Reply To: Sources for historicals: where, who, what?

[avernosKeymaster 33947xp 5]

I always start with Osprey’s Men-At-Arms series, the colour plates are great and they give a decent primer to the area in question.

I have heard that some people have issues with them, but then it just goes to prove what I think about people is right.

Wiki is also very good, not for details but the bibliography at the bottom generally has solid books in there.

In the end it comes down to time and cost. If you plan on only working on one period ever then you can go nuts with specialist books from specialist publishers, as you aim for a cheaper book or a lower entry point the detail will drop, they’re not bad but just not as detailed as others.

I have the Napoleonic sourcebook, for example, it’s a great hardback book by Philip J Haythornthwaite. It is however all text and the illustrations are no help for painters. So having learned about facings and colours from Osprey I know the terms and areas that years later I can crack open the big book if someone asks what colour facings Prussian Jagers had.

I think in general it comes down to what you are looking for, more or less detail. Add to that older conflicts where there are a lot fewer primary sources or that historians are often revisiting older ideas, this can even mean that some older books can have different information from more recent publications.

the Dutch publishing company https://www.karwansaraypublishers.com/ publish Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy magazine, along side two periodical historical magazines. On top of those they also have a small, but growing catalogue of books I have picked up several on Roman history and the Greeks which are excellent and I can certainly give my backing to anything from there.