The Military Balance 2001/2002 (Military Balance)

Rating:
Summary: The Standard Reference for Strategic/Military Statistics
Review: The IISS have been publishing this annual for many years and it has become the
authoritative reference work for data on world armed forces*. It consists mainly of
comprehensive listings of the orders of battle of each nation's armed forces. Data includes
numbers, types of platforms, command and organisational sturctures. Commentary is also
provided for each of the major regions that the work is divided into i.e.the United States,
NATO-Europe, Non-NATO Europe, Asia, etc. These sections are chiefly concerned with
defence procurement issues.
For more in depth analysis of strategic and geopolitical issues one should look at the
companion annual Strategic Survey which is also published by the Institute.
*Jane's publish more detailed annuals separately for Navies, Air Forces etc but
The Military Balance is the best overview in a single volume.

Rating:
Summary: Essential if needing information on specifics of militaries
Review: While the price is high for such a small book, the information you get is well worth it. With this title you get all the information on units of the world's militaries, including defense budgets and where units are deployed. I did expect however that more information could be covered, such as for example they list bases and flight hours for some countries, but not all. This is well up to date, 4th quarter 2000. NOTE: I haven't seen any book as organized as this one - though I'm sure Jane's would have one, but probably for a few hundred to almost a thousdand dollars for it.