U.S. Army by the Numbers

April 1, 2014

Gr 3-5-Making excellent use of emphatic titling and well-designed infographics, these browser's treasures offer abbreviated but eye-catching numerical profiles of the four service branches, including information on how many people are currently serving in each to the sizes, top speeds, and weaponry of selected ships and other conveyances. The data is unsourced, but gathered in consultation with military historians and claimed valid as of 2013. Readers will also enjoy introductions to historical high and low spots, such as Pearl Harbor and recent Marine Corps Disaster Relief missions in Haiti and Pakistan-not to mention, they'll learn how many push-ups are required for graduation from Navy and Navy SEAL training, the average Army pay in 1949 vs. 2013, and, just for fun, sets of random facts about each branch. Color and period photos throughout add appropriately martial visual notes.

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July 1, 2014
These books rely on graphics superimposed on color photos to give quantifying information about the army's and navy's size, structure, equipment, history, training, salary, special forces, and career options. The chaotic design and lack of much context for the numbers makes the organization seem arbitrary and the presentation frustrating to follow. Reading list. Glos., ind.

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)