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Post by stromloswordsusa on Feb 20, 2009 13:34:01 GMT
Hi all,
Just got a copy of "The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Swords and Sabres" by Harvey Withers (who did a great World Swords book) recently printed.
While it is a coffee table reference book, I thought it was well worth the $23 I paid.
Has plenty of history, covers most period and countries and compares about 400 blades at the back using basic info and same format. Great pictures throughout.
Got me wondering if anyone else has any good suggestions for some books they like?
cheers,
rob
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Post by hotspur on Feb 20, 2009 17:14:08 GMT
Hi Rob, I had not so recently posted a growing list for my library. A much more inclusive list had been offered in that same thread, including contributions including Withers books. forums.swordforum.com/showthread.php?t=90613There are many lists offed up in the A&M room of SFI and a nonfiction subforum along with book lists at myArmoury. I have spent a good deal of information just concentrating on a few decades of American sword development and am bound to adding more in time. Lots of things have been on a bit of a hold for me (health and finances) but I am outlining a few possible articles for further publications. Cheers Hotspur; the collective of forumites of the SFI A&M room are a fantastic pool of information regarding these periods |
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Post by Kilted Cossack on Feb 20, 2009 20:23:30 GMT
Hotspur:
Thank you for sharing your experience and insights. I know, from fora involving sixguns and kilts, how tiresome it can be to continually share knowledge with nuggets. (Nuggets being my phrase for new guys or n00bz.) As a thorough nugget here, it is appreciated.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 20, 2009 21:28:12 GMT
Thanks for the heads up, Stromlo, I had forgotten to check the availability of this book, ordering...
And also thanks for the infos, Hotspur.
Reflingar
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Post by Deleted on Feb 21, 2009 0:45:25 GMT
Thanks man
I have been waiting for this book. I ordered it many months ago on amazon but it stayed in the limbo of pre-order for a long time, anyway I just re-ordered it (had cancelled my other order some time ago). Thanks again
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Post by Deleted on Mar 4, 2009 18:35:09 GMT
Yesterday I was surprised to see a package addresses to me sitting in the front hall, and in it was Harvey's new book, Illustrated Encyclopedia of Swords and Sabers (thanks, mom!). I have not had a chance to do any real reading in it, but I can say that it is lavishly illustrated (in color) with a wide range of swords. For the photos alone it is probably worth the asking price. I can tell it is not going to get too detailed about any one topic as it is an overview of swords from throughout history and spanning the globe.
I'll try to go into detail when I've head a chance to read through the book. For now, though, it looks like a good general reference for swords in general.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 6, 2009 21:50:30 GMT
Got the book about 2 weeks ago, had the time to read most of it. Overall, I like this book, lots of great images and lots of infos are included in it. However, some of these informations bugged me.
For example, the authors claims that, during the Crusades, the christian invaders from Europe were heavily-armored and equiped with straight double edged swords, so far so good. But, the next line claims that the Muslims were lightly armored and used mostly curved sabers and scimitars. I think this ''fact'' is a popular myth, because as far as I know, in that era the crusaders and theirs foes used very similar equipment.
Also, the author writes that the fuller (on medieval blades) was a ''blood grove'', to let blood flow and help the blade penetrate human body ect. Another thing that I'm not so sure of but that is often considered as a fact.
On the bright side, theirs a lot of images from many different eras and places. The focus is on european weaponry and timeline, but many pages overview weapons from Japan, China, India, Africa and the Phillipines, Indonesia ect. Theirs a full 3-4 pages with multiples images of 16th and 17th century basket-hilt broadswords (schiavatever and mortuary-hilts included) and many pages about cavalry and infantry sabers from the 18th to 20th century. Most of the info there is about British and French blades and the informations presented seemed more convincing than the ones from the medieval age(which doesn't surprise me; fron what I know, the author is a well-known expert and collector of British and French swords from that era).
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Post by Deleted on Mar 6, 2009 22:45:45 GMT
Based on by brief skim of the book, I agree that the book's bias is toward later European swords, which makes sense given the author's collecting and selling interests. I think this is what happens when a specialist in one field tries to make a general reference. Co-authoring can be challenging logistically I'd guess, but a more balanced text would probably result. Still, it is not meant to be an academic ground-breaker, but it is unfortunate that some myths have made it into the book. As a general coffee table type book, it is quite nice, especially visually.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 7, 2009 17:08:34 GMT
I just picked up a book that looks almost exactly like this one except it's called the World Encyclopedia of Swords and Sabers; has almost exactly the same cover except with red border and it says 800 pictures. It's a paperback.
Best part it was in the bargain section at Borders for 7 bucks.
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