The author, Christopher Spring is Curator, Department of Ethnography, of the British Museum. Thus he is well accquainted with the sources and has made excellent use of first-hand accounts, museum and sales catalogs, and ethnographical and typological studies to synthesize this general overview of the subject. He states in his introduction: "This book is primarily intended to celebrate African artistry and ingenuity. It also attempts to show the way in which arms and armor are incorporated into the complex material systems which express the structure of non-industrial societies....I believe that to underrate the significance of these artefacts within the societies which produced them would be to overlook a whole range of human endeavour and activity." The book contains a Forward, Introduction and eight chapters on each cultural region of Africa. 1.Arab and Berber--North Africa and the Sahara, 2. Knights of the Savanna--Warfare in Sudanic Africa, 3. Forest Kingdoms of West Africa, 4. The Shining Mystery--Throwing Knives of Africa, 5. Royal Blacksmiths--the Kuba Kingdom and the Congo Basin, 6. the Horn of Africa, 7. Cattle and Conflict--East African Pastorialists and Their Neighbors. 8. Mfecane--The Zulu and the Nguni Diaspora. There are 30 color and 130 grey scale.illlustrations. Biblio and index. Though some historians and ethnographers divide the continent of Africa into North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa, referring to the latter as Black Africa (in French, l'Afrique noire), and omitting the former as a subject of African studies, preferring to include it in studies of Mediterrainea and Europe proper, there is just as much justification for including in this work, as for leaving out, the Maghreb area of Northwest Africa, conquered by the Islamic expansion and still ruled by descendents of the followers of the Prophet--there has always been trade and conquest across the Sahara and up and down the Nile Valley. In fact, what is known today as Morocco leather, is actually a product of the Arabized black cultures of the northern Nigerian area of today. Their weapons and fighting arts are covered in Chapter Two. The only chapter which covers more than one culture is Four, which describes the famous fabulously shaped (to European eyes) throwing knives. One of the major points made by the author and by the writer of the Forward, is that, in contrast to the major civilizations of Eurasia and the Americas, which, once they organized the means of production, so that a surplus could support a "non-producer" class of rulers, priests, and administrators, there arose a tradition of "art for art's sake." The artistic tradition led to all sorts of misconceptions when the European expansionists encountered the indigenous peoples of Sub-Saharan Africa, where the material culture is and was expressed in a holistic manner, in which weapons and other material objects such as statues and ceremonial masks and clothing , however fantastically adorned or shaped, considered with a European's sensibility, were not created with any sort of artistic (art for art's sake) sensibility. Thus the copying of African sculptural forms by the Eurocentric artistic avant garde in the beginning of the twentieth century, was a total misreading of the intent of the creators. The other major point the author makes is that when the Eurocentric aesthetic sensibility was applied to African material culture, one, items were devoid of context, and, two, in many cases ignored both weapons and edged tools; which in some cases are the same thing. This sensibility says essentially "war is bad, therefore the tools of war are bad.'" (Compare this attitude opposed by major collections of medieval European arms and armor, including that held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art.) The other reason for of this omission could be "Work is sweaty and sweat is nasty, therefore tools are nasty and unworthy of study." Fortunately this sensibility is today recognized for the fallacy it is. A society which collects such material culture as gasoline pump globes, Pez dispensers, and all the other marvelous junk of our civilization can hardly ignore items seriously created for culturally significant purposes, whatever their symbolism or usage. In summary, this book is a comprehensive survey of its subject with a definite point of view which I agree with, but it would be none the less valuable as a synthesis if I did not. And there are plenty of leads to further study.

Oakeshott presents, in very readable form, not only a wealth of information concerning European arms and armor through the ages, but excellent historical overveiws of the periods discussed which include the best 'nutshell' history of the Migration Era and Viking era that it has ever been my pleasure to read. Any serious student of arms and armor must read this book. The author's style of writing is unusually engaging and informative, and much more readable than the normal run of dry English historical books. He has the ability to bring history alive in your heart, as it so obviously is alive for him.

This is a wonderfully illustrated story for young children about 3 to 7. In it the main charactor, Dill'm, is tricked by the evil Tabosh into joining into a "race without rules" in order to warn his best friend. Along the way Dill'm (who can't do anything special, like jump or run or swim)has many mishaps. As he faces each new challenge, he calls on God, who answers by giving him pieces of the invincible armor of God. Clothed in the full armor oor God, he is able to defeat Tabosh. At the end of the story he gets a new name: Armor Dill'm.

A very detailed look at the SdKfz 181 that is at the Saumur Tank museum. Color photo's of every section of the tank. Many close up pictures. If you have not been on a real Tiger I, this is as close as you can get. Enjoy.....

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.

I publish newsletters for a non-profit organization that re-creates the Middle Ages to educate people about history - the Society for Creative Anachronism. "Arms & Armor" has been an invaluable resource to handsomely illustrate the pages of my newsletters. Dover's copyright on this book allows the use of 10 images per project - which is very generous, considering some other clip art books only allow 4 or 5 per project. Furthermore, the country and century from which the images were cultivated is listed at the bottom of every page. This is immensely helpful for using these images in education. When one of our members writes an article about 16th century German horse armor, I can find an exact image to match his/her description in the article. There is a wide variety of images to choose from, including sketches of helmets, swords, axes, full suits of armor, shields, battle scenes and armor accoutremonts. I have owned this book for three years, and I use it with almost every newsletter issue I publish. I consider it an essential resource for SCA newsletter illustration.

A very detailed book for those who know what they're searching for-and a 1st-class-guide if one seeks for originals'places

The 12 chapters in this book cover a range of subjects;the history of armor,various materials used for armor,ballistic testing,vulnerability analysis followed by penetration mechanics,and computer simulations.The book would prove useful to scientists getting into the penetration mechanics field . The references are thorough and the historical portion fascinating.The weakest chapter is the one dealing with ceramics armor;therefore, a ceramist who is interested in understanding the mechanisms involved in penetration of ceramics will have to search out additional references. This book is edited by Lable,Roy C.Elsevier Scientific Publishing Co.(U.S), 52 Vanderbilt Ave, N.Y, 10017 Year:1980.

Every once in a while a book comes along and surprises me with its excellence, and this book is one of them. The book was originally written as study notes to accompany a 12-tape series of (12) sermons given by Dr. John MacArthur. The first chapter covers Satan's attacks on the Spirit-filled church (Rev. 1:9-3:19), the next two cover the believer's warfare (Eph. 6:10-13), and the next seven cover the believer's armor (Eph. 6:14-17), while the last two chapters cover praying at all times (Eph. 6:18-24) and principles for powerful living (I Cor. 16:13-14).

There are two things about this book that could potentially drive the reader nuts. First of all, as the notes in this book accompany sermons given one week apart, there is a fair amount of recapitulation. Secondly, this book was not originally intended as a standalone book, which means that what it covers is more in outline form, rather than in prose.

In spite of these things, though, this is an excellent book. There are plenty of sidebars full of information, and the text itself shows Dr. MacArthur's usual heavy use of supporting scripture. Also, while it is something of an outline, it does contain more than enough text to bring the reader along (especially when one's reading it with a Bible handy). It is not heavy with articulation, but I actually found that to be refreshing. Also, I must say that I greatly enjoyed the author's examination of the seven churches of Revelation 1.

So, if you are looking for a book that will enlighten you as to what these select scripture references mean, then I can't recommend this book enough, it is an exquisite resource!

Bio Booster Armor Guyver Dark Masters contains a gripping storyline and awesome graphics. One of the best books by Yoshiki Takaya I know. It coincides with the rest of the Graphic Novels. Namely the first two before it, Bio Booster Armor Guyver and Bio Booster Armor Guyver Revenge of Chronos. Which are both incredible as well. If anyone wants to see a classic Japanesse Graphic Novel with a great story and art. I would suggest Bio Booster Armor Guyver to everyone.