. The serious student should also refer to BRASSEY'S HISTORY OF UNIFORMS volume on the Mexican War.

Like the other books in the Men-At-Armes series, this one has plenty of colorful artwork depicting men in uniform. The Texas Ranger, a wooly looking character in buckskins, is perhaps the one that stands out most in this volume as an especially rough looking character. The text is acceptable and informative. A good reference for getting a feel for the time and the people.

The Mexican American war is interesting for many reasons. I was drawn to it recently, having re-watched the John Wayne Alamo movie, for the military uniforms.A title from Osprey's Men-at-Arms series seemed a natural place to go to follow up this newly awakened interest. The American forces were moving towards the kind of uniforms one would recognise in the early Civil War, whilst the Mexicans still looked back to the Napoleonic era for their sartorial inspiration.As usual with Osprey titles in this series, you get a basic potted history of the campaigns, the major personalities, the organisation of the opposing forces, and their arms, equipment and uniforms. So, a pretty comprehensive package.As well as the central section of colour plates, you also get black and white images throughout the title, some showing photos of relevant material, others contemporary illustrations of the conflict.All in all a typically solid and useful addition to the series, which gives a good introduction/grounding to this short but interesting war.

Wargames

A good book, thank you.

Esta bien, pero le falta mejorar la descripcion del tema, se centra demasiado en los uniformes y desatiende el cueso de la guerra y las batallas casi ni aparecen

Sencillo y bien documentado. Sin embargo, la cobertura que hace del ejército mexicano solamente repite los datos del libro clásico de Hefter et al.