Before I begin with the listing of the books and magazines which, one way or another, are now piled up on my desk, I think that it might be a good time to inform you all of the projects that I have in mind to do this year, at least in this way if the delay in the appearance of El Dorado happens ( it's already late, I hear you all say ) then you can take heart in thinking that I've been tied up with one of these projects, or at work doing overtime, the latter has been the case for the last six months.

What I am working on at this moment is the next Society Booklet, it is entitled "The Spanish American War; The Cuban Land Campaign: Order of Battle", this will not be a text book on the campaign as I would imagine that with the centenary of this war coming along soon there will be a plethora of such books. For this booklet I am trying to list all officers down to Captain for their respective units, while also trying to include all U.S. Company Officers which includes some lieutenants, both opposing forces will be included with help coming from Washington D.C. and the Spanish Archivo Militar in Madrid, so far I have 94 pages typed up with data on the U.S. Marine Officers and two U.S. Volunteer units: 1st District of Colombia Infantry and the 8th Ohio Infantry missing, so rather than publish what I have, it would be better to wait until data on these three units are found and therefore make it a worthwhile booklet:? Although in June 1 will be in Washington D.C. for 1 and 1/2 days so with a bit of luck that time will be spent hunting through the National Archives mirco-film library for the various Regiments, if I have not already found them before my trip to the U.S. begins.

The next thing that I have started is to bring out the back numbers of El Dorado in the same format as the booklets, although each booklet will contain a half-year, rather than a full year, while the first two volumes will be in a booklet each, depending on ehe amount of pages there are as a number of items for these two volumes have to be either typed up or the illustrations have to be re-arranged for the A5 page, it will be the extra work needed for these first two volumes which will dictate how soon they take to be produced, while the volumes after are already in the A5 page size and therefore should not be such a hassle to be produced and only dependent on availability of cash, hut the first two volumes will have to be dealt with before we rush on with the later volumes.

By the Autumn/Winter I hope to have both of these projects up and running and I would like to begin on the next Society Booklet which will be on the "Paraguayan War", a title that has been on my mind for a number of years and which should be of interest to a good number of people. I wi11 try to make it 90 pages in length with uniform and order of batt1e data included. Well that's what I hope to achieve by next Christmas (plus the issues of E.D.), let's see if I do?

Books

That went on longer than expected! Right here goes with the books to my right, normally I start on a couple of articles before I type up this seetion, but there are quite a few books since Christmas so if only to make space to work on, I'll begin.

"Historia de las Fuerzas Militares de Colombia" is a set of six volumes, three relating to the Army, the other three are on the Navy, Air Force and Police each has roughly 400 pages per volume with numerous black and white photographs in each. Thirteen authors have supplied the text with General A1vardo Valencia Tovar being the Editor, published in 1993 by P1aneta Colombiana Editorial S.A. (Calle 31 No.6-41, Piso 18, Santafe' de Bogota, D.C. Colombia ), the only thing which I found missing were coloured reproductions of the many paintings of the various officers that had been printed only in black and white, this would have been very helpful, a number of interesting photographs of troops from the 19th and early 20th centuries, my favourite being on page 195, Volume 2 Army, of General Santos Acosta Castillo in 1876 wearing a frock-coat to be seen to be believed. Also included are some orders of battle such as Batalla de Paralonso, 15-17 December 1899, chapters on the Leticia War with Peru 1932-34 and the Colombian troops (Navy and Army) that were sent to fight in Korea, all interesting data. The price should be obtained from the publishers as my price could well be out of date, at bit expensive but there is so little on this subject, maybe see if the local University or large Library can obtain a set, if only on loan. I don't think the Embassy would be of much help with this. A worth-while addition.

Also with these volumes came another set of 6 books entitled "Nueva Historia de Colombia" also published by Planeta Colombiana Editorial S.A., it's editor being Alvaro Tirado Melo, the first two volumes would appear to be the most helpful out of the set as they deal with Political History 1886-1986 although the other four do also contain some interesting photographs but mainly cover the social and cultural side of Colombian history. There are three extra volumes to the "Nueva Historia de Colombia" the first two are entitled (1) Colombia Indigena: Conquista y Colonia, (2) Republica Siglo XIX, no illustrations in these two books, 300 and 350 pages per volume. The last one is entitled "Presidentes de Colombia 1810 - 1990" by Ignacio Arizmendi Posada, each President is illustrated by a black and white photograph of an oil painting and 2-3 pages of biography, Simon Bolivar having 9 pages, alas with my copy a number of pages that cover the presidents during the later part of the 19th century have been omitted (pp. 130, 131, 134, 135 138, 139, 142, 143, 146, 147, 150, 151, 154, 155 and 158 missing), although I shouldn't think this to be the norm just a bit of unluck for me. Again prices should be asked direct to the publishers.

I will try to group these titles into some sort of order of subject or country.

"The Final Campaign of the American Revolution: Rise and Fall of the Spanish Bahamas" by James A. Lewis, published by the University of South Carolina Press, 1991, a nice book to convert to a small wargame, well researched and full of interesting information on the campaign.

"The Texas Connection With the American Revolution" by Robert H. Thonhoff, published by Eakin Press, Austin, Texas 1981, same period as the previous work with some good data on the work of Bernardo de Galvez and the help that the Spanish gave to the revolutionary troops in the southern colonies, an area which seems to becoming more popular over the passing years.

Keeping with the Spanish theme: "A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies", by Bartolome de las Casas, edited and translated by Nigel Griffin, published by Penguin Books, London & New York, 1992, often read about this work but never seen it in a bookshop before, contains contemporary illustrations of treatment given to natives etc. a book for everyone who thinks they know about the early years of the Conquest, whether you believe it's contents or not.

"La Colonizacion la huella de Espana en America", by Pablo Emilio Perez Mallaina, published by Biblioteca Iberoamericana, Madrid 1988, maybe not too good for the military minded, but some nice illustrations in colour, my favourite being a coloured plate showing General Posas of Argentina in the 1840's liberating the negro slaves of Buenos Aires in General's uniform and accompanied by a cavalryman in red jacket and shirt with white lace trousers (can anyone tell me what I should call these Argentine lace under-garments worn during the 19th century? T.D.H. ) worn under a brown leather apron, white piping to jacket collar, top and bottom to round cuffs and shirt, crossed swords badge on collar, white buttons.

"The People and the King: The Comunero Revolution in Colombia, 1781", by John Leddy Phelan, published by the University of Wisconsin Press, Madison 1978, a revolt often noted when reading about the Liberation Wars of Gran Colombia as the thin edge of the wedge towards social and political change against the Spanish Colonial system--good to find a whole book on the subject.

Still with the Spanish Colonial period, although starting on a new group is "The Presido and Militia on the Northern Frontier of New Spain, 1570 - 1700", by Thomas H. Naylor and Charles W. Polzer, S.J., published by the University of Arizona Press, Tucson 1986, a most interesting volume with invaluable data, if interested in this period and region then keep a look out in the bookshops for it, they reprint the Spanish text of the contemporary archive material and also translate it into English, which is just what I need.

"Riot, Rebellion, and Revolution: Rural Social Conflict in Mexico", edited by Friedrich Katz, published by Princeton University Press, New Jersey 1988, covers from pre-conquest times up to 1940, with chapters on the Yaqui Revolts 1740-1976, the Sierra Gorda Rebellion 1847-50, and revolts in Yucatan from the Caste War to the Revolution, out of 18 Chapters, 572 pages text with 3 maps. A good book to get the feel of the undercurrent of unrest that should be taken into consideration when understanding U.S.-Mexican Wars, Filibusters, Foreign Interventions and U.S.-Mexican Politics, a helpful work.

"The Desert Revolution: Baja California, 1911", by Lowell L. Blaisdell, published by Greenwood Press, Connecticut 198fi, Reprinted from University of Wisconsin 1962, goes well with the previous title, a not so well known revolt that happened at the same time as Francisco Madero's democratic upheaval which toppled Porfirio Diaz, but one that could have involved the U.S. once more into Mexican history and another thing for President Diaz to think about other than Madero's rising popular support.

"Revolution and Intervention: The Diplomacy of Taft and Wilson with Mexico, 1910-1917", by P. Edward Haley, published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1970, if interested in the Mexican Revolution then this is a very useful book for understanding U.S. foreign policy to the various governments of Mexico during this period.

"Wings and Saddles: The Air and Cavalry Punitive Expedition of 1919", by Stacy C. Hinkle, published by the Texas Western Press (monograph No.19.), University of Texas at El Paso, 1967, pp.47, 26 black and white photographs, author was a pilot with the expedition, some good notes and data.

"Generals in the Palacio: The Military in Modern Mexico", by Roderic Ai Camp, published by Oxford University Press, New York and Oxford, 1992, bit of a heavy read but with what's happening in Mexico at the present time with the guerrilla group, it is all relevant and helpful.

Which brings me to: "The Shining path: The World's Deadliest Revolutionary Force", by Simon Strong, published by Harper Collins, London 1992, this might become a classic in future years as the author is British and a foreign correspondent for both the BBC and the Independent newspaper, having worked in Peru since 1988, he includes a good insight into the creation and leaders of this movement and it's growth in modern Peru, a good work to have on modern Latin America.

"Peru: A Country Study", produced by the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress and edited by Rex A Hudson, published in 1993, a very helpful book with it's first 56 pages dealing with the history of the country with Chapter five being "The Armed Forces in Society and Politics", pp.264-318 which is really good. There are other volumes in this series that cover other Latin American countries, I believe that they are for sale from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington D.C. 20402, U.S.A., sorry don't know the price.

"The Fall of the Royal Government in Peru", by Timothy E. Anna, published by the University of Nebraska Press, 1979, more of a political oriented book than a military one, it is still helpful in understanding the various pressures which were on-hand besides the military threat from Argentina, Chile and Gran Colombia which it also covers but not with too much depth, well, not enough for me.

"The Conquest and Settlement of Venezuela", by Don Jose de Oviedo y Banos, translated by J. Johnson Varner, published by the University Of California Press, 1987, first published in 1723, this is it's first English edition, it chronicles events in the region from it's discovery until 1600, using as many contemporary manuscripts that were available to him, a most interesting read.

"Jose Antonio Paez", by R.B. Cunninghame Graham, this reprint by Cooper Square Publishers, Inc. New York 1970, a must for anyone interested in the Wars of Liberation and it's aftermath.

"Topo: The Story of a Scottish colony near Caracas 1825-1827", by Hans P. Rheinheimer, published by The Scottish Academic Press, Edinburgh 1988, a large format book of 160 pages with colour and b/w plates, a little but interesting episode in Venezuelan and Scottish history, with some nice plates but only one showing a uniform, that of Simon Bolivar painted by Juan Lovera.

"Germany's Vision of Empire in Venezuela 1871-1914", by Holger H. Herwig, published by Princeton University Press, New Jersey, 1986, this is a much better book than I would have thought, pp. 245 all text, pity that no photographs of the period to illustrate it, but the text is very good a well worth a read.

"The Incredible Yanqui: The Career of Lee Christmas" by Hermann B. Deutsch, published by Longmans, Green and Co. New York 1931 covers the stormy period during 1894-1917 in Honduras and Nicaragua in which Lee Christmas rose from mercenary to become a General of the Honduran Army. A most interesting read, with some little known conflicts for the wargamer.

"Sandino: The Testimony of a Nicaraguan Patriot, 1921-1934", compiled by Sergio Ramirez, edited and translated by Robert Edgar Conrad, published by Princeton University Press, 1990, 500 pages of letters, manifestos and reports from this period on the man and his campaigns, a must for researchers into this man who was assassinated in 1934, only to become a popular legend and a uniting force for later generations of Nicaraguans.

"The Argentina of Today", by L.E. Elliot, published By Hurst and Blackett, London, 1925, some nice interviews and notes on Argentine history and attitudes of this period.

"The War in Cuba", by John Black Atkins, published by Smith, Elder & Co. London, 1899, some interesting anecdotes collected while serving as a reporter covering the war with the U.S. Army.

"Admirals and Empire: The United States Navy and the Caribbean, 1898-1945", by Donald A. Yerxa, published by the University of South Carolina Press, 1991, good details on U.S. foreign policy and Naval planning in regards to the protection of the Panama Canal and Caribbean Islands against Imperial German expansionism into Latin America and the inter-war years.

"Gunboat Diplomacy in the Wilson Era: The U.S. Navy in Haiti, 1915-1916", by David Healy, published by the University of Wisconsin Press 1976, goes well with the previous book and gives a thorough outline of this episode of U.S. interventionism.

"The Grenada War: Anatomy of a Low-Intensity Conflict", by Major Vijay Tiwathia (Indian Army), published by Lancer International, New Delhi, India, 1987, an obscure book to be sure but at least on a subject which is quite well known about, the author has used a large number of reference books to create an interesting work that, in my opinion, fits in nicely with the other volumes which I have on this operation.

"Take That Hill: Royal Marines in the Falklands War", by Nick Vaux, published by Brassey's Inc. Virginia, U.S.A., second printing 1990, Nick Vaux was the Lt. Colonel of the 42 Commando R.M. during this war and later promoted to Major General. More insights into the campaign and planning of the war from the Royal Marine stand-point.

"La Cuestion de las Islas Falkland 1492-1982", by Oscar Espinosa Moraga, published by Estado Mayor General del Ejercito, Santiago, Chile, 1983, nice to see a Chilean book on the Falklands / Malvinas early history, while it translates for the Spanish reader the British Government's own "Lessons from the Falklands Campaign" published in London in Dec. 1982.

Other books with Chile as their theme are: "Las FF.AA. de Chile 1891 - 1973: En Defensa del Consenso Nacional", by Mayor Eduardo Aldunate Herman, published by Estado Mayor General del Ejercito: Biblioteca Militar, 1988, this work relates to the internal political and fiscal problems that has affected the Military during the last hundred years, although the largest section of the book covers the period from 1924 - 1932, some 100 pages out of 209.

"Episodios Navales Chilenos", by Nautilus, published Ministry of Education, Santiago 1970, this contains a good section on the Naval side of the Pacific War and the Wars of Independence with some interesting photos of the various ships, but printed on coarse paper which has an adverse effect on the clarity of them, more's the pity.

"By Reason or Force; Chile and the Balancing of Power in South America, 1830-1905", by Robert N. Burr, published by the University of California Press. 1965, this paperback edition is 1974, a much needed work that helps the reader understand just what was going on in the Foreign and Internal policies of the different Chilean Governments of this period. Maybe not as much data on the military side but really good for the Treaties signed at this time.

"Documentos Relativos a la Campana del Pacifico, 1863-1867", from the Archivo Alvaro de Bazan: Seccion de Expediciones, published by Museo Naval, Madrid 1966, two volumes 414 and 323 pages respectively, this is the Spanish naval expedition to Peru which united Peru, Bolivia and Chile against the former, some useful information in this work which has long been neglected by historians in favour of the later war between the three allied nations, a good find on an obscure subject.

"Rank and Privilege: The Military and Society in Latin America", edited by Linda Alexander Rodriguez, published by Jaguar Books No.8., Delaware, 1994, ten chapters that trace the Military power evolution in Latin America during the 19th & 20th centuries, at least half of these chapters when read make you feel that this subject should be a book in it's own right, let alone a chapter, and for me tries to cover too much ground with not enough pages.

"Apuntes de Historia Militar", by General J. Gonzalo Orellana, published by Talleres Graficos de Cicetronic Cia. Ltda. Quito, Ecuador 1977, although a general history of wars it has a section which deals with the major battles of the Wars of Independence in Latin America, but alas this is only 10 pages in length, his three other books are on Latin American military history so I'd better keep a look out for them ( Historia Militar del Ecuador, Batalla de Tarqui and La Guerra Intestina en el Ecuador de la Segunda Mitad del siglo XIX ).

"Vanishing Amazon", by Mirella Ricciardi, published by Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London 1991, 237 large pages of coloured and b/w photographs of three different tribes from this region, living a way of life that one wonders just how long they will be allowed to continue in this manner, with the so called progress in one form or another, ever creeping nearer? A good book to have in fifty years time when it will probably all be gone.

"Keep the River on your Right", by Tobias Schneebaum, published by Abacus, London 1972, a personal narrative of a Peruvian expedition into the jungle during 1955.

"Uniforms and Insignia of the Navies of World War II", compiled by U.S. Naval Intelligence and introduced by Andrew Mollo, published by Greenhill Books, London 1991, what a suprise to find that the first two sections were on the Argentine Navy (6 plates} and the Brazilian Navy (6 plates} and illustrating rank and branch insignia, all in full colour, really useful.

My last book is "Latin American Military History: An Annotated Bibliography", edited by David C. LaFranee and Errol D. Jones, published by Garland Publishing Inc. New York 1992, 734 pages of book titles, as you can guess loads of titles that will be of help, try and obtain a copy from your library if interested in expanding books to research with on your own topic.

Magazines and Journals

Now for the magazines and journals that I've received which have contained some data on Latin America.

"Fuerzas Armadas", Colombian Ministry of Defense publication, Nos. 414-418, every issue has something of interest, including some helpful photos. It would be nice to see them include a section dealing with the number of various medals that are awarded or have been during the past with front and rear photographs and a brief description or a copy of the decree that produced it, am I asking for a lot, yes, maybe I am but it would be nice. Military History, February 1995, contains "The Unsinkable Ironclad", by Douglas W. Stewart on the story of the Huascar with some nice illustrations and data.

The Club Francais de la Figurine Historique Journal, 1994 - IV, has a colour plate by L. de Beaufort on the uniform of the Voluntario Moreno de la Militia de Santo Domingo circa 1780. Also in their 1995 No.II issue is another coloured plate depicting a General en Chef de la Republique d'Haiti circa 1790, again by L. de Beaufort.

Southwestern Historical Quarterly, October 1994, includes an article entitled "The Little Book That Wasn't There: The Myth and Mystery of the de la Pena Diary", by James E. Crisp, 37 pages that call into question the authenticity of the diary that anybody who has an interest in the Alamo or the Texan War of Independence has read, most admit the article was a good read and left me thinking, a must for anybody interested in this subject.

Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research, Vol. I.VI. No.226, Summer 1978, contains an nice article that is of interest to me "The Destruction of the British Army in the West Indies 1793-1815: A Medical History", by Dr. Roger N. Buckley, 14 pages (79-92} I was also sent a photocopy of this chapter from Marten Ultee's 'Adapting to Conditions: War and Society in the Eighteenth Century", pub. by University of Alabama 1989': "The Ecological Basis Of Warfare in the Caribbean, 1700-1804", by John R. McNeill pages 26-42, any wargamer who plays this period ought to take notice of this side of warfare if in a campaign type game. Non-battlefield casualties can cause larger problems than actual combat wastage.

Air Power International, issue 9, May 1995, has "Ecuadorian Air Force: A Photo Report", by Peter Steinmann, pages 18-27, good information and colour photographs of the modern Ecuadorian Air Force.

Military Illustrated, November 1994, "Caribbean Posting: Staffordshire Regiment, 1707 - 1764", by Rob Chapman, 4 pages (10-13) including a coloured plate, good contemporary notes. Military Illustrated, December 1994, 2nd part to the article by Rob Chapman, 4 pages (14-17} with one coloured plate, this time the text is on the action that this unit saw.

Raids, December 1994, contains an article on "Salvadorean Paratroopers", by Yves Debay, 7 pages of text and good colour photographs plus one on badges, which is the norm for this magazine, these sort of articles are the reason why I buy this magazine, most helpful. Raids, February 1995, "U.S. PSYOP Soldiers in Haiti" by JoMarie Fecci 4 pages, not as interesting as the previous article but it's something. Raids, May 1995, a small insert at the bottom of page 21 showing a Chilean Mountain troops "Instructor's" metal badge with some text on this unit's history.

That's the last of them and my table-top is now clear, many thanks go to these people who have sent and helped obtain these titles: Paul V. Walsh, Andrew Preziosi, Marco Dini Bruno, Robert L. Scheina, David Mahan, Kevin R. Young, Charles H. Bogart and Martin Williams.