Men at Arms- Armies of Pacific War 1879-83

An extraordinary account in a few pages of the War between Chile and the Peru - Bolivia confederation. The book is excellent to get a first view of the entire confrontation. It would be an excellent book for secondary students and everyone interested in having a general perspective. It all started over nitrates on Bolivia's stark coastal plain. The war pitted Chile's small but highly professional army and navy against Peru and Bolivia's larger but less well trained and equipped forces. It ended with the occupation of Peru's capital of Lima and the crushing of an insurgency in the rugged Andes. In between, author Gabriele Esposito provides a terse narrative of the fighting, and illustrator Giuseppe Rava offers some excellent color plates of the wide variety of uniforms in use during the conflict. The text is nicely supplemented with period photographs, a few maps, and sketches of more uniforms. This is an interesting account of a conflict almost unheard of in North America, but with lasting consequences. Recommended.