This was just one of those lovely discoveries when browsing the shelves of a book shop (Waterstones UK) and a fine example of why book shops are so important and deserve our continued support ….. no money …. no book shop!

The slight downside is that some customers handle the books without due care and my copy has some wear along the bottom edge, which takes some pleasure away from it all,

This is 'Battlefield Panoramas' by Victor Ambrus. Apparently he has been the illustrator for over 300 books on classical and historical subjects.

He is best known to me as the illustrator supporting the Time Team T.V. programme. Time Team was a UK archaeological programme that visited sites of historical value, setting up a three day dig at them, bringing in experts to find out as much as they could about the site.

At the end of the three days, the discoveries needed some ‘imagining’ to bring them to life and that is where Ambrus would come in, with illustrations of say a typical busy Roman street of a group of monks in a religious setting etc.

Here, Ambrus travels through military history, with each subject getting a one page summary of text with a facing illustration on the next page. It is just a nice thing to own, pick up and browse.

My stash of unread books is getting a bit unwieldy, but this 'pick up and put down' magazine style title is a welcomed addition, with every few pages just being able to be read in isolation from the rest of the book.

The blurb on the back of the book explains it rather succinctly, ‘Battlefields Panoramas is a joy to browse through and will win a place on the shelves of all those with an interest in conflict - or simply a love of illustration’.