The Indispensable booklist

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Robinson, H. Russell. The Armour of Imperial Rome. New York: Scribner, 1975. For almost two decades, the best source on Roman armor. While Bishop and Coulston have the advantage of being still in print (and thus much cheaper) and also more current, this book is still an invaluable reference work. The chapter on the lorica segmentata, which was the first detailed historical study of the type, is itself worth the effort of an interlibrary loan. Since it's never been reprinted, it's mucho expensive second hand, but worth it if you're into serious reference library building.

Bishop, M. C. and J. C. N. Coulston. Roman Military Equipment: From the Punic Wars to the Fall of Rome. 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxbow, 2006. This title has been mentioned before, but it's worth mentioning it again, as it was the book that superseded Robinson to become the standard source on Roman equipment. It's available new in paperback for a reasonable price; certainly you couldn't get a better return on $40 in this pursuit anywhere else. As an added bonus, you can interact with the author on this forum!

Bishop, M. C. Lorica Segmentata Volume I: A Handbook of Articulated Roman Plate Armour. JRES Monograph 1. Chirnside, Berwickshire: Armatura P, 2002. For those interested in the lorica segmentata, this is an indispensable book. You must have it. For one thing, it's the only full-length book devoted specifically to the topic. Secondly, it's written by the man who co-authored the standard source on Roman military equipmant. Finally, the author has made it freely available online at scribd.com. All you have to do is download it. This is a no-brainer. Equally desirable is the companion volume by M. D. Thomas (also freely available on scribd.com) which catalogues every published archeological find related to the lorica segmentata. We're talking page after page of line drawings of buckles and scraps. If there's a published archeological find related to the segmentata, you'll find a picture of it in here. Indispensable.