Pictorial History of the Sword

A detailed account of the development of swords, sabres, spears and lances illustrated with over 230 photographs and images

Published by Southwater
Distributed by Simon & Schuster

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About The Book

• A fascinating history of edged weapons, written by a leading antique sword expert and lavishly illustrated with over 230 images • Includes information on Japanese, Chinese, African and Indian swords as well as covering in detail the development of the weapon in Western Europe • Contains descriptions of the fighting techniques of some of the most skilful warriors of their time, including the hoplite spearmen of ancient Greece, Roman gladiators, and the Japanese Samurai • A superb reference work for military historians, curators, and all enthusiasts of edged weaponry of every period. This book traces the fascinating history of swords, spears and lances through to the 21st century. From their Palaeolithic origins and the appearance of the first swords in Bronze Age Europe and Mesopotamia, it describes how the weapons carved out some of the greatest civilizations in the world. With special sections on the sword in Japanese, Chinese, African and Indian cultures as well as an examination of the American sword and Naval swords, this book presents a broad-ranging work on swords throughout world history, and forms an indispensable resource for the keen collector and enthusiast. 

About The Author

Product Details

  • Publisher: Southwater (October 16, 2010)
  • Length: 96 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781844768394

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Raves and Reviews

This short book (around 100 pages), written by Harvey J. S. Withers aims to summarize hundreds of years of history of the sword around the world, and I have to say that I think it succeeds. Starting from the origins of the weapons around 2.5 millions years ago, analyzing the greeks', romans', vikings', saxons'... Weapons, to finish with the napoleonic and post-napoleonic sabres, this book compiles the history and evolution of the sword in Asia, Africa and Europe. Furthermore, thanks to the dozens of pictures and explanatory tables, which comment many curiosities, traditions or anecdotes, it is even easier to understand what the author is trying to explain. As it is impossible to speak about the importance of the sword without speaking about the historical context, Withers also explains very briefly important aspects that are necessary to understand the reasons of certain topics. That's why it is not only a book about swords and Sabres. Este es un libro corto (en torno a las 100 páginas), escrito en inglés por Harvey J. A Withers y actualmente no disponible en idioma español, que trata de resumir la historia de la espada durante sus miles de años de historia en Europa principalmente, pero comentando también la historia de la espada en África y Asia. Comienza desde los orígenes de las armas hace 2.5 millones de años y termina en torno a la primera guerra mundial. Cuenta con decenas de imágenes y cuadros explicativos que ayudan a comprender más fácilmente de lo que habla el autor. Y además, como es imposible no comentar el contexto histórico, el autor también lo comenta brevemente en las explicaciones, lo que hace que el libro sea más que uno sobre espadas y sables.

– Eneko Artzi, Ancient Soldiers blog

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