Osprey Publishing have an extensive range of books covering warfare from the ancient world through to modern day. Their texts are well written and adequately cover the subject matter. Each of the books also has between 6 and 10 lavish colour plates depicting the armies or battles. If I'm building an army, these are usually the first books I buy!

An account of the bloodiest war in America's history by leading expert on the American Civil War. The author also covers the other crucial wars of the nineteenth century in this single volume, the Crimean war and Prussia's wars with Austria and France. Plenty of colour battlefield maps and crammed with info, a very good buy.

A first-hand account of the campaigns of the army of Northern Virginia in 1862 which covers: the high tide of the Confederacy in 1862; Lee's bold offensive during the Seven Days Battle; the Confederate victory at Second Manassas; and Lee's decision to carry the war to enemy territory.

This is a history of the Austro-Prussian-Italian War of 1866, the author reconstructs the Austrian campaign, blow- by-blow, hour-by-hour. He describes the terror and panic that overtook Austria's regiments of the line in each clash with the Prussians. He reveals the blundering of the Austrian command who fumbled away key strategic advantages and ultimately lost the war.

The Crimean War is one of the most compelling subjects in British history. In this book, the author demonstrates how the Crimean War was a watershed in world history: coming between the defeat of Napoleon in 1815 and the opening shots of the First World War in 1914 it pointed the way to what mass warfare would be like for soldiers in the 20th century.