Swords and Swordsmen Hardcover – March 4, 2011

Hardback Review: Mike Loades, for those that don't know him, is a fairly well known ancient weapons expert. He's been on the BBC, Nat Geo, and various History and Smithsonian channel shows. His energy is infectious. His love of the history and subject matter is obvious. He's literally a joy to watch in these shows. If you can, hunt down his 5 part series Sword, Bow, Lance, etc. So it was with some trepidation that I approached this book. I was worried that maybe his scholarship would be off. I was incredibly worried that the "warm, folksy, enthusiastic, love of the subject" wouldn't come through and what he would present would be dry and painful to read. I've found this often happens to television experts when they write. Fortunately I couldn't have been more wrong. I'll start with the book. It's beautiful. Thick pages. A joy to read. Now Mike's writing style. It's fantastic. It's literally like he's standing next to you talking to you. It's rare to read someone who's writing style so resembles his speaking style. As Mike's speaking style is what drew me to him and his combination of knowledge and speaking style is what keeps me searching for his projects, I absolutely could not be happier. In fact, despite the deep respect I have for him, his television talking style is so friendly that I just can't not call him "Mike" instead of "Mr. Loades." Occasionally, and because there is literally no first person source material on some of this, he has to work his way through mechanics and his explanation starts to resemble a travel log instead of a piece of research history. If this is shocking to you, please don't be surprised. This is often the case with books on this subject where first person source material has to be filled in with a knowledge of biomechanics. Finally his scholarship. I have several friends who are experts in the field who have disputed some of his conclusions. This, to me, actually strengthens the arguments on the quality of his scholarship. The only history texts, or anthropology texts, or ancient weapons texts, that no one bothers to disagree with are those that are so poorly written and researched that experts in the field didn't even feel like they were worth the energy of disagreeing with them or presenting a counter argument. The better written and researched a text is on the subject, the more experts you will get who disagree with the conclusions. So as such, for presentation, writing style, and scholarship I give this book 5 stars. My only wish is that he had done a few more ancient weapons (he starts with King Tut and goes right through to George Washington) and had not diverted from Western to Eastern swords as my personal feeling is that it's very much three different books worth of writing. Ancient and Medieval, Eastern, and what I'll call Napoleonic. That having been said he lays out very cleary, and in that same brilliant conversational writing style, his reasons for doing so. I can't argue with his logic or his reasons. It's more he did such a wonderful job that I wish he would have instead done some other swords from the era that I adore studying instead of the swords from time periods that I wasn't quite as interested in. Thus it's not really a complaint as a fond wish. Excellent job Mr. Loades! I bought this on Kindle as well. Kindle review is below or separate if I can convince Amazon to let me do that.Kindle Review: Okay. I also bought this on Kindle. I have a Kindle 2 and a Kindle DX. I have access to a Kindle 3 to put it on, but haven't tried. Yes. I'm a Kindle geek. Mr. Loades asked that all who bought it on Kindle give it a review as well to make sure there were no obvious problems with it. So for Kindle I'm going to give it 4.5 stars. It would be 5 stars based on how well edited the transition of the text was to the Kindle format. I literally noticed no differences in format. Occasionally the first transition to Kindle involves odd, unintended, format changes and weird character transpositions that the author and Amazon have to be notified about. This is not the case here. I don't know if it's sheer luck, a commendable attention to detail in the transfer process, or an excellent editor, but the transfer is nearly perfect. On the DX, the pictures are excellent. I've tried it on both the first generation DX and the second generation DX (I remind you. Serious Kindle geek.) and while there is some slight pixelation when the pictures are zoomed, there isn't much. Additionally the black and white pictures come out quite well on the DX. They do lose something on the Kindle 2, however. The primary reason I would give it 4.5 stars on Kindle is because, having both Kindle and Hardback versions, the Hardback version is so well put together. Because the book is in many ways a work of art you lose some things, like the steel pattern (bit of a spoiler) that Mike talks about that is on the cover under the dust jacket that is obviously not there in the Kindle edition. That having been said, I work in an environment where I would destroy the book if I carried it around, but at the same time my job has a lot of down time where I get to read (Thus do we explain my cornucopia of Kindles.), so I am ecstatic to have it on Kindle. If you have the Kindle DX, you definitely won't be disappointed buying it in that format, especially if you have the second generation DX where the next generation E ink technology is used. If you have the Kindle 3, I suspect, that with the next generation E-ink technology, you won't be disappointed either, even in the smaller screen format. If you have the Kindle 2 you might be disappointed a bit, but you're still getting a fantastic book. In other words I highly recommend buying it on Kindle. I have no opinions and having tried the Kindle on computer or Ipad or Google apps. I suspect that with the more advanced imaging capability those platforms have that the slight pixelation problem of the pictures will disappear. I truly don't know, however. I hope that helps.Addendum to the Kindle Review: If using the Kindle App for Ipad, then the pictures are in color. I haven't seen it on the Ipad myself so I'm taking it from a second hand source, but a very very reliable source.Addendum to the addendum: I promised Mike and myself that as I continuously upgraded Kindle designs I would upgrade the review. That was, of course, before Amazon came out with 5 kinds! I'm still trying as I acquire them, though. I just ran through it on the Kindle Fire. All pages and pictures are in color. The book comes out in full color. The color pictures are nice although they do tend to pixilate if you zoom in on them as they are only expansions of the original size photos, not larger picture files. All in all I give it another half star for the color, but it would be better if the pictures sharpened as they expanded. This is of course not the nature of the Kindle design set up, so I can't really gripe at Mike for that. I give a total of 5 stars for the book in hardback, 4.5 stars on Kindle(e-ink reader devices), and 4.75 stars in Kindle Fire (it's my review and I can give it a quarter star if I want to) and by extension any LCD or computer device.

Good

I can't add a lot more to what other reviewers have already written about this book - except to say I have ALWAYS found Mike Loades' work erudite, insightful and entertaining, and I dearly hope he will write and film more and leave us a larger legacy to be thankful for. In an age of electronic entertainment and massively reduced physical activity his continuing active experimental archaeology and scholarship with reenactment contribute so very much to our understanding of the past.Like Oakeshott, Hugh Soar, and so many wonderful writers I will acquire anything I can produced by the man.I just wish more of what he has done in the past was available. Some of these men spend a lifetime exploring every aspect of their specialities and suddenly expire before they finish their works, although sometimes someone else is able to finish some of it for them.I've personally been involved in various reenactment groups for more than 3 decades, and being very obsessive/compulsive about also learning about how so much of past daily life, technology, warfare and artisanry was accomplished we have some 8,000 non-fiction books from around fifty countries in our library and having been involved in archery (Society of Archer-Antiquaries for the last good while, once the NAA and NFAA) and a university-trained Industrial Arts Ed. craftsman who has made thousands of things professionally and privately in many skilled trades and crafts since the 1960s I know quality when I see it, and I know what it means and contributes to our lives and how much it can engage our intellect. In his way Mike is a Master of many disciplines with a nearly encyclopedic knowledge of the past which he brings to life again proving the truths and fallacies of past military technologies.(I'm also a member of the MWTCA.org - a tool collectors/users/scholars organization, whose sister organisation is the Early American Industries Associaton or EAIA.org. The craftmen writers of the past few centuries taught me so much that I can thankfully give them credit for making me a far better craftsman. I can also recommend ABANA - the Artists/Blacksmiths' Organization of North America.)Mike Loades is an international treasure - a rare individual who we need to hear more from.I sincerely hope he contributes much more in the time we both have left because I want to enjoy it.I don't want to learn one day he has expired having published only two of five planned scholarly tomes like one terrific archaeologist in Holland I admire. I want him to be a Ewart Oakeshott and now that he has begun writing never stop."Please, Sir, I want some more." - Actually ALL I CAN GET - would a shelffull be possible?.A Grateful reader.Da Chipmunk's old husband.

Let me start out on the positive and by saying that I was really impressed by Mr. Loades' style and format of the book. He doesn't get lost in the minute' of the morphology of swords or get lost in their developement and use. He choose people that represent a certain period of time and discusses the sword as they relate to that time as well as the weapons that belonged to that individual. However I did come across across a few comments that make me wish that I could sit down with him and ask him I he really ment them. He states that he has worked with bladesmiths in the preparation of this book but some of his comments about the metallurgy of steel are way off but some of them, especially where the history of the contstruction of swords, agree with just about everthing that I've read.Then there are statements about swords being carried slung across the back and drawn from that position and a comment the the range of an arquebus was 200 yards. Yes, there are references to long swords being carried on the back but not drawn from that position without help or taking off the harness. Yes, I have no doubt that an arquebus of the day could propel a ball 200 yards and probably even farther but that is not the same thing as effective range which was more on the order of 25-50 yards from all else that I've read. Two hunred yards would be twice the effective range of the Brown Bess musket of a later century. Maybe these were just something that was not explained well or was missed in proof reading.Of course you are always going to have those things like can the term claymore be used for the two handed Scottish sword or just the later basket hilted sword of the Highlands.Overall a very strongly written book with just a few too many things that are questionable to give five stars.

My first impression of this book was that it is a fascinating and thorough history of the most famous swords and swordsmen to grace the battlefield. The beauty of this book is it covers numerous civilisations from the ancient egyptians to the japanese samurai, and gives an insight into the culture of that part of the world at that time. There are some beautiful photos which accompany the swords or armour, and more importantly the author has presented a breakdown of the different parts of the armour or sword. I have a particular interest in norse sagas and history, and was glad to see a chapter on Raedwald the Viking king of the east angles. This chapter provided an additional support to my understanding of norse tactics in war and their culture with the sword and its magical properties. One such occassion recalls the sword Skofnung, which can if used correctly produce a serpent to accompany the wielder in battle, however in the context of Kormac's saga (to whom the author is referring), Kormac unsuccessfully wields the sword and is consequently subjected to a stalemate. Overall the sheer vastness of the cultures and societies covered makes the book impossible to put down, and i often refer to it when i have questions surrounding the topics of warfare and swords. The chapter on Henry V, the warrior king and his subsequent conquest of France, is also a fascinating insight for this era of warfare, and tells of Henry's gradual rise to the crown and victory at Agincourt. The japanese samurai Uesugi Kenshin was clearly a fabulous warrior, and the chapter relating to him and his feud with Takeda Shingen is very interesting. The japanese have an obvious history with the sword and treat it with reverence as a result, to which the author details the swords importance and development within japanese society today. Overall this book is an excellent addition to ones library of medieval literature, and will always be an excellent source for related topics. I must also note that the norse sagas, such as the warrior poets and sigurd the dragonslayer sagas are well complimented with this book, as it describes the formation of the viking army, its tactics and overall impact on Ireland and Britain at that time. I would highly recommend this book for anyone interested in norse sagas, japanese history and the development of the sword throughout the ages, from Alexander the Great to the shogun of japan.

I have been fencing for a few years now and really wanted to expand my knowledge of swords throughout history, this book was recommended by one of my instructors and I have really enjoyed reading it. It gives a very good overview of the sword that it talks about before going into details about its manufacture, use and history. Complete with photos and illustrations it really makes each sword come to life.

I've always been interested in the fighting arts and when I saw Mike loades had written a book I had to have it. It didn't disappoint, it shows a passion lacking in a lot of other books. The way it is structured around historical figures and swords that still exist today (a lot you could go and view yourself) really brings it to life. A welcome change from the usual dry history book.

A delightful book. Obviously written by someone who has a real passion for swords and swordsmanship. The action is almost palpable. As a collector, if not a re-enactor, I understand what it feels like to hold an object that symbolises so much in your hand and feel it speak to you. This book does that for me also.

An utterly fascinating study into swords, their development, and the warriors that once wielded them. A must buy for any fantasy writers, historical fiction, HEMA or LARPers