By KEN BRADLEY, ILLUSTRATED BY MIKE CHAPPELL ISBN 1-85532-367-2 64 PAGES. ILLUSTRATED.

Ken Bradley must be congratulated on the excellent job he has done documenting the history of the I.B.'s in Spain, a mammoth task, ably accomplished via 0sprey's "Elite" format. I know from talking to him that he himself at times despaired at ever seeing his work go to print.

After a brief summary of the events leading up to the Spanish Civil War,the book then goes on to detail recruitment and composition of the Brigades, theoretical (dis!)organisation with some very handy reference charts which detail Brigade No.'s, names and nationalities before going on to the thorny problem of "uniforms" and equipment, in which Ken, although going into great detail , manages to make very readable. Following on from this is a very detailed chapter on all the main engagements in which the Brigades partook again very detailed and finely summarised.

If all this was not enough, Mike Chappell has produced 12 superb colour plates; to complement the text which really do capture a "feel" for the period, illustrating the heterogeneous nature of the I.B. uniform with two plates ; dedicated to rank & insignia and two more to Brigade flags and banners. Each illustration comes with a relevant description which pick out points of special note to the reader. Add to this forty-two b/w photographs and you have an exhaustive guide to the I.B.'s, ideal for wargamers, military modellers, militaria collectors, and anyone with a general interest in the Spanish Civil War.

Many people have commented on an apparent British bias within the book, but I feel this was inevitable as Ken made extensive use of the Karl Marx Memorial Library in London, which houses the British Battalion archives during his research which very kindly gave permission for most of the photos to be used.

I have no problem recommending this book: highly, despite the fact that I know most of you already have it!