Customer Reviews

Bayonets - An Illustrated History

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The bayonet has not been an effective military weapon since the days of Napoleon. But every military incorporates a bayonet into their latest fully automatic assault weapon and trains their soldiers in their use. In part this is incorporated into military training, I can remember the drill sergeants teaching us to scream, "The spirit of the bayonet is to kill."

In reality, I think that if you are spending your days camping out in the woods you find a knife to be invaluable. And if you have a knife, it just as well may have the capability of being attached to the end of your rifle (and a bayonet clip is one of the characteristics that define an Assault Rifle in the US). In turn, bayonets have become collectible items in themselves.

In this book, Martin Brayley provides an extensive and in-depth examination of bayonets from 37 countries all around the world, over 300 bayonets in all! He starts with an early plug bayonet, hard to say what rifle it fit as it would work with any rifle of the proper caliber. Then he goes on to the ring or socket bayonets of the 1700's, and from their through the bolt actions of all militaries and on to today's latest designs.

Written by a military photographer of 24 years' experience, Bayonets: An Illustrated History offers an in-depth examination of the role of the bayonet in military conflicts worldwide from 1650 to present. More than 500 photographs enhance Bayonets: An Illustrated History. 300 different types of bayonets are closely scrutinized; almost every photograph features a capsule of notes specific to its topic. The text, while intended more for serious military historian than the lay reader, is highly accessible as it traces the design evolutions and purposes of bayonets as history passed. A welcome contribution to military and weapon history shelves.

This is basically a "coffee table book" of pictures of bayonets. If you are looking for any depth of information on bayonets, look elsewhere.

Photography in this book is excellent and sometimes the visuals are better than the text in aiding identification. The author points out some nuances in transitions that I had not encountered before. I felt it was worth the price and very handy as a quick reference.

Nice book. Excellent pictures which are very helpful whenn identifying items. Also text is well written. Some interesting bayonets are missing in this book.

I bought 1 of these for myself and 1 for my brother. The photographs show detail that cannot be seen in drawings. In combination with Kiesling's books (or the new complete edition), they are an aid to positive identification. The 2 that I ordered were used soft-bound, from 2 different sources. Both were in excellent condition and at less than $20 each, are real bargains.

Tom

Another great book from Martin Brayley, The second book of his I own! I am not an experienced Boyonet Collector nor do I claim to be an expert on said subject book this book helped me identify and expand on my collection it has been a great help, with hundreds of quality images and a great informative understandable text this is a must have for Bayonet fans worldwide!

A very well illustrated book with lots of examples, with a lot of detailed photos of distinctions between models. I wish it was hardcover, but otherwise I think it's great. It may not be what a very experienced collector (I'm not one!) might want or need but really has a lot of information on bayonets from many countries.

Like a few other military books Bayonets: An Illustrated History by great author Martin J. Brayley gives us an accurate descritpion and amazing, extensive photographic material to illustrate each and every example.
For collectors and simpatizers alike this is a book worth having in any military collection.

Written by a military photographer of 24 years' experience, Bayonets: An Illustrated History offers an in-depth examination of the role of the bayonet in military conflicts worldwide from 1650 to present. More than 500 photographs enhance Bayonets: An Illustrated History. 300 different types of bayonets are closely scrutinized; almost every photograph features a capsule of notes specific to its topic. The text, while intended more for serious military historian than the lay reader, is highly accessible as it traces the design evolutions and purposes of bayonets as history passed. A welcome contribution to military and weapon history shelves.