The "Guides to Biblical Scholarship" took a decisive turn for the better shortly before this volume was produced. This is easily one of the better volumes. Petersen clearly demonstrates the techniques and structures utilized by the Hebrew poets with plenty of examples from the biblical text. Terminolology has become quite confusing in this area, but Petersen cuts through these difficulties. Controversial matters such as the existence and function of meter in Hebrew poetry are treated in a balanced manner. Furthermore, the book goes beyond mere demonstration of poetic features and fulfills the promise of the title by illustrating how an understanding of these features informs the interpretation of poetic passages of scripture. This is a good place to begin before moving on to the more extensive treatments of the subject by Gillingham or Alter, or the more complex and cutting edge analysis of Kugel.

This is a very good book on Hebrew Poetry. It takes into consideration some of the more current thoughts in linguistics. If you are interested in Hebrew Poetry, you should have this book in your library.

This is a 1977 reprint of a survey of swords worn by U.S. uniformed forces. plus the rare "American Silver Mounted Swords", (1700-1815). 286 pages, plus 60 pages of illustrations. It is still the best book ever written on this subject to date.

Students of period weaponry will already be familier with the late Harold Peterson's works. Those who are new to the subject are in for a treat ! Relying on period documents, artifacts from archaelogical digs and pieces from private collections, Peterson's book does an exceptional job of presenting the evolution of crossbows, daggers, polearms, firearms and their related equipment in chronological order. Most of the items depicted are those used by the common people, soldiers, Indians, pirates and rogues. I only wish there were glossy color photo's and measurements. Reenactors, artists, museum curators, collectors and even the casual reader will find this work to be extremely helpful. Even though this book was published several decades ago, the information is still reliable.

More irritating than calling 2000 the start of the next millenium, is the widespread, mistaken belief that Abner Doubleday invented the game of baseball. Doubleday, a Civil War officer who may never have attended a game, was used by a sporting goods company's phony flag-waving sales campaign. Alexander Cartwright, a New York bank clerk, not only designed the first diamond, wrote most of the rules still used today, organized and captained the first game, and sewed the first baseball -- he also became the young sport's Johnny Appleseed, popularizing it from New England to Hawaii and Japan. Author Peterson picks up Cartwright's trail a century later. He even chills his non-fiction readers with a surprise ending. The Man Who Invented Baseball is a treasure for lovers of American history and American baseball. Alexander Cartwright, by the way, is in the Hall of Fame. Guess who isn't?

So far this is pretty much it when it comes to researching this subject. Other books might have more photos of pipe tomahawks and such, but for a decent balance of pics to text this book is a must. Chapters include: The history of the the tomahawk both by native American and others, Blacksmith names and initials used during the span of the tomahawk period. Pipe axes broken down by the types of metals used in production. If I had to say anything negative about this book it would be that not enought of the book was devoted to the subject of Spike/Hammer pole axes, Belt/Trade axes. While it did have chapters covering these types, as these are just about the only historic native American axes/tomahawks that are still encountered in todays market,more information would be better. Over all though this book goes a long way toward answering most of the questions you might have on the subject and for that, no one has out done Peterson yet

Peterson educates and inspires with this wonderful book. For years it has been out of print, and one had to pay a small fortune to own a copy. An excellent book for the collector, a must for someone serious about making tomahawks. Our shop copy is already worn out from referencing it! - Ryan Johnson RMJ Forge

This book is hard to find, but well worth the search. It contains drawings and prints as well as detailed text on how cannons were made. It is broken down by decade and county of orign, and covers the time of 1600 to 1865. If you are in to artillery this is one of the best books to look in too.

Having read most of the books that covered the REAL mountain men of the early 1900's, this book was terribly disappointing and the title is misleading. Sylvan Hart took his engineering degree and moved to a remote location that his family owned and lived more as an eccentric than a true mountain man. He died in 1980 and had been giving tours of his Five Mile "wilderness" before that. I give him credit for being a naturalist, innovator and someone who could live off the land. However, this book is not talking about any true mountain man who dealt with the early history of the West. He certainly didn't have to face obstacles that Fitzpatrick, Smith, Bridger and other true Mountain Men of the 1810-1850's did. It belongs in some other category. My pick would be "Boring". It is told in a descriptive narrative that makes you feel you are in a classroom listening to someone decribe how someone lived LIKE someone else. I give this one a Major Thumbs Down. If Sylvan Hart was the "Last Mountain Man". then there was 1 too many!

Sylvan hart lived as remote and pure a life as any man in the last half of this century. He was supremely skilled in survival, yet his skills were art. Perhaps his knowledge of natures resources and techniques of self sufficiency encouraged his retreat from society, but he must have also have been drawn by ancestral voices. This book delivers the reader to pristine, soon to be rediscovered Salmon River wilderness in Idaho. Looking over the shoulder of this man's calm, deliberate and happy practices of early skills may be your only insight to the price you are paying for societal safety.