A heads up on this book - Swords and Swordsmen; http://www.myArmoury.com/books/item.1848841337.html

Now, I don’t always agree with Mr Loades on everything (although he is certainly a voice of sanity on popular telly shows) and I have not read this one, but Amazon has flagged his new book for me and it may well be a good read if you fancy it. It is available in the UK now and it looks like a Feb release date in the US.

Neil.

Interesting. I did not know he published books on the subject, I'll definitely look it up.

His TV series weapon that made Britain is probably the best show I've seen on the subject of medieval arms and armour (same, there are some awkward bits here and there, especially the testing of the different sword designs and the conclusion he reaches (that a type XIII performs equally than a type XVIII in the thrust for instance!). He's a great narrator though, evidently passionate about his subject...the perfect show for anyone wanting a solid introduction to medieval arms.

Cheers,

J

Julien, I saw that test on Youtube and wondered about his conclusion also but he was testing in clay medium which would yield different results say, than if he were thrusting thru a heavy leather jerkin or mail for instance. Various segments of his program Weapons that made Britain are on YouTube and can be assembled to be watched as the entire program. Mr. Loades definitely knows his subject matter and his enthusiasm is contagious as well. If I could buy a complete copy of this program on DVD I would purchase it but have not found it as yet although it did air once on the History channeI. I wish he would market his shows in the U.S. where there is a big market just waiting to buy.

Cheers,

Harry

Hi harry,

Yes a used clay as a testing medium, but his conclusion are a bit misleading nonetheless. The rest of the show is top notch. with interviews from the likes of Tobias Capwell, Hector Cole for pattern welding swords etc...

You can watch all 5 episodes in full and high quality here on veoh:

http://www.veoh.com/search/videos/q/weapons+that+made+britain

Enjoy,

Julien

5-8 weeks for said book on Amazon.de, might just arrive for Christmas. So all I need to do now, is find someone still looking for a present for me :D

Weapons that made Britain can also be found using the Google videosearch, in case one wants to get around the Veoh player needed for videos of this length.
Mr Loades US based show - Weaponmasters - he hosts together with Chad "Whose-surname-I-forgot" is also quite entertaining, but far less sane than the BBC Program. Testing the performance of a Katana by shooting a smallarm at the blade and analyzing the way the bullet was sliced in half seems rather strange.

I saw the listing for this book a while back. It looks intriguing. I like the theme of using specific swords linked to specific people. It's rather like our Man of War series of articles in that regard.

If you want a copy, Paul Meekins at Paul Meekins books has at least 3 signed copies at £30 each and may have more at home.

I am opposite his stall at TORM (big market) this weekend and if you would like me to pick up a copy for you please PM me and we can sort out payment and shipping after I get them, if I can get any.

Please PM me NOW if you would like me to do so and I will offer them in the order I get PMs. I suspect there may a be a rush on this so I will not reply to PMs of those that are not quick enough on the draw as it may take a while..............

At a guess shipping to the States will be about £10-12 All in at the current exchange rates this would be approx $70 per book.

Regards

Tod

The book is OK, good even. It's pop-history, not hardcore scholarship. It has pretty pictures. It has trivia. It isn't perfect. I enjoyed reading it, don't regret buying it, and will keep it.

My review can be read at http://www.myArmoury.com/books/item.1848841337.html