Swords and Hilt Weapons

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 This book can be enjoyed as a coffee table experience or on a deeper level as a valuable resource for historical reference.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 [...]

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.

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 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!