October 2009

$39.95
Military History, ISBN: 978-1-59416-101-8, Pages: 528 Trim: 6 x 9.25, Illus: 80 b/w illus., Format: Jacketed Hardback

Knives, swords, and bayonets are the world’s longest serving arms and some of the most important in history. Originally a simple stone tool, once metals such as iron and bronze became regularly worked, edged weapons appear in the archaeological record. In A History of Edged Weapon Warfare, Martina Sprague discusses in detail the long history of these arms, from primitively produced knives and machetes to the exquisite metalwork of Japanese swords. Throughout the author discusses how these weapons were wielded and their strengths and weaknesses. The book covers all regions of the world and all time periods, from the swords of ancient Egypt and medieval Islamic states to the knives of Africa and today’s special forces. The author demonstrates that the ability to instill fear in an opponent is one of the more important features of edged weapons in all cultures and historical eras. The physical design and production of the weapon and the training in its use are important as well and vary from country and period. In the hands of skilled warriors, whether twentieth-century Ghurkas or second-century B.C. Roman legionnaires, knives and swords have often proved decisive in close combat.

MARTINA SPRAGUE is a martial arts expert and military historian. She is the author of more than ten books, including Combat Fitness, Strength and Power Training for Martial Arts, and Norse Warfare.

CONTENTS
Nepalese Kukri: Combat Knives and the Men Who Wield Them
Edged Weapons of Jungle, Desert, and Guerrilla Warfare: Latin America, Indonesia, Africa
Special Forces Knives and the Knife as a Battlefield Sidearm
The Katana and Gunto in Medieval and Modern Japanese Warfare
The Evolution and Use of the Chinese Jian and Dao
Swords and Sabers of Persia and India: Islamic, Byzantine, and Ottoman Warfare
The Edged Weapons of Ancient Egypt
The Swords of the Classical World
The Swords and Sabers in Medieval and Modern Europe
The Pike and Bayonet in Near Modern and Modern Warfare

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