Hugh Lauter Levin Association.

Hugh Lauter Levin Association

9 Burr Rd., Westport, CT 06880

www.HLLA.com

Two weighty, outstanding new military titles are simply not to be missed: not for the casual reader, they are gorgeous in-depth and oversized histories packed with detail. Take Tom Beard's The Coast Guard (0883631164, $75.00), for example: the Foundation for Coast Guard History worked with Beard to produce a magnificent survey from a team of historians and scholars, active and retired officers, and writers. Over 350 pages of text pair with lovely color photos packing in a handsome history which even includes a medallion-inlaid display cover. Even weightier and more impressive is Colonel Raymond K. Bluhm Jr.'s U.S. Army: A Complete History (088363113X, $75.00), presented by an Army officer who served in senior positions, active duty, and various positions for thirty years. Nearly 1,000 pages of history provides about the only history the Army will ever need, serving as both a reference and a military history cornerstone. Official Army chronologies provide year-by-year and daily summations of significant Army encounters and battles from the early Colonies to modern times, packing key historical entries with expanded sidebar commentary and articles by leading historians. U.S. Army: A Complete History is much more than an encyclopedia of summaries: the detail is quite packed with analysis and history and the illustrations are, again, magnificent. Both are powerful coverages, highly recommended.