review Archive

  • This book fills me with nerd rage. It's such an arrogant and ill-informed Victorian age view of the history of fencing. The author is so thoroughly caught up with the nineteenth century idea of progress that he cannot see anything beyond what he wants to see. Sadly, the book is still the best history of fencing from the Middle Ages to the present day. Here's a sample:

    Review: Schools and Masters of Fencing

    Posted on 21 May, 2012 | 1 Comment
    This book fills me with nerd rage. It's such an arrogant and ill-informed Victorian age view of the history of fencing. The author is so thoroughly caught up with the nineteenth century idea of progress that he cannot see anything beyond what he wants to see. Sadly, the book is still the best history of fencing from the Middle Ages to the present day. Here's a sample:

    Continue Reading...

  • Flat Earth: The History of an Infamous Idea by Christine Garwood is at once incredibly interesting and hopelessly broken. It is seriously let down by its misleading subtitle and back cover blurb as well as by meandering aimlessly through its subject matter. Nevertheless, it's a fascinating look at the development of science and the persistence of belief in the cold hard light of fact.

    Review: Flat Earth

    Posted on 7 May, 2012 | No Comments
    Flat Earth: The History of an Infamous Idea by Christine Garwood is at once incredibly interesting and hopelessly broken. It is seriously let down by its misleading subtitle and back cover blurb as well as by meandering aimlessly through its subject matter. Nevertheless, it's a fascinating look at the development of science and the persistence of belief in the cold hard light of fact.

    Continue Reading...

  • <p><strong>Title</strong>: The Knight in History<br /> <strong>Author</strong>: Frances Gies<br /> <strong>Paperback</strong>: 272 pages<br /> <strong>Publisher</strong>: Harper Perennial, 2011<br /> <strong>Language</strong>: English</p> <p>Any one with an interest in the middle ages should read this book. It’s definitely not a masterpiece of literature but it clearly outline the development of the concept of knighthood from its origins in the eighth and ninth centuries until its slow, sad decline around the sixteenth century. The unstated aim of the work appears to be to counter the dreadful notions of knighthood we’ve inherited from the the Victorian era.</p> <p>Professor Gies covers history of knighthood […]</p>

    Review: The Knight in History

    Posted on 6 February, 2012 | No Comments

    Title: The Knight in History
    Author: Frances Gies
    Paperback: 272 pages
    Publisher: Harper Perennial, 2011
    Language: English

    Any one with an interest in the middle ages should read this book. It’s definitely not a masterpiece of literature but it clearly outline the development of the concept of knighthood from its origins in the eighth and ninth centuries until its slow, sad decline around the sixteenth century. The unstated aim of the work appears to be to counter the dreadful notions of knighthood we’ve inherited from the the Victorian era.

    Professor Gies covers history of knighthood […]

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  • <p><strong>Title</strong>: Pegasus Bridge<br /> <strong>Author</strong>: Stephen E Ambrose<br /> <strong>Paperback</strong>: 256 pages<br /> <strong>Publisher</strong>: Simon & Schuster 2002<br /> <strong>Language</strong>: English</p> <p>Ambrose book is a great read for anyone with even a passing interest in the event but it is not without its faults. It’s purpose should be thought of as an introduction to this amazing event in military history rather than a definitive or in-depth history of the action.</p> <p>Growing up on war movies and historical miniatures gaming, I’ve pretty much always been aware of the efforts of Johnny Howard‘s lads to take and hold the bridges over […]</p>

    Review: Pegasus Bridge

    Posted on 16 January, 2012 | No Comments

    Title: Pegasus Bridge
    Author: Stephen E Ambrose
    Paperback: 256 pages
    Publisher: Simon & Schuster 2002
    Language: English

    Ambrose book is a great read for anyone with even a passing interest in the event but it is not without its faults. It’s purpose should be thought of as an introduction to this amazing event in military history rather than a definitive or in-depth history of the action.

    Growing up on war movies and historical miniatures gaming, I’ve pretty much always been aware of the efforts of Johnny Howard‘s lads to take and hold the bridges over […]

    Continue Reading...

  • <p>I figured that since we’re at the end of the year I’d better have a look at how this little blog has performed. None of the stats about which posts and pages were the most popular match what I expected so see. Hmmm….. Perhaps I should change what I’m doing here.</p> <p>The first surprise is the number of people who read my blog. On average, there’s 730 page views here per month with a daily average rising steadily from 20 per day in January to 35 per day in November. I must be doing something right even though it appears […]</p>

    My Blog’s Year-in-Review

    Posted on 23 December, 2011 | No Comments

    I figured that since we’re at the end of the year I’d better have a look at how this little blog has performed. None of the stats about which posts and pages were the most popular match what I expected so see. Hmmm….. Perhaps I should change what I’m doing here.

    The first surprise is the number of people who read my blog. On average, there’s 730 page views here per month with a daily average rising steadily from 20 per day in January to 35 per day in November. I must be doing something right even though it appears […]

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  • <p><strong>Title</strong>: On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society<br /> <strong>Author</strong>: Lt. Col. Dave Grossman<br /> <strong>Paperback</strong>: 416 pages<br /> <strong>Publisher</strong>: Back Bay Books (revised) 2009<br /> <strong>Language</strong>: English</p> <p>This is a fascinating read which ultimately tries to cram too much into too small a book. Depending on which of its many and sometimes conflicting aims you are considering, it either succeeds marvellously or fails dismally. At its heart, however, the book explores what happens to men on the battlefield, what it takes to make them kill and how they live with the knowledge […]</p>

    Book Review: On Killing

    Posted on 16 December, 2011 | 1 Comment

    Title: On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society
    Author: Lt. Col. Dave Grossman
    Paperback: 416 pages
    Publisher: Back Bay Books (revised) 2009
    Language: English

    This is a fascinating read which ultimately tries to cram too much into too small a book. Depending on which of its many and sometimes conflicting aims you are considering, it either succeeds marvellously or fails dismally. At its heart, however, the book explores what happens to men on the battlefield, what it takes to make them kill and how they live with the knowledge […]

    Continue Reading...

  • <p>Title: A Model Victory: Waterloo and the Battle for History<br /> Author: Malcolm Balen<br /> Paperback: 304 pages<br /> Publisher: HarperPerennial (2006)<br /> Language: English</p> <p>I was looking for a small and accessible history of the Napoleonic Wars or of Waterloo (most books on the subject are neither) when I found this gem. It’s not so much a history of Waterloo, as I originally thought, but a description of how of the Battle for the Battle of Waterloo in which various force vie to be the one who writes the history of that fateful day — a much more interesting subject as it turns […]</p>

    Review: A Model Victory

    Posted on 9 September, 2011 | No Comments

    Title: A Model Victory: Waterloo and the Battle for History
    Author: Malcolm Balen
    Paperback: 304 pages
    Publisher: HarperPerennial (2006)
    Language: English

    I was looking for a small and accessible history of the Napoleonic Wars or of Waterloo (most books on the subject are neither) when I found this gem. It’s not so much a history of Waterloo, as I originally thought, but a description of how of the Battle for the Battle of Waterloo in which various force vie to be the one who writes the history of that fateful day — a much more interesting subject as it turns […]

    Continue Reading...

  • <p><strong>Title</strong>: Inquisition<br /> <strong>Author</strong>: Edward Peters<br /> <strong>Paperback</strong>: 362 pages<br /> <strong>Publisher</strong>: University of California Press, 1989<br /> <strong>Language</strong>: English</p> <p>This brilliant study is immensely valuable to the amateur historian on three levels. The least of these is how it shows the Inquisition as the outcome of the legal system of Ancient Rome. It also examines in detail the organization, procedures, process and results of the various inquisition throughout an 800+ year history based on the notoriously meticulous records recently released from the Vatican Archive. More importantly, it compares the process of the inquisition to that of secular courts […]</p>

    Review: Inquisition

    Posted on 26 August, 2011 | No Comments

    Title: Inquisition
    Author: Edward Peters
    Paperback: 362 pages
    Publisher: University of California Press, 1989
    Language: English

    This brilliant study is immensely valuable to the amateur historian on three levels. The least of these is how it shows the Inquisition as the outcome of the legal system of Ancient Rome. It also examines in detail the organization, procedures, process and results of the various inquisition throughout an 800+ year history based on the notoriously meticulous records recently released from the Vatican Archive. More importantly, it compares the process of the inquisition to that of secular courts […]

    Continue Reading...

  • <p><strong>Title:</strong> D-Day 6 June 1944<br /> <strong>Author:</strong> Stephen E Ambrose<br /> <strong>Paperback:</strong> 656 pages<br /> <strong>Publisher:</strong> Simon & Schuster<br /> <strong>Language:</strong> English</p> <p>D-Day is one of the few truly momentous events of the twentieth century. Ambrose book captures the experience from the recollections and memories of the poor bastards who lived through it. In this, he has created a wonderful record of the build up, execution and aftermath of the event which should be read by everyone. The book’s only fault is that it’s written by an American.</p> <p>The strategy of the book is to start at the widest possible scale then narrow in […]</p>

    D-Day 6 June 1944 by Stephen E Ambrose

    Posted on 22 July, 2011 | 1 Comment

    Title: D-Day 6 June 1944
    Author: Stephen E Ambrose
    Paperback: 656 pages
    Publisher: Simon & Schuster
    Language: English

    D-Day is one of the few truly momentous events of the twentieth century. Ambrose book captures the experience from the recollections and memories of the poor bastards who lived through it. In this, he has created a wonderful record of the build up, execution and aftermath of the event which should be read by everyone. The book’s only fault is that it’s written by an American.

    The strategy of the book is to start at the widest possible scale then narrow in […]

    Continue Reading...

  • <p>Niccolo Machiavelli is the odd man out on my Italian Renaissance reading list in that he is a political theorist rather than a poet and lived around 150-200 years are the other three authors on the list: Dante, Boccaccio and Petrarch. He’s also completely misunderstood by people who have only read his other famous book, <em>The Prince</em>.</p> <p><em>Discourses on the First Ten Books of Livy</em> (1517) is Machiavelli’s reactions in essay form to reading the Roman author’s history of the great Republic and looking at the political world of his own day and, in particular, of his home town, […]</p>

    Machiavelli’s The Discourses

    Posted on 1 July, 2011 | No Comments

    Niccolo Machiavelli is the odd man out on my Italian Renaissance reading list in that he is a political theorist rather than a poet and lived around 150-200 years are the other three authors on the list: Dante, Boccaccio and Petrarch. He’s also completely misunderstood by people who have only read his other famous book, The Prince.

    Discourses on the First Ten Books of Livy (1517) is Machiavelli’s reactions in essay form to reading the Roman author’s history of the great Republic and looking at the political world of his own day and, in particular, of his home town, […]

    Continue Reading...

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