These books depict the weaponry and defenses employed during two of America's earliest wars. The scant texts lack historical context, but military buffs may appreciate the archival war images, close-ups of weapons, and photographs of sites from each war. Fact inserts provide additional information; significant words are highlighted and defined. Reading list. Glos., ind.

DOEDEN, Matt . Weapons of World War I. ISBN 978-1-4296-1971-4 . LC 2008001990. DOEDEN, Matt . Weapons of World War II. ISBN 978-1-4296-1972-1 . LC 2008000525. ea vol: 32p. (Weapons of War Series). photos. reprods. further reading. glossary. index. Web sites. CIP. Capstone/Blazers . 2008. PLB $22.60. Gr 2-4 The titles indicate that these books are descriptions of period weapons, but the texts are a convoluted jumble of sentences that try to describe the action of battle by attaching fragments of weapon information. More can be gained from the photographs than from the choppy, sometimes wordy, texts. Yellow "Weapon Fact" boxes are supposed to give additional information, but one-third of them don't even mention weapons. Some of the full-page vintage photos are grainy. The smaller gallery photos are clearer. There isn't much here except for a few photos that are available elsewhere. These oversimplified books miss the target completely. Eldon Younce, Harper Elementary School, KS