Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Books Incoming from eBay.

Over the years, I have found that late summer is an excellent time to pick off a few bargains from eBay.  Why does late summer yield such inexpensive treasures?  My own theory is that viewership is lowest during the dog days of August.  With less competition, bargains on some items can still be had.

What did I pick up?
First up is a copy of G.W. Jeffrey's, The Napoleonic Wargame.  This is the 1974 edition making it a contemporary to Crane's Tricolor reviewed earlier (Tricolor review).  I have read about this set of rules often but have never seen it.  Why not pick it up for a fiver and see for myself?

Second, is an Osprey on The Samurai by Bryant and McBride.  Fantastic color plates by McBride along with a handy color plate of common armor lacing styles.  Just what I need!

Third, is another Osprey on the Campaign of Naseby 1645 by Asquith and Gilder.  This is an oversize booklet by Osprey standards and contains campaign and battle details on the Naseby campaign.  Included in the centerfolds is a series of wargame photos from Peter Gilder's collection.  Very nice!  Since the booklet is headered, Osprey Wargames 1, this suggests that there may have been other booklets in this series.  If so, I have yet to see them.

Finally, is a book I have been on the lookout for for some time.  That is, Epstein's, Prince Eugene at War 1809.  The book details the activities between Prince Eugene and Archduke John during the 1809 campaign.  Having fought the Battle of Raab on gaming table twice, I have been interested in getting a good account of the battle.  My hope is that Epstein's book will offer that.  I see the book for sale infrequently and often for hefty price tags.  I picked this copy up for under $20 shipped and thought it a bargain.  A quick check of AbeBooks shows that a copy is for sale for about the same price.  Oh well.

I picked up a copy of the boardgame from S&T108, Remember the Maine!  This might be useful either as campaign aid or simply to provide historical background.  Given the scope of the game, it looks like either the land or naval campaigns can be recreated. 

30 comments:

  1. so your the guy who out bid me for these eBay books! I mean really.... ;o)

    great set of books to have Jonathan, Prince Eugene at War 1809 is a great find!

    cheers,

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    1. I second the vote for Prince Eugene at War; prior to Gill's trilogy, it was pretty much THE book on the 1809 campaign in Italy, and still complements Gill nicely, particularly in its analysis of Eugene as a commander.

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    2. Phil, sorry if I did but my bids were so low, I am surprised I won any of these at all!

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    3. Peter, thanks for the reminder of Gill's trilogy. One of these days I need to tackle volumes two and three.

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    4. not at all Jonathan, you deserve the ebay books. I concur with Peter, regarding Prince Eugene at War is a great book to have in one's Napoleonic collection.

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    5. i actually think Volumes 2 AND 3 of Gill are even more interesting, as they covered a lot of territory/actions not well covered elsewhere.

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  2. Ah, I suppose that I need to look at eBay more often than once every year or so. Wish I'd seen the Naseby book but this wasn't that once a year peek.


    -- Jeff

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    1. Jeff, you are in luck. eBay has another copy of Naseby on offer.

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    2. Yes, I saw it . . . and the fact that the shipping was $27.74 for it . . . the current bid was $6.99 . . . so the shipping was four times the item price (which would go up, I'm sure) . . . *sigh* . . . so I did not place a bid.


      -- Jeff

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    3. Yikes! Shipping to Canada has gotten quite expensive!

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    4. Or the seller is overcharging (which has been known to happen) . . . at any event I suspect that there are less expensive options for shipping.


      -- Jeff

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  3. Good finds.

    There was at least one other in the original Osprey Wargames series - Jeff Parker and Peter Gilder, The Campaign of Leipzig 1813.

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    1. Thanks to both of you. Now, I need to keep my eye open for Leipzig.

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    2. Peter Gilder, The Campaign of Leipzig 1813 is a great hard cover book to have as well, with lots of photos of his great miniatures in diorama settings....

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  4. Great set of books there. The Napoleonic Wargame was the first set of rules I bought I think! Long, long time ago now!

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    1. Hopefully, an oldie but a goodie? For me, it is fun to see these old rules in an effort to see where we've been.

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  5. Some nice scores here,

    I find Amazon also has some crazy priced books ripe for the picking too

    Ian

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    1. Ian, you are quite right. Sometimes, Amazon has some ridiculously priced books. I have been finding Kindle editions that are practically free.

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  6. I haven't picked up any historical books in a long time. The "book" I bought was Crescent and the Cross; I know rules books probably don't count :) My next "book" will likely be Lion Rampant :):!

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  7. I've got a copy of Jeffrey's The Napoleonic Wargame and it's an interesting read, as much for how it reflects gaming of that era as anything. Eugene at War look jolly good...

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    1. Michael, I would certainly be interested in reading your impressions of Jeffrey's 40 year old rules.

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  8. The Naval and Land Systems in Remember the Maine are worth while. How they connect is a little squirley as the shore bombardment clears all in front of it. A good campaign generator and I still have my original copy.

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    1. Thanks for that feedback re RtM! Given your impressions of the game, could RtM be a successful campaign generator for both a naval and land campaign? That might be an interesting exercise and give me a chance to get the Houston Ships back out onto the gaming table. If I ever get to giving the game a try as a campaign driver, I may ask for your inputs.

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  9. Yes it is a great total war campaign generator. Even the repair rules to get the Spanish fleet ready have the right feel. The only thing missing was adding in the Philippines, but that is an easy fix.

    I bring that up as the Spanish was sending a flotilla to the Philippines that included the Pelayo (love the look of this battle wagon). While near the Suez Canal it was reported that an American fleet was on its way to Spain. A ruse but it worked and the flotilla came back and Commodore Dewey was safe.

    You can contact me at jonyuengling @ gmail.com if you have any questions. And yes I am very interested in this period.

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    1. I do like the cut of the Pelayo too. Quite an elegant design. It is a part of my Spanish fleet but has yet to see action.

      You will be hearing from me!

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