Whats wrong with Osprey?

[Paul Elliott]

Ha, ha. Very funny. Its not real ... is it?????

'Clay Pipes of the British Line Regiments 1839-90'.
- Nathan

[Vincula]

I bought a ''Hadrians Wall AD 122-410'' and rather like it, illustrations included, but being myself an amateur historian and still inexperienced re-enactor I am probably oblivious to a lot of innacuracies.

The orignal question mentions hadrians wall has anyone else read this one?

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

I do have it somewhere...

[mcbishop]

The orignal question mentions hadrians wall has anyone else read this one?

It's less 'Meh!' than most Ospreys (Chinese meal syndrome, apart from the sublime Greg van Wyngarden volumes on anything to do with the Luftstreitkräfte, eh Graham? ;-) ) ) and they have nailed the halftones for once (some of their books are truly appalling in that respect) but the Spedalieres' illustrations look very 'kids book' to me. Nevertheless and notwithstanding I recommend it to people as a good introduction if they can't be bothered to read Breeze and Dobson (which I really like but I keep being told is as dry as dust).

There are plenty of rubbish books on Hadrian's Wall, but this isn't one of them (that's as near to a review as you'll ever get out of me). I just wish they weren't so damned expensive for what they are.

I am incidentally putting together an online 'bookshop'-cum-bibliography devoted to Hadrian's Wall.

Mike Bishop

[Ron Andrea]

Our dollars or euros are "votes" to continue the type of book we buy. If we purchase shoddy material, we shouldn't be surprised that more shoddy material is produced.

RAT does a great service in making members aware of general scholarship and specific publication, so readers can find what they want and need.

I used to buy Osprey books as overviews of a topic. Now I'm more likely to go online. I still buy books--maybe too many books--but I need that critical starting point which Osprey used to provide.

[M. Demetrius]

If we purchase shoddy material, we shouldn't be surprised that more shoddy material is produced.

Not that I'm making a straight-line comparison, but the Trooper helmet comes to mind. For those who only look at the full color pictures in the Osprey books, I guess I could point out that there are generally a long list of end notes in the last pages, and many scholarly treatises are listed there. As in all publications, we, the readers have to realize that we are putting trust in the writers to give us an objective, truthful presentation. Sometimes we overextend those expectations, sometimes we don't accept the findings because they go against our preconceived notions or theories, sometimes we are reeducated by facts we didn't know before reading. Osprey books are no exception.

I like them, because they're a quick start, and a good resource for finding out beginnings in making a wearable impression, for example.

[mcbishop]

If we purchase shoddy material, we shouldn't be surprised that more shoddy material is produced.

It's lowest common denominator publishing, getting the great unwashed to vote on what they want, never taking any chances. They have an admirably aggressive marketing stance (says he, more than one of whose publishers are serial failers at getting my books in ruddy bookshops!). There is a fine line between blitzing your market and being stunningly naive and filling the publishers' remainder shops with your output. It was a little sad when Osprey took over Shire recently - never has a publisher produced so many weird and wacky books that included some masterpieces; unlikely to happen now, I fear.

Mike Bishop

[Ron Andrea]

never has a publisher produced so many weird and wacky books that included some masterpieces... Mike Bishop

I would think that the best--if not the only--formula for the production of masterpieces (other than lots of work). I'm a watercolorist. If what you do next isn't to look like what you just did, you have to try something different. Often that something yields a mess. Occasionally it yields something wonderful.

[Graham Sumner]

Mike Bishop wrote:

anything to do with the Luftstreitkräfte, eh Graham?

If you are going to the RAT conference Mike, I will be pleased to bring the originals along for you to look at plus a couple I did for Military Illustrated.

Graham.

[MARCVS PETRONIVS MAIVS]

The orignal question mentions hadrians wall has anyone else read this one?

It's less 'Meh!' than most Ospreys (Chinese meal syndrome, apart from the sublime Greg van Wyngarden volumes on anything to do with the Luftstreitkräfte, eh Graham? ;-) ) ) and they have nailed the halftones for once (some of their books are truly appalling in that respect) but the Spedalieres' illustrations look very 'kids book' to me. Nevertheless and notwithstanding I recommend it to people as a good introduction if they can't be bothered to read Breeze and Dobson (which I really like but I keep being told is as dry as dust).

There are plenty of rubbish books on Hadrian's Wall, but this isn't one of them (that's as near to a review as you'll ever get out of me). I just wish they weren't so damned expensive for what they are.

I am incidentally putting together an online 'bookshop'-cum-bibliography devoted to Hadrian's Wall.

Mike Bishop

Heh, its good to see this thread go full circle, revived almost exactly a year after it was first posted.

I found 'Alistair Moffat's' Hadrians Wall, Romes Greatest Frontier to be pretty good. Informal, with a lot of good anecdotes here and there, a really lovely read.

[mcbishop]

I found 'Alistair Moffat's' Hadrians Wall, Romes Greatest Frontier to be pretty good. Informal, with a lot of good anecdotes here and there, a really lovely read.

There was a TV series that went with it (there's even a DVD on Amazon IIRC), which didn't get wide distribution (I think it was a Tyne Tees production) and some people I know quite like the book.

Mike Bishop