Are You interested in medieval history? Aren't You a hisorian? Would You like to read about a great French monarch? Haven't got enough time to read a lot about this topic? That's a fascinating survey of the era. A well-balanced book without any biases. It's really worth reading!

While it is Richard the Lionheart of England who captures the imagination, it is Philip who is the true great king of the late 12th century and a biography of him is long overdue. Bradbury does an exemplary job, providing enough detail to keep us fickle historians happy while keeping it readable for the general public.

The Battle of Hastings was a key turning point in the history of Northern Europe. Together with the Battles of Fulford and Stamford Bridge, this trilogy of battles enabled the great civilization that was coming into being in Western Europe penetrate into the British Isles, when at that time were culturally and economically part of Scandanavia. Bradbury's account is the best that I have read - it is clear, concise but detailed enough to satisfy anyone who wants to find out more about the climactic battle of 1066. I loved the way he used the Bayeux Tapestry right through as a reference document. Many accounts (and I would include Frank McLynn's recent '1066 - Year of Three Battles'), use the tapestry as a secondary source only, a sure sign of the tyranny of the written word! Yet the Tapestry was made within at least twenty years of the battle on the order of one of the major participants (Bishop Odo of Bayeux, the Conqueror's half-brother). It is therefore perhaps the prime source for the battle. It is also a significant document on the weapons and tactics used, besides being a prime work of art! You feel that Bradbury is judicious and discerning on the major puzzles - Did Harold swear an oath to William? Did Edward support William's succession? What use did the English make of horses? How did Harold die? Did the Normans win the battle with a 'feigned flight'? How did the Normans use their archers? Where were the English archers? Anyone with an interest in medieval politics and military history should have this book on their shelves.

The Medieval Archer traces the use of archery in English wars, from the Battle of Hastings, in 1066, to the Wars of the Roses which ended with the death of Richard III, the last Plantagenet king, in 1485.

The book has interesting details about a few English battles before the Norman Conquest and interesting details about crossbows, as well as the shortbows used on the Continent, but it really is about the English longbow, during the time it flourished.

The English longbow was very lethal, very fast shooting and cheap to make, but required great skill to use. It allowed small English armies to dominate larger French armies for a long time. The wonder was that English bowmen did not use such a potent weapon to sweep away their own kings and princes, or that slow-firing, less accurate gunpowder weapons were able to displace it so quickly.

Read this book and learn why.

Good book. Very good book that made me think about how to catch fish from the float tube. Read and enjoy.

This could have been a first-rate book. The author has researched a wide variety of sources, collecting many examples of events that took place during sieges. These stories, ranging from amusing to horrifying, are told in a very readable way. Unfortunately, the book is weak on systematic analysis. Not until page 241 does the author begin describing siege weapons and techniques in a comparative way. Many of the illustrations from the medieval period are small and not well-reproduced, making it difficult for the reader to see details. There are not enough plans of castles and fortresses to illustrate the author's points. The book also follows the unfortunate modern trend of using inadequate maps composed of lines and dots, with no indication of terrain features. Michael Michaud, an American living in Vienna, Austria

The battles of the Middle Ages are well known, but the medieval siege has long been a neglected subject. Bradbury's central theme is that sieges, and not battles, were decisive in medieval warfare. Looking at siege warfare from the early Middle Ages to the beginnings of the Renaissance, he shows that siege warfare was lengthy, brutal and unchivalrous, with conventions and a morality all of its own. His subject is breathtaking; the beautiful stone castles of Europe were built for war, and he shows them facing siege engines, assault towers, starvation and disease. Above all, this book is accessible; far from being the specialist book that its title suggests, it is an excellent introduction to medieval military history, looked at from a new and intriguing perspective. If this book has a fault, it is that it fails to relate the medieval siege to other aspects of warfare, especially logistics. Nevertheless, for its great scope in time and geography, and its detailed description of the practices and weapons of siege warfare, this book is a valuable contribution to medieval military history.