Catapult: Harry and I Build a Siege Weapon [Paperback]

Jim Paul (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 15, 1997 | Series: Harvest Book

An “enormously entertaining” (Smithsonian), “clever, subtle, and adroit” account (Wall Street Journal) of how the author and his friend constructed a medieval siege engine in a San Francisco backyard. “So funny that I could not put it down” (Los Angeles Times).

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

On a whim the author and a friend built a catapult modeled on an ancient prototype, an experience that gave rise to this meditation on the blood-soaked past, present and future of the human race.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

While the author's purpose in building a catapult was to have fun tossing rocks into San Francisco Bay, his account is much more than that. It is a history of catapults from ancient times. It is a clear and joyous description of how to assemble the machine in this day and age. It is a musing on war and sieges--from Syracuse to Josephus's Jerusalem and beyond. It is a little biographical information. And it is the story of Paul and his partner's growing friendship and respect in sharing the project. With humor and an ingratiating style, Paul has produced a unique book that is enjoyable, informative, and at times inspiring. More literature than technology, this delightful book is highly recommended.
- Robert H. Donahugh, formerly with Youngstown and Mahoning Cty. P.L., Ohio
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books (October 15, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0156005565
• ISBN-13: 978-0156005562
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,376,724 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "We Left our Rock in San Francisco", May 14, 2000

By 

M. Allen Greenbaum (California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Catapult: Harry and I Build a Siege Weapon (Paperback)

This is NOT intended as a "technical" handbook on making catapults: If that's your thing, you should probably try to find the equivalent of "Medieval Soldiers of Fortune." Nor is it a popular mechanics book primarily for men; just as fine arts are not, of course, just for women.

Instead, it is a book about two men who build an anachonism, and have fun while doing it. Inspired by a Scientific American volume, delving into ancient and contemporary history (they meet the inventor of the "Ozzy Osbourne Liver Launcher," a catapult designed to fling cow organs into the audience, but which, in its beta version, splattered security personnel on stage) they recount the difficulties of recreating a centuries-old weapon without DOD funding (although they succeed in winning a $500 grant from a local Arts Center "to observe the impulse to shoot a catapult").

The authors describe the catapult's history, with notes on the development, historical use, and mechanics of other weapons. All of this is interesting, but is not the heart of the book: How two contemporary adults--with the vague and unencumbered fascination of the naive--transcend limited mechanical and material resources and build something transcendent and personal, both art and science. Self-indulgent? Perhaps. But clear, plain writing and a nice eye for detail make this entertaining and unusual story work.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A smart, superblly written story, May 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Catapult: Harry and I Build a Siege Weapon (Paperback)

Catapult is perhaps my favorite book - and I'm a nonfiction writer, who reads. The ironic voice, the pitch-perfect sense of humor, the grabby topic - but best of all, Paul interweaves a beautifully and concisely told story, about boys being boys, with a fascinating episodes-with-catapults history and with a surprising and wary meditation on the joys but also the questionable consequences of boys being boys. It's terrific.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars no weird obsession with ancient weapons is required, November 21, 2000

By 

Orrin C. Judd "brothersjudddotcom" (Hanover, NH USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Catapult: Harry and I Build a Siege Weapon (Paperback)

...

In this book, Jim Paul too is fascinated by catapults and by the concept of throwing stones for great distances. He wangles some grant money, recruits his friend Harry and together they build a working catapult & hurl stones off of a cliff in Marin County. Interspersed with the true story of their project are vignettes from the history of the catapult and siege engines ranging from Biblical Times to Edward "Hammer of the Scots".

I loved it and I don't think a weird obsession with ancient weapons is required.

GRADE: B