Roman Legionary

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Legionary conquers - Rated
This is a very good little book. The colour plates are very dramatic but the text is the real winner. This book offers a lot more by way of authoritative fact than your average Osprey but is still reader friendly. Cowan explodes a lot of myths concerning the legions, but he remains in awe of his subjects and his passion for the era is evident. The book excels in the sections on the mechanics of the legion in battle and the experience of the individual legionaries in combat.

It suffers a little from a few gaffes with Latin terms (e.g. ‘dolabra’ is spelt dolobra; ‘laticlavius’ is rendered laticlavus) and typos (poor editing?), but only the expert reader is going to be bothered by these. All in all, a very sound read, excellent value for money, and suitable for the general reader, student, or indeed, the Roman specialist.

The legionary comes to life! - Rated
This book is quite a surprise. It's a bit more 'academic' than your usual Osprey offering but it's very approachable and squeezes in a mass of information about the legions from Julius Caesar to the emperor Vespasian. The text takes the reader from the establishment of the Imperial legions and organisation, through recruitment (mostly conscripts according to Cowan) and training, equipment (here I learn that the gladius was not a short sword!), and ultimatley on to the best section concerning the legionaries in battle. Quotes from ancient sources give a 'soldier's eye view' of battle from the exchange of missiles, to the charge and collision with the enemy, the rout and taking of booty and and adorning victory monuments with the heads of the enemy.

Excepting a few typos this is a fantastic read. The colour plates illuminate the text superbly (especially the plate concerning the Varian disaster; Cowan informs us that all the legionary eagles taken in AD 9 were later recaptured). Essential for anyone wanting to learn more about the legionary.