An Historical Guide to Arms & Armor

Describes portable arms and armor from the time of the Greeks and Romans to the early 19th century. Five chronological chapters, each covering one major period of history, are followed by two thematic chapters which provide an introduction to oriental armor, and sporting armor as it was used for hunting and the tournament. With some 300 first-rate color and b&w illustrations. 9<1/4>x13<1/4>". Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.

YA-- A beautiful and authoritative work that provides an introduction to the subject as well as an in-depth study on the place of arms and armor in history. Bull limits the coverage to five chronological periods, beginning with the Greeks and Romans and ending with the years following World War I. He includes only portable apparatus belli, such as defensive arms and edged and projectile weapons. Two thematic chapters, Oriental/tribal and sporting arms, identify important developmental threads and give an idea of the variety of weaponry produced worldwide. What distinguishes this book from other histories is the inclusion of numerous prints, paintings, and photographs of arms and weapons from art and photography museums and galleries around the world.
- Nancy Bard, Thomas Jefferson Sci - Tech, Fairfax County, VA
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Bull, English Civil War historian and museum curator, has compiled an evolutionary history of small arms (swords, knives, pistols, and rifles) and armor (helmets and body armor) beginning with the Greco-Roman world and ending with the advent of World War I. The history is supported with over 300 photographs, mostly from works of art and individual pieces in European art museums. The text is authoritative and exhaustive, the first such work on this topic in a century. Some coverage is excellent, the best this reviewer has seen on European arms; there is excellent coverage of helmet evolution and on arms development in the Indian subcontinent. Some coverage is weak, especially on Japanese small arms and the American Civil War. Using this volume as a verbal text to the recently reprinted Weapons (Diagram Group), large libraries would possess the two finest reference works on the history of small arms. This is highly recommended for central branch libraries and academic libraries.
- Richard Nowicki, Emerson Vocational H.S., Buffalo, N.Y.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.