Book bargains!

During today's visit to my father-in-law in Herne Bay, Kent, I was able to go to a small second-hand bookshop just off the High Street where I managed to pick up some real bargains.

The first was a copy of MILITARY MINIATURES – THE ART OF MAKING MODEL SOLDIERS by Simon Goodenough and ‘Tradition’ (Orbis Publishing [1977] ISBN 0 85613 047 8).

I remember getting this book out from the library many years ago, and found the chapter on painting techniques very helpful. What really stuck in my mind, however, was the photograph of a wargame that was featured in the book.

The game was obviously being fought on the floor and covered a massive area. I recognised some of the models that were being used (ROCO Minitanks and Airfix Landing Craft) but was more impressed by the number of HO scale model railway building that had been used to create the built-up areas. This was the sort of wargaming I aspired to do … but never did, and am likely never to do … but one can still dream!

The second book I found was the ISRAEL DEFENCE FORCES – THE SIX DAY WAR. This was edited by Colonel Mordechai Bar-On, and published by W. Foulsham & Co. Ltd., in association with the Chief Education officer, Israel Defence Forces and the Publications Division of the Israeli Ministry of Defence in 1968 (ISBN 0 572 00792 2). The foreword is written by Moshe Dayan (then the Israeli Minister of Defence) and it is a day-by-day account of the Six Day War. Dayan describes the book as an album, and it does contain a very large number of photographs as well as descriptions of the battles that were fought. It also has some detailed maps which have overlays that show the locations and movements of both sides’ units.

The third book is a copy of THE SOMME 1916 – CRUCIBLE OF A BRITISH ARMY which was written and illustrated by Michael Chappell (Windrow & Greene [1995] ISBN 1 85915 007 1).

Until recently the battles fought on the Western Front during the First World War have not particularly interested me, but helping my wife trace her family’s genealogy – coupled with recently listening to a very interesting lecture about the Hertfordshire Regiment’s part in the battles around Ypres – has begun to arouse my curiosity. This excellent book will help me to develop my interest, particularly with regard to the Battle of the Somme.

And what was the cost of these books? £05.0, £3.00, and £4.00 respectively! A bargain, every one!