The US Army of World War II, Volume 1: The Pacific (Men-At-Arms Series, 342)

Rating:
Summary: Great Improvement on Earlier Volumes Covering this Period
Review: This book is part of a set covering the US Army of WW II. The set covers the clothing, individual equipment, small and heavy arms, vehicles, and campaigns.
Of course, much more detailed information can be found in other works such as Shelby Stanton's definitive work on clothing but a complete collection covering these items would cost several hundred dollars at least and still not cover everything in detail.
Compared to the earlier volumes published by Osprey, it is an A compared to a D. The other volumes were superficial and suffered either from trying to cover too much or too long a period or written by authors who simply were not familiar enough with the period covered.
This is written by a knowledgable author and is superbly illustrated by the magnificent Mike Chappell. Drawing on multitudinous sources, these three volumes will satisfy those who want to know what grandaddy looked like in the war and give a useful overview for those not needing more detailed knowledge.
As a long time specialist in the period, I learned things and recommend this highly.
See my reviews of the other two volumes in this set.

Rating:
Summary: Useful Introduction to the Subject
Review: This work is a splendid example of the new emphasis of the publisher on producing comprehensive works in a handy cheap format compared with the earlier broad brush treatments which covered too much in too little detail.
The new emphasis is on sets covering various national armed forces in as much detail as is available, consistent with the current purpose of the works in the series, which have evolved from an original emphasis on serving the military miniature maker market into works intended to enlighten the general reader in enough detail to satisfy the merely curious and to point the way to further reading.
Most of us, including myself, have little need for, or the patience to read, voluminous studies, often in foreign languages, covering many eras and nations. My main interest is in the US forces, their allies and their enemies in the twentieth century.
That said, these works should be purchased as presented, in sets within the series. Since they are produced as a set, the volumes cover only relevent parts of the general history and the clothing and individual equipment is covered as it appears in each period. The French Army, US Army, British Army, and Italian Army series all have three volumes, covering the major theatres and time periods of the war. The German set has five.
If you want more detail on Army clothing then see Shelby Stanton's World War II work reviewed on this site. Unfortunatly I have yet to find a comprehensive study of US individual equipment which is not riddled with errors of omission, misidentification, and unproved speculation. Though a great exception is Scott Meadow's work on holsters which is more than most want to know and is expensive to boot. Not for the general reader.
If you want an introduction to the fascinating variety of clothing and equipment of the forces covered, this set is for you.