"The background, strategies, tactics and battlefield experiences of the greatest commanders of history" with copious illustrations and photographs all in 64 pages. The Osprey Command series still struggles in the execution of its impossible aspiration. Even such a veteran author as Stephen Turnbull fails in developing a suitable framework. He spends a lot of time given an introduction to Japanese history in general and Hideyoshi's overlord Oda Nobunaga in particular. This allocation of space forces him to cut Hideyoshi's biography off at his zenith, the reunification of Japan. Hideyoshi's years governing Japan and his Korean expedition receive hardly a mention. The potted history of Japan in this Command title is essentially wasted on all but history buffs and Samurai Total War players due to the relentless daimyo name-dropping. If you don't know about Hojo and Shimazu, these few lines will not be of much help.

I would advise Osprey to either enlarge the page number to 98 (of the Campaign titles) or to rigorously refer to other Osprey titles, in this case unloading much of the basic history to the essential history also written by Turnbull, thus liberating space for a true assessment of Hideyoshi. Given the few titles about Hideyoshi that exist in English, this is still a welcome addition but not a heads-up to the Command series. While I find the commissioned paintings a bit too crude in style, the photography and illustrations are often stunning. Recommended to the sengoku jidai veteran seeking additional material. A novice might better start with one of Turnbull's general books. ( )