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 enlarge | Author: Hugh D. H. Soar
Publisher: Westholme Publishing
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $18.21
You Save: $6.74 (27%)
New (5) Used (10) from $9.95
Avg. Customer Rating:  9 reviews
Sales Rank: 416522
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 243
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.5 x 0.8
ISBN: 1594160023
Dewey Decimal Number: 355.8241
EAN: 9781594160028
ASIN: 1594160023
Publication Date: November 1, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 2 to 4 months
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| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 6-9 of 9 | | « PREV | | |
 Right on the Mark August 30, 2005
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Hugh Soar's The Crooked Stick provides the exact information that military historians and historians of technology need. His knowledge is broad, his sources detailed, and his writing style is engaging. Too many persons who profess an interest in military history desire just the "blood and guts," but what makes Soar's book unique and essential is that he puts this important weapon--it dominated battlefields for an extraordinary two centuries--into full context. There are many accounts of battles where the longbow was deployed--including Soar's excellent "Of Bowmen and Battles"--but what I think makes The Crooked Stick one of the most important books on a weapon published in recent times is that he fully explores its origin, its physical details and construction (surprisingly, there are no extant medieval bows, so Soar's extensive knowledge is particularly appreciated here), its use on the battlefield, its demise, and its surprising legacy. The book is full of great close-in shots of antique longbows and other bow ephemera. The appendix that discusses the medieval arrowhead is also very good. There is, like all good history books, parts and passages that might not be exactly what you want for your specific interest--there are chapters on what happened to the medieval longbow and how its characteristics were luckily preserved through recreational archery--but if you want the best resource on the longbow, this is it.
 Disappointing August 29, 2005
4 out of 10 found this review helpful
Expecting a book on the impact of the long bow on warfare I was very disappointed as the book dealt mostly with the history of the bow itself, construction, material etc. Half the book deals with the development of recreational use of the bow. This book is not recommended if your interest is military history.
Straight Shooting April 13, 2005
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
A comprehensive survey of the history of the longbow, it is laced with fine quotations, excellent sources, and wonderful insights from the author's own experience as not only an archer, but a bowyer and fletcher as well. With a pleasant, conversational writing style, he covers everything from the earliest beginnings of the longbow as a hunting weapon through the rise of the artillery, or war, bow to the present status of the longbow as a sporting and recreational weapon.
The main strength of this book is its completeness. Many books claim to be a history of the longbow, but in truth are a history of the great war bow that decided the outcome on the battlefields of Crecy and Agincourt. Rarely are the origins of the longbow and the post middle ages longbow ever considered in detail. Mr Soar doesn't make that mistake. This is probably the most complete survey of the subject you will find today.
If you know nothing about the English longbow besides what you have seen on tv or in the movies reading this book will tell you everything you want to know, and far more. If you are someone who has read every book ever written on the subject read this book also, because you will learn something you didn't know.
"A saggitis hunorum, nos defende Domine" November 25, 2004
12 out of 12 found this review helpful
The longbow, a pivotal technical development by mankind, had influenced the survival of humankind, as well as the outcome of battles from the earliest days of the medieval period, well into the period of Tudor monarchy till the opening of the 17th century. The longbow still the weapon of the people, required by statute law to own and use a bow with regularity, the skill of the Tudor yeoman archer firmly positioned in history, so feared that at one time they were compared to Attila's Huns (the Hunnish referring to the English and Welsh archers).
Hugh D.H. Soar's latest book, "The Crooked Stick" is a comprehensive study and presentation of the amazing history of the traditional longbow. Presenting evidence of the use of archery from Neolithic rock paintings from Cueva de la Arana, Valencia, Spain, of our forebears hunting game to the application of the bow in warfare described in an account of the battle of Crecy, August 26, 1346 in the chronicles, "Chroniques" by Jean Froissart, to its continued evolution and staying power as recreational archery, promoted by notables such as King Henry VIII, the archer king, shooting with the longbow at the Field of the Cloth of Gold, 1520 to the creation of archery societies and guilds such as the Society of Finsbury Archers to modern associations active in many countries around the world. The expanse of the book included details on a concoction used to fabricate fire arrows based on an extensive recipe that included exotic materials such as Armeniac, an earthy material from Armenia, and bay salt from the Bay of Biscay. This and numerous other historic gems are invaluable in one developing an appreciation for archery.
His writing style is personable, humerous in places, and even a little irreverent at times, combined with his intimate knowledge of the longbow in-depth study, along with extensive notes and references makes this publication required reading for any archer interested in learning more about the context, its place in history and evolution of the longbow.
David M. Cvet
Academy of European Medieval Martial Arts
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