Traditionally, Osprey doesn’t publish books in December. The month is used as a chance to catch-up and prepare for the new year. However, sometimes circumstances cause the schedule to change and a few books end up being released late in the month. This year, three b
ooks became Christmas crackers, being released in the last days of December. It would be easy to over-look these books amongst all the gift-giving and turkey, but it would truly be a shame…
First up is the book several years in the making, COM 63: Aichi 99 Kanbaku ‘Va1’ Units. We promised it would finally be released in 2011, and we were just able to meet that deadline.
My personal favourite of our three Christmas offerings is NVG 183: Warships of the Anglo-Dutch Wars 1652-74 by Angus Konstam. With colour plates by Peter Bull, this is another great NVG naval book, covering some of the greatest wooden-ship clashes in history.
Finally, December saw the release of WPN 14: The M16. As the main United States infantry firearm since Vietnam, the story of the M16 is also the story of the modern United States military.
You might not have received any of these books in your stocking, but any of them would make a nice treat to start the New Year!