Uniforms and Equipment of U.S. Army Infantry, Lrrps and Rangers in Vietnam 1965-1971 (Schiffer Military History)

Rating:
Summary: Uniforms &Equipment of U.S. Army Infantry, Lrrps & Rangers
Review: As a collector, one of the most useful books I have found in identifying historical information from everything from badges to berrets. It is written in such a way that can easily be understood by all ages. The pictures and illustrations are a great addition to this great work.

Rating:
Summary: Uniforms &Equipment of U.S. Army Infantry, Lrrps & Rangers
Review: As a collector, one of the most useful books I have found in identifying historical information from everything from badges to berrets. It is written in such a way that can easily be understood by all ages. The pictures and illustrations are a great addition to this great work.

Rating:
Summary: It's all been done before ...
Review: Having devoured every article Mr. Miraldi has written for 'Military Illustrated, Past & Present' I waited months in impatient anticipation when I discovered that he would author a book to be published by Schiffer, the renowned military publisher. Even the rather steep price did not deter me, however, when I finally received the book I found that my hard earned money might have been better spent elsewhere.

Mr. Miraldi seems to have fallen into the trap of over-expanding material to pad out the book. There are a number of faults with not only the material, but the layout of the book. Text referring to photographs often overlaps to following pages, requiring one to continually flip back a page to see what the text may be referring to. Considering the easily followed layout the author used in his magazine articles it is puzzling as to why he did not utilize it here as well.

Miraldi's heavy reliance on the works of Kevin Lyles and Shelby Stanton is evident in the material and confirmed by his footnotes, unfortunately he has opted not to expand on their work for the most part but merely emulate it using items from his own collection. He has borrowed Lyles' style of chronological depiction by year when I feel that if the content would have been more logically ordered by item type (eg. showing transition of the jungle fatigues from OG-107 to 1st, 2nd, 3rd OD then ERDLs.)

Many photographs are wasted. He has included individual close up photos of such inane items such as technical and field manuals, sewing kits, issue bibles - and even the back of a presentation plaque! It would have been better if several of these less important items were grouped together and all placed in one shot. The figure photos aren't all that much better. Some photos appear in different hues and would confuse the beginner collector. Many photos seem to have been done merely using a flash rather than professional lighting (the author even thanks a supermarket 1-hour photo stop in the credits!). Although this works for some photos this tends to create confusing hard shadow outlines and does not properly illuminate all areas of the uniform. Lyles' photos are superior.

Between Lyles and Miraldi, I think every permutation of VN webbing layout and OD uniform has been illustrated! There are some fanciful combinations - a LRP sporting a MP-40, a combat grenadier wearing camo shorts and if Miraldi and Lyles are to be believed, every pathfinder sported a radio and mike/headset and most grunts in 1971 had cut off sleeves and a 'Peace' attitude!

There are too many shots of the one figure - an overall perspective can be done in 3 shots - ¾ left, ¾ right and rear. Lyles covered very adequately in 2 shots - Miraldi needed up to 5 shots in some cases! Some photos are even close to being duplicated. There were also too many detailed shots illustrating minor points or points done before. There were also too many individual photos of standard insignia. Insignia comprise part of the uniform but I felt there are already enough publications dealing with them and the photos should be focussed more towards uniforms and equipment. Miraldi has also included many period pictures, some of which are very good but a lot comprise 'buddy' photos and contain very little information or show content which has been previously illustrated.

Unlike Lyles, who largely used pristine items, Miraldi has included some 'salty' items which does not detract from the overall effect. However, I would have preferred that if he was going to take close-ups of uniform labels that he use mint examples as the faded condition of some of the tags render them close to illegible. Additionally, his examination of the different camouflage employed would have been more credible if he had used mint items for every pattern. I remain unconvinced of his argument of a 'Transitional' versus 'Brown Dominant' ERDL pattern on the basis that the 'Brown Dominant' sample he illustrates looks merely like a faded 'Transitional' pattern. At this point Miraldi also states that ALICE gear and 'RDF' pattern camouflage were not used in Vietnam but he is only right to the extent in that they were not used in the period covered by his book. Some photos of operations 'Eagle Claw' and 'Frequent Wind' (the evacuations of Phnom Penh and Saigon respectively) quite clearly show a few US Marines wearing 'RDF' pattern helmet covers, uniforms and sporting ALICE pouches.

The footnoting leaves something to be desired. In some cases the footnotes do not correspond to the correct chapters. In several instances the attributed author's name is spelt wrongly ('Lyels' rather than 'Lyles') and to top it all off in one instance there is a remark, from the publisher to the author, asking for a missing footnote!

Some positive points must be noted however. I liked the period photos illustrating some uniform points. There were some truly interesting items - the mesh 'Delta' boot (illustrated but not explained) and an intriguing ERDL ammunition vest. Unlike previous authors Miraldi also attempts to distinguish Vietnam-era from post-war items.

In conclusion, I would have to say I was disappointed with this book, especially after paying a premium price. It is definitely not a monument to the high standards I know both Schiffer Publishing and the author are capable of. Too much of the material has been duplicated in previous (and cheaper) texts and there is very little new information for the experienced Vietnam collector - I for one did not learn anything new. The author writes that he will be working on further books on the subject and I hope that his future efforts will not be padded out with superfluous material - and employ a proof reader! This book is suited more to those who are starting out in the Vietnam uniform collecting field and I would recommend that the experienced Vietnam collector has a thorough look through the book before committing to buying one.

Rating:
Summary: It's all been done before ...
Review: Having devoured every article Mr. Miraldi has written for 'Military Illustrated, Past & Present' I waited months in impatient anticipation when I discovered that he would author a book to be published by Schiffer, the renowned military publisher. Even the rather steep price did not deter me, however, when I finally received the book I found that my hard earned money might have been better spent elsewhere.

Mr. Miraldi seems to have fallen into the trap of over-expanding material to pad out the book. There are a number of faults with not only the material, but the layout of the book. Text referring to photographs often overlaps to following pages, requiring one to continually flip back a page to see what the text may be referring to. Considering the easily followed layout the author used in his magazine articles it is puzzling as to why he did not utilize it here as well.

Miraldi's heavy reliance on the works of Kevin Lyles and Shelby Stanton is evident in the material and confirmed by his footnotes, unfortunately he has opted not to expand on their work for the most part but merely emulate it using items from his own collection. He has borrowed Lyles' style of chronological depiction by year when I feel that if the content would have been more logically ordered by item type (eg. showing transition of the jungle fatigues from OG-107 to 1st, 2nd, 3rd OD then ERDLs.)

Many photographs are wasted. He has included individual close up photos of such inane items such as technical and field manuals, sewing kits, issue bibles - and even the back of a presentation plaque! It would have been better if several of these less important items were grouped together and all placed in one shot. The figure photos aren't all that much better. Some photos appear in different hues and would confuse the beginner collector. Many photos seem to have been done merely using a flash rather than professional lighting (the author even thanks a supermarket 1-hour photo stop in the credits!). Although this works for some photos this tends to create confusing hard shadow outlines and does not properly illuminate all areas of the uniform. Lyles' photos are superior.

Between Lyles and Miraldi, I think every permutation of VN webbing layout and OD uniform has been illustrated! There are some fanciful combinations - a LRP sporting a MP-40, a combat grenadier wearing camo shorts and if Miraldi and Lyles are to be believed, every pathfinder sported a radio and mike/headset and most grunts in 1971 had cut off sleeves and a 'Peace' attitude!

There are too many shots of the one figure - an overall perspective can be done in 3 shots - ¾ left, ¾ right and rear. Lyles covered very adequately in 2 shots - Miraldi needed up to 5 shots in some cases! Some photos are even close to being duplicated. There were also too many detailed shots illustrating minor points or points done before. There were also too many individual photos of standard insignia. Insignia comprise part of the uniform but I felt there are already enough publications dealing with them and the photos should be focussed more towards uniforms and equipment. Miraldi has also included many period pictures, some of which are very good but a lot comprise 'buddy' photos and contain very little information or show content which has been previously illustrated.

Unlike Lyles, who largely used pristine items, Miraldi has included some 'salty' items which does not detract from the overall effect. However, I would have preferred that if he was going to take close-ups of uniform labels that he use mint examples as the faded condition of some of the tags render them close to illegible. Additionally, his examination of the different camouflage employed would have been more credible if he had used mint items for every pattern. I remain unconvinced of his argument of a 'Transitional' versus 'Brown Dominant' ERDL pattern on the basis that the 'Brown Dominant' sample he illustrates looks merely like a faded 'Transitional' pattern. At this point Miraldi also states that ALICE gear and 'RDF' pattern camouflage were not used in Vietnam but he is only right to the extent in that they were not used in the period covered by his book. Some photos of operations 'Eagle Claw' and 'Frequent Wind' (the evacuations of Phnom Penh and Saigon respectively) quite clearly show a few US Marines wearing 'RDF' pattern helmet covers, uniforms and sporting ALICE pouches.

The footnoting leaves something to be desired. In some cases the footnotes do not correspond to the correct chapters. In several instances the attributed author's name is spelt wrongly ('Lyels' rather than 'Lyles') and to top it all off in one instance there is a remark, from the publisher to the author, asking for a missing footnote!

Some positive points must be noted however. I liked the period photos illustrating some uniform points. There were some truly interesting items - the mesh 'Delta' boot (illustrated but not explained) and an intriguing ERDL ammunition vest. Unlike previous authors Miraldi also attempts to distinguish Vietnam-era from post-war items.

In conclusion, I would have to say I was disappointed with this book, especially after paying a premium price. It is definitely not a monument to the high standards I know both Schiffer Publishing and the author are capable of. Too much of the material has been duplicated in previous (and cheaper) texts and there is very little new information for the experienced Vietnam collector - I for one did not learn anything new. The author writes that he will be working on further books on the subject and I hope that his future efforts will not be padded out with superfluous material - and employ a proof reader! This book is suited more to those who are starting out in the Vietnam uniform collecting field and I would recommend that the experienced Vietnam collector has a thorough look through the book before committing to buying one.

Rating:
Summary: It's all been done before ...
Review: Having devoured every article Mr. Miraldi has written for `Military Illustrated, Past & Present' I waited months in impatient anticipation when I discovered that he would author a book to be published by Schiffer, the renowned military publisher. Even the rather steep price did not deter me, however, when I finally received the book I found that my hard earned money might have been better spent elsewhere.

Mr. Miraldi seems to have fallen into the trap of over-expanding material to pad out the book. There are a number of faults with not only the material, but the layout of the book. Text referring to photographs often overlaps to following pages, requiring one to continually flip back a page to see what the text may be referring to. Considering the easily followed layout the author used in his magazine articles it is puzzling as to why he did not utilize it here as well.

Miraldi's heavy reliance on the works of Kevin Lyles and Shelby Stanton is evident in the material and confirmed by his footnotes, unfortunately he has opted not to expand on their work for the most part but merely emulate it using items from his own collection. He has borrowed Lyles' style of chronological depiction by year when I feel that if the content would have been more logically ordered by item type (eg. showing transition of the jungle fatigues from OG-107 to 1st, 2nd, 3rd OD then ERDLs.)

Many photographs are wasted. He has included individual close up photos of such inane items such as technical and field manuals, sewing kits, issue bibles - and even the back of a presentation plaque! It would have been better if several of these less important items were grouped together and all placed in one shot. The figure photos aren't all that much better. Some photos appear in different hues and would confuse the beginner collector. Many photos seem to have been done merely using a flash rather than professional lighting (the author even thanks a supermarket 1-hour photo stop in the credits!). Although this works for some photos this tends to create confusing hard shadow outlines and does not properly illuminate all areas of the uniform. Lyles' photos are superior.

Between Lyles and Miraldi, I think every permutation of VN webbing layout and OD uniform has been illustrated! There are some fanciful combinations - a LRP sporting a MP-40, a combat grenadier wearing camo shorts and if Miraldi and Lyles are to be believed, every pathfinder sported a radio and mike/headset and most grunts in 1971 had cut off sleeves and a `Peace' attitude!

There are too many shots of the one figure - an overall perspective can be done in 3 shots - ¾ left, ¾ right and rear. Lyles covered very adequately in 2 shots - Miraldi needed up to 5 shots in some cases! Some photos are even close to being duplicated. There were also too many detailed shots illustrating minor points or points done before. There were also too many individual photos of standard insignia. Insignia comprise part of the uniform but I felt there are already enough publications dealing with them and the photos should be focussed more towards uniforms and equipment. Miraldi has also included many period pictures, some of which are very good but a lot comprise `buddy' photos and contain very little information or show content which has been previously illustrated.

Unlike Lyles, who largely used pristine items, Miraldi has included some `salty' items which does not detract from the overall effect. However, I would have preferred that if he was going to take close-ups of uniform labels that he use mint examples as the faded condition of some of the tags render them close to illegible. Additionally, his examination of the different camouflage employed would have been more credible if he had used mint items for every pattern. I remain unconvinced of his argument of a `Transitional' versus `Brown Dominant' ERDL pattern on the basis that the `Brown Dominant' sample he illustrates looks merely like a faded `Transitional' pattern. At this point Miraldi also states that ALICE gear and `RDF' pattern camouflage were not used in Vietnam but he is only right to the extent in that they were not used in the period covered by his book. Some photos of operations `Eagle Claw' and `Frequent Wind' (the evacuations of Phnom Penh and Saigon respectively) quite clearly show a few US Marines wearing `RDF' pattern helmet covers, uniforms and sporting ALICE pouches.

The footnoting leaves something to be desired. In some cases the footnotes do not correspond to the correct chapters. In several instances the attributed author's name is spelt wrongly (`Lyels' rather than `Lyles') and to top it all off in one instance there is a remark, from the publisher to the author, asking for a missing footnote!

Some positive points must be noted however. I liked the period photos illustrating some uniform points. There were some truly interesting items - the mesh `Delta' boot (illustrated but not explained) and an intriguing ERDL ammunition vest. Unlike previous authors Miraldi also attempts to distinguish Vietnam-era from post-war items.

In conclusion, I would have to say I was disappointed with this book, especially after paying a premium price. It is definitely not a monument to the high standards I know both Schiffer Publishing and the author are capable of. Too much of the material has been duplicated in previous (and cheaper) texts and there is very little new information for the experienced Vietnam collector - I for one did not learn anything new. The author writes that he will be working on further books on the subject and I hope that his future efforts will not be padded out with superfluous material - and employ a proof reader! This book is suited more to those who are starting out in the Vietnam uniform collecting field and I would recommend that the experienced Vietnam collector has a thorough look through the book before committing to buying one.

Rating:
Summary: Capstone work -- A "Must have" book
Review: Mr. Miraldi's work is an important one as it ties in two other monumental works on this subject (Shelby Stanton's and Kevin Lyles) and makes a complete reference out of all three! To own just one of the other books is not enough, yet it is saying a lot for Mr. Miraldi's work that you can start off by just owning his and that will help you through the majority of your questions on the topic.

My suggestion is to try to own ALL three works, but if you must start somewhere, then Mr. Miraldi's book is a good place to start!

Why do I suggest his book over a more technical and textbook-like work such as Stanton? Stanton is an excellent source and a must-have book, but Mr. Miraldi's book takes it one step further and shows you how everything is worn and ties together! The reader is not just shown a pristine example of an item, but is shown an item being used as it would have been used in a particular time frame of the war. This is a better approach for the novice--it is more "user friendly".

Overall this is a well done book and I look forward to the new book on advisors that he has put out!

Rating:
Summary: Capstone work -- A "Must have" book
Review: Mr. Miraldi's work is an important one as it ties in two other monumental works on this subject (Shelby Stanton's and Kevin Lyles) and makes a complete reference out of all three! To own just one of the other books is not enough, yet it is saying a lot for Mr. Miraldi's work that you can start off by just owning his and that will help you through the majority of your questions on the topic.

My suggestion is to try to own ALL three works, but if you must start somewhere, then Mr. Miraldi's book is a good place to start!

Why do I suggest his book over a more technical and textbook-like work such as Stanton? Stanton is an excellent source and a must-have book, but Mr. Miraldi's book takes it one step further and shows you how everything is worn and ties together! The reader is not just shown a pristine example of an item, but is shown an item being used as it would have been used in a particular time frame of the war. This is a better approach for the novice--it is more "user friendly".

Overall this is a well done book and I look forward to the new book on advisors that he has put out!