Customer Reviews:
 Encyclopedia? Hardly! February 12, 2001
4 out of 11 found this review helpful
I wasn't aware the only swords that existed and were noteworthy enough to grace the pages of an Encyclopedia were European. Seems to me much is left out by ignoring the Eastern blades.
 Cool! March 6, 1999
3 out of 9 found this review helpful
I didn't even know about the "Three Stooges Fencing Episode", Luckly I found it before I finished a Homepage. Mr. Evangelista, has done other fencing books, "The Art and Science of Fencing" & "Fighting with Sticks". I think out of all these books I've seen, I like the "Encyclopedia" the most. Keep on writing these books Mr. Evangelista, I will point out your books at any bookstore I goto.
Perfect!!!!! February 26, 1999
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
This is, in fact, ONE of the best books I've ever read. It's been a lot of help over the years, and if you like "The Fencing Encyclopedia", take a look at Mr. Evangelista's three other books.
 Sport fencers: EOTS is not too bad February 23, 1999
2 out of 5 found this review helpful
I'm a sport fencer, and I'd like to defend the CONCEPT of EOTS if not every purported item of fact therein.Although I agree with some of the other reviewers' criticisms that Evangelisat focuses too much on theatrical/cinematic fencing personalities, I think, in the aggregate, his organization and level of detail is appropriate. My undergraduate degree is in history, and I've always been a military history buff, so I can address some of the specific facts he brings forth and will readily admit that in some cases he has presented 'facts' that are open to debate, especially in the face of newer scholarship. However, for any sport fencers reading this review, please take all the historical swordsmen's complaints with a grain of salt. 99% of sport fencers understand that we are trained in a highly technical sport, not in a martial art. However, I think historical swordsmen underestimate how much of sport fencing technique would translate into 'real' swordplay. Sport fencers would benefit by learning about where many of our most basic concepts - time, parry-riposte as two separate movements, etc. - come from. Additionally, many interesting (though not particularly applicable) facts are recounted in EOTS, such as the development of tactics like the lunge, disengages, and compound parries and there original historical contexts.
Fantastic Book!!!!! January 17, 1999
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
Boy! It's full of neat stuff: types of swords, facts about fencing masters, actors who fenced in movies, historical fencing organizations, modern fencing organizations. This book is from 1995. It's over 700 pages long. And there are lots of black & white pictures. I love this book!
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