Customer Reviews

Swords and Hilt Weapons

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

 

 

This is the most complete reference I have seen on the subject, rife with good photographs and superb research. Each chapter is written by a different person (experts I assume) and provides exceptional detail. It has sections on Bronze and Iron Age weapons; western weapons from Rome through WWII; Japanese swords; Indian weapons; and Chinese and Southeast Asian weapons; it even covers African weapons quite well. If you are starting a library of edged weapons, or already have one, this book must be in it!

As a child I took weapons, swords, daggers, Sgian dubhs, dirks hanging on the wall as the norm for decor. My Grandfather's home was covered with this items that looked wonderful. As I grew I came to appreciate the beautiful and craftsmanship in weapons that dominated warfare for millenniums, until the coming of the more clumsy equaliser guns. Anyone can pick up a gun and fire it, but to use a sword with proficiency was something akinned to a ballet. Thrust, parry, block, defence and offence, from claymore to épées were breathtaking to watch, even more so was the feeling of hold these metal wonders in your hands. So it was not surprising I went on to collect swords. And this book satisfies that love of the weapon. With various contributors, they trace the earliest origins from stone area, bronze age and bronze age to the swords of World Wars I and II. It covers swords from the Middle East, the unsurpassed Japanese Samurai blades, Swords used in China and Central Asia, even into India, Africa and Pre-Conquest America.

It is LOADED with colour pictures of the weapons, historical paintings showing them in use, even details spectrograms on the composition of the swords, how they were made, used from the most basic to the most ornamental dress swords. Every page just is simply amazing.

Highly recommended any any sword collection, anyone interested in knowing more about these weapons that forged our history and especially of interest to historical writer and historical romance writers. An Absolute MUST for them.

This is one of the first books I bought when I started collecting arms and armour. The color photographs are detailed and of good quality, and there is a fairly good range of swords from European to Indian/oriental. I have found myself reaching for this book as a resource many times. I highly recommend it.

I own the 2000 reprint of the book. The text copyright is by Coe et.al 1989; compilation copyright is by Prion books 1996. Apparently it is a compilation, and it shows, which is why I call the book schizofrenic. It is very well illustrated, but in the text there are no references at all to the illustrations. Generally you'll find an illustration of the type of weapon discussed in the text nearby, but sometimes you'll have to page back or forth or it cannot be found. So text and images are really separate.

I call the book myopic because of its focus on description of the appearance of the objects. There is almost nothing on metallurgy or materials science, forging, technical advances throughout history, fencing or tactical use, or the military or cultural circumstances why certain types have been preferred in a culture at some period of time (shape, length, straight or curved, one- or two-edged, piercing or cutting, etc.); only the chapter on Japanes swords touches upon some of these topics.

Overall I found the book disappointing.

I'm an artist working with edged weapons to create welded steel sculptures. I found this book to be a great source of illustrations and background on the history of the sword. Getting a feel for the use of each sword as well as the period in time that it was created has inspired me to develop new forms and combinations of individual elements. This book can be enjoyed as a coffee table experience or on a deeper level as a valuable resource for historical reference.
Jim

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