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| biggest swords in history: The Romance of Duelling in All Times and Countries Andrew Steinmetz, 1868 |
| biggest swords in history: The Sword and the Centuries Or Old Sword Days and Old Sword Ways - Being a Description of the Various Swords Used in Civilized Europe During the Last Five Centuries, and Single Combats Which Have Been Fought with Them Alfred Hutton, 2010-11 Originally published in 1901. A well illustrated description of the various swords used in civilized Europe during the last five centuries, and of single combats which have been fought with them. Contents include: The Age of Chivalry - Period of the Rapier - Period of Transition - Prize Players and Prize Fighters - The Nineteenth Century etc. Many of the earliest military books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing many of these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork. |
| biggest swords in history: The Martial Ethic in Early Modern Germany B. Tlusty, 2011-03-29 For German townsmen, life during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries was characterized by a culture of arms, with urban citizenry representing the armed power of the state. This book investigates how men were socialized to the martial ethic from all sides, and how masculine identity was confirmed with blades and guns. |
| biggest swords in history: Silver, Sword, and Stone Marie Arana, 2020-08-18 Winner, American Library Association Booklist’s Top of the List, 2019 Adult Nonfiction Acclaimed writer Marie Arana delivers a cultural history of Latin America and the three driving forces that have shaped the character of the region: exploitation (silver), violence (sword), and religion (stone). “Meticulously researched, [this] book’s greatest strengths are the power of its epic narrative, the beauty of its prose, and its rich portrayals of character…Marvelous” (The Washington Post). Leonor Gonzales lives in a tiny community perched 18,000 feet above sea level in the Andean cordillera of Peru, the highest human habitation on earth. Like her late husband, she works the gold mines much as the Indians were forced to do at the time of the Spanish Conquest. Illiteracy, malnutrition, and disease reign as they did five hundred years ago. And now, just as then, a miner’s survival depends on a vast global market whose fluctuations are controlled in faraway places. Carlos Buergos is a Cuban who fought in the civil war in Angola and now lives in a quiet community outside New Orleans. He was among hundreds of criminals Cuba expelled to the US in 1980. His story echoes the violence that has coursed through the Americas since before Columbus to the crushing savagery of the Spanish Conquest, and from 19th- and 20th-century wars and revolutions to the military crackdowns that convulse Latin America to this day. Xavier Albó is a Jesuit priest from Barcelona who emigrated to Bolivia, where he works among the indigenous people. He considers himself an Indian in head and heart and, for this, is well known in his adopted country. Although his aim is to learn rather than proselytize, he is an inheritor of a checkered past, where priests marched alongside conquistadors, converting the natives to Christianity, often forcibly, in the effort to win the New World. Ever since, the Catholic Church has played a central role in the political life of Latin America—sometimes for good, sometimes not. In this “timely and excellent volume” (NPR) Marie Arana seamlessly weaves these stories with the history of the past millennium to explain three enduring themes that have defined Latin America since pre-Columbian times: the foreign greed for its mineral riches, an ingrained propensity to violence, and the abiding power of religion. Silver, Sword, and Stone combines “learned historical analysis with in-depth reporting and political commentary...[and] an informed and authoritative voice, one that deserves a wide audience” (The New York Times Book Review). |
| biggest swords in history: Modern Japanese Swords and Swordsmiths Leon Kapp, Hiroko Kapp, Yoshindo Yoshihara, 2002 A comprehensive overview of the major events in the history of the contemporary Japanese sword and the work of many of the best smiths active today. |
| biggest swords in history: The Archaeology of Weapons R. Ewart Oakeshott, 1996-01-01 British arthority on medieval weapons surveys European arms and armor from the Bronze Age to the time of triumph of gunpowder. |
| biggest swords in history: The Book of the Sword Sir Richard Francis Burton, 1884 |
| biggest swords in history: Rethinking Chivalry and Courtly Love Jennifer G. Wollock, 2011-04-07 Considers non-Christian and non-European roots and descendants of these two ideas. |
| biggest swords in history: Roman Military Equipment from the Punic Wars to the Fall of Rome, second edition M. C. Bishop, John Coulston, 2006-04-22 Rome's rise to empire is often said to have owed much to the efficiency and military skill of her armies and their technological superiority over barbarian enemies. But just how 'advanced' was Roman military equipment? What were its origins and how did it evolve? The authors of this book have gathered a wealth of evidence from all over the Roman Empire - excavated examples as well as pictorial and documentary sources - to present a picture of what range of equipment would be available at any given time, what it would look like and how it would function. They examine how certain pieces were adopted from Rome's enemies and adapted to particular conditions of warfare prevailing in different parts of the Empire. They also investigate in detail the technology of military equipment and the means by which it was produced, and discuss wider questions such as the status of the soldier in Roman society. Both the specially prepared illustrations and the text have been completely revised for the second edition of this detailed and authoritative handbook, bringing it up to date with the very latest research. It illustrates each element in the equipment of the Roman soldier, from his helmet to his boots, his insignia, his tools and his weapons. This book will appeal to archaeologists, ancient and military historians as well as the generally informed and inquisitive reader. |
| biggest swords in history: Longitude Dava Sobel, 2010-07-05 The dramatic human story of an epic scientific quest and of one man's forty-year obsession to find a solution to the thorniest scientific dilemma of the day--the longitude problem. Anyone alive in the eighteenth century would have known that the longitude problem was the thorniest scientific dilemma of the day-and had been for centuries. Lacking the ability to measure their longitude, sailors throughout the great ages of exploration had been literally lost at sea as soon as they lost sight of land. Thousands of lives and the increasing fortunes of nations hung on a resolution. One man, John Harrison, in complete opposition to the scientific community, dared to imagine a mechanical solution-a clock that would keep precise time at sea, something no clock had ever been able to do on land. Longitude is the dramatic human story of an epic scientific quest and of Harrison's forty-year obsession with building his perfect timekeeper, known today as the chronometer. Full of heroism and chicanery, it is also a fascinating brief history of astronomy, navigation, and clockmaking, and opens a new window on our world. |
| biggest swords in history: European Warfare, 1350–1750 Frank Tallett, D. J. B. Trim, 2010-01-28 The period 1350–1750 saw major developments in European warfare, which not only had a huge impact on the way wars were fought, but also are critical to long-standing controversies about state development, the global ascendancy of the West, and the nature of 'military revolutions' past and present. However, the military history of this period is usually written from either medieval or early-modern, and either Western or Eastern European, perspectives. These chronological and geographical limits have produced substantial confusion about how the conduct of war changed. The essays in this book provide a comprehensive overview of land and sea warfare across Europe throughout this period of momentous political, religious, technological, intellectual and military change. Written by leading experts in their fields, they not only summarise existing scholarship, but also present new findings and new ideas, casting new light on the art of war, the rise of the state, and European expansion. |
| biggest swords in history: Shadow of the Conqueror Shad M. Brooks, 2022-09-14 |
| biggest swords in history: The Medieval Crossbow ELLIS-GORMAN STUART, 2022-05-30 The crossbow is an iconic weapon of the Middle Ages and, alongside the longbow, one of the most effective ranged weapons of the pre-gunpowder era. Unfortunately, despite its general fame it has been decades since an in-depth history of the medieval crossbow has been published, which is why Stuart Ellis-Gorman's detailed, accessible, and highly illustrated study is so valuable. The Medieval Crossbow approaches the history of the crossbow from two directions. The first is a technical study of the design and construction of the medieval crossbow, the many different kinds of crossbows used during the Middle Ages, and finally a consideration of the relationship between crossbows and art. The second half of the book explores the history of the crossbow, from its origins in ancient China to its decline in sixteenth-century Europe. Along the way it explores the challenges in deciphering the crossbow's early medieval history as well as its prominence in warfare and sport shooting in the High and Later Middle Ages. This fascinating book brings together the work of a wide range of accomplished crossbow scholars and incorporates the author's own original research to create an account of the medieval crossbow that will appeal to anyone looking to gain an insight into one of the most important weapons of the Middle Ages. |
| biggest swords in history: The Travels of Ibn Batūta Ibn Batuta, 1829 |
| biggest swords in history: The Book of Wallace Charles Rogers, 1889 |
| biggest swords in history: The Sword in the Age of Chivalry Ewart Oakeshott, 1998 The Resplendent image of the medieval knight is concentrated in the symbolism of his sword. The straight, two-edged, cross-hilted knightly sword of the European middle ages was an object of vital importance, a lethal weapon on the battlefield and a badge of chivalry in that complex social code. Ewart Oakeshott draws on his extensive research and expert eye (and hand, for he has a special sense for the feel of a sword) to develop a typology for and recount the history of the sword, from the knightly successors of the Viking weapon to the emergence of the Renaissance sword - that is, roughly from 1050 to 1550. Within this time-span, two distinct groups of swords successively evolved. Problems of dating are acute, and evidence is adduced from literature and art as well as from archaeology, for a sword (or some parts of a sword) could have been in use several generations after it first saw battle. To deal with such overlap, Ewart Oakeshott develops, refines and illustrates a detailed typology of swords which takes in entire swords, pommel-forms, cross-guards, and the grip and scabbard. |
| biggest swords in history: Queen of Swords Sara Donati, 2006-10-31 It is the late summer of 1814, and Hannah Bonner and her half brother Luke have spent more than a year searching the islands of the Caribbean for Luke’s wife and the man who abducted her. But Jennet’s rescue, so long in coming, is not the resolution they’d hoped for. In the spring she had given birth to Luke’s son, and in the summer Jennet had found herself compelled to surrender the infant to a stranger in the hope of keeping him safe. To claim the child, Hannah, Luke, and Jennet must journey first to Pensacola. There they learn a great deal about the family that has the baby. The Poiterins are a very rich, very powerful Creole family, totally without scruple. The matriarch of the family has left Pensacola for New Orleans and taken the child she now claims as her great-grandson with her. New Orleans is a city on the brink of war, a city where prejudice thrives and where Hannah, half Mohawk, must tread softly. Careful plans are made as the Bonners set out to find and reclaim young Nathaniel Bonner. Plans that go terribly awry, isolating them from each other in a dangerous city at the worst of times. Sure that all is lost, and sick unto death, Hannah finds herself in the care of a family and a friend from her past, Dr. Paul de Guise Savard dit Saint-d’Uzet. It is Dr. Savard and his wife who save Hannah’s life, but Dr. Savard’s half brother who offers her real hope. Jean-Benoit Savard, the great-grandson of French settlers, slaves, and Choctaw and Seminole Indians, is the one man who knows the city well enough to engineer the miracle that will reunite the Bonners and send them home to Lake in the Clouds. With Ben Savard’s guidance, allies are drawn from every segment of New Orleans’s population and from Andrew Jackson’s army, now pouring into the city in preparation for what will be the last major battle of the War of 1812. |
| biggest swords in history: Mediaeval Swords from Southeastern Europe Marko Aleksić, 2007 |
| biggest swords in history: Theft of Swords Michael J. Sullivan, 2011-11-23 Royce Melborn, a skilled thief, and his mercenary partner, Hadrian Blackwater, make a profitable living carrying out dangerous assignments for conspiring nobles-until they are hired to pilfer a famed sword. What appears to be just a simple job finds them framed for the murder of the king and trapped in a conspiracy that uncovers a plot far greater than the mere overthrow of a tiny kingdom. Can a self-serving thief and an idealistic swordsman survive long enough to unravel the first part of an ancient mystery that has toppled kings and destroyed empires? And so begins the first tale of treachery and adventure, sword fighting and magic, myth and legend. When author Michael J. Sullivan self-published the first books of his Riyria Revelations, they rapidly became ebook bestsellers. Now, Orbit is pleased to present the complete series for the first time in bookstores everywhere. |
| biggest swords in history: The Way of Kings Brandon Sanderson, 2014-03-04 A new epic fantasy series from the New York Times bestselling author chosen to complete Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time® Series |
| biggest swords in history: X Of Swords Benjamin Percy, Ed Brisson, Gerry Duggan, Jonathan Hickman, Leah Williams, Tini Howard, Vita Ayala, Zeb Wells, 2021-01-20 Collects X of Swords: Creation (2020) #1, X of Swords: Stasis (2020) #1, X of Swords: Destruction (2020) #1, X-Men (2019) #12-15, Excalibur (2019) #13-15, Marauders (2019) #13-15, X-Force (2019) #13-14, New Mutants (2019) #13, Wolverine (2020) #6-7, Cable (2020) #5-6, Hellions (2020) #5-6, X-Factor (2020) #4. A tower. A mission. A gathering of armies. Swords will be drawn in the first epic crossover of the astonishing Dawn of X! Wolverine, the X-Men, Cable, X-Force, Excalibur, X-Factor, the New Mutants, the Marauders, the Hellions and the rest of Krakoa’s residents will all feel the effects — but which ten mutants will wield the blades? Weapons both new and familiar are drawn from their scabbards as the X-Men prepare to do mythic battle against a truly daunting foe! Jonathan Hickman and his fellow visionary creators — who have painstakingly put all the pieces into place during Dawn of X — join forces to smash the board! |
| biggest swords in history: Life of Charlemagne Einhard, 1880 |
| biggest swords in history: Son of the Black Sword Larry Correia, 2016-08-30 #1 IN A NEW EPIC FANTASY SERIES from Monster Hunter series creator and New York Times best-selling author, Larry Correia! After the War of the Gods, the demons were cast out and fell to the world. Mankind was nearly eradicated by the seemingly unstoppable beasts, until the gods sent the great hero, Ramrowan, to save them. He united the tribes, gave them magic, and drove the demons into the sea. Ever since the land has belonged to man and the oceans have remained an uncrossable hell, leaving the continent of Lok isolated. It was prophesized that someday the demons would return, and only the descendants of Ramrowan would be able to defeat them. They became the first kings, and all men served those who were their only hope for survival. As centuries passed, the descendants of the great hero grew in number and power. They became tyrannical and cruel, and their religion nothing but an excuse for greed. Gods and demons became myth and legend, and the people no longer believed. The castes created to serve the Sons of Ramrowan rose up and destroyed their rulers. All religion was banned and replaced by a code of unflinching law. The surviving royalty and their priests were made casteless, condemned to live as untouchables, and the Age of Law began. Ashok Vadal has been chosen by a powerful ancient weapon to be its bearer. He is a Protector, member of an elite militant order of roving law enforcers. No one is more merciless in rooting out those who secretly practice the old ways. Everything is black or white, good or evil, until he discovers his entire life is a fraud. Ashok isn’t who he thinks he is, and when he finds himself on the wrong side of the law, the consequences lead to rebellion, war—and destruction. About Son of the Black Sword: This book has everything I like in fantasy: intense action scenes, evil in horrifying array, good struggling against the darkness, and most of all people—gorgeously flawed human beings faced with horrible moral choices that force them to question and change and grow.—Jim Butcher, creator of the New York Times best-selling Dresden Files Best-selling fantasy author Correia casts a compelling spell with this India-influenced series opener. . . . Correia skillfully sets in motion this story of plots within plots, revealing complex, sympathetic characters and black-hearted villains with equal detail and insight. Full of action, intrigue, and wry humor, this exciting series launch promises many more thrills to come.—Publishers Weekly (starred review) Fans who like Correia’s fast-moving style will be pleased with the plethora of action scenes, and epic fantasy readers interested in delving into a new universe should be equally satisfied. A solid choice for admirers of Brent Weeks and Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn series.—Library Journal Correia is, above all, a storyteller, and he weaves a unique and entertaining tale.Without question, his action sequences pop on the page, his magic system has a nice wrinkle, and he has the foundations laid out for some excellent character growth as the series continues. . . . [A] definite hit.—Bookreporter The lore here is fascinating and well told. I enjoyed learning the history of the world and the legend of Ramrowan. The politics are just complicated enough to feel real without being too difficult to follow. Where the book truly shines, however, is in the characters. All are well drawn and distinctively voiced.—SFCrowsnest “I loved the book, it was great, fast paced, with wonderful characters, and also a lot of wonderful scenes that screamed to be painted.”—Larry Elmore, legendary, award-winning artist, and cover artist for Son of the Black Sword. Son of the Black Sword: Saga of the Forgotten Warrior tells of what happens after the war with the gods, when demons were cast out and fell to the world to nearly destroy these unstoppable beasts until the gods sent a hero to save them. Centuries have passed since this event and the people have regulated these events to legend. One Ashok has been chosen to be a protector with a powerful weapon in hand, uncovering those who still practice old ways and are potential dangers to the order - but when he discovers all his efforts have been based on a lie, everything's about to change. A powerful epic fantasy evolves into a solid, compelling read.—Midwest Book Reivew About the Urban Fantasy of Larry Correia: “[A] no-holds-barred all-out page turner that is part science fiction, part horror, and an absolute blast to read.”—Bookreporter.com “If you love monsters and action, you’ll love this book. If you love guns, you’ll love this book. If you love fantasy, and especially horror fantasy, you’ll love this book.”—Knotclan.com “A gun person who likes science fiction—or, heck, anyone who likes science fiction—will enjoy [these books]. . . The plotting is excellent, and Correia makes you care about the characters…I read both books without putting them down except for work . . . so whaddaya waitin’ for? Go and buy some . . . for yourself and for stocking stuffers.”—Massad Ayoob “This lighthearted, testosterone-soaked sequel to 2009's Monster Hunter International will delight fans of action horror with elaborate weaponry, hand-to-hand combat, disgusting monsters, and an endless stream of blood and body parts.”—Publishers Weekly on Monster Hunter Vendetta |
| biggest swords in history: Words of Radiance Brandon Sanderson, 2014-03-04 From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson, Words of Radiance, Book Two of the Stormlight Archive, continues the immersive fantasy epic that The Way of Kings began. Expected by his enemies to die the miserable death of a military slave, Kaladin survived to be given command of the royal bodyguards, a controversial first for a low-status darkeyes. Now he must protect the king and Dalinar from every common peril as well as the distinctly uncommon threat of the Assassin, all while secretly struggling to master remarkable new powers that are somehow linked to his honorspren, Syl. The Assassin, Szeth, is active again, murdering rulers all over the world of Roshar, using his baffling powers to thwart every bodyguard and elude all pursuers. Among his prime targets is Highprince Dalinar, widely considered the power behind the Alethi throne. His leading role in the war would seem reason enough, but the Assassin's master has much deeper motives. Brilliant but troubled Shallan strives along a parallel path. Despite being broken in ways she refuses to acknowledge, she bears a terrible burden: to somehow prevent the return of the legendary Voidbringers and the civilization-ending Desolation that will follow. The secrets she needs can be found at the Shattered Plains, but just arriving there proves more difficult than she could have imagined. Meanwhile, at the heart of the Shattered Plains, the Parshendi are making an epochal decision. Hard pressed by years of Alethi attacks, their numbers ever shrinking, they are convinced by their war leader, Eshonai, to risk everything on a desperate gamble with the very supernatural forces they once fled. The possible consequences for Parshendi and humans alike, indeed, for Roshar itself, are as dangerous as they are incalculable. Other Tor books by Brandon Sanderson The Cosmere The Stormlight Archive ● The Way of Kings ● Words of Radiance ● Edgedancer (novella) ● Oathbringer ● Dawnshard (novella) ● Rhythm of War The Mistborn Saga The Original Trilogy ● Mistborn ● The Well of Ascension ● The Hero of Ages Wax and Wayne ● The Alloy of Law ● Shadows of Self ● The Bands of Mourning ● The Lost Metal Other Cosmere novels ● Elantris ● Warbreaker ● Tress of the Emerald Sea ● Yumi and the Nightmare Painter ● The Sunlit Man Collection ● Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection The Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians series ● Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians ● The Scrivener's Bones ● The Knights of Crystallia ● The Shattered Lens ● The Dark Talent ● Bastille vs. the Evil Librarians (with Janci Patterson) Other novels ● The Rithmatist ● Legion: The Many Lives of Stephen Leeds ● The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England Other books by Brandon Sanderson The Reckoners ● Steelheart ● Firefight ● Calamity Skyward ● Skyward ● Starsight ● Cytonic ● Skyward Flight (with Janci Patterson) ● Defiant At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied. |
| biggest swords in history: The Gilded Age Mark Twain, Charles Dudley Warner, 1904 |
| biggest swords in history: FIELD OF HONOR Benjamin Cummings 1835-1916 Truman, 2016-08-26 This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant. |
| biggest swords in history: Polish Saber Richard Marsden, 2020-12 Polish Saber - The use of the Polish Saber on foot in the 17th century covers the history, anecdotes and use of Poland's iconic weapon. In matters of honor and personal safety the saber was the Polish nobleman's choice of arms. The concept of the duel, the form and function of the weapon, as well as source material from Poland, Italy and Germany are blended together in an interpretation presented in full-color. The work is suitable for history enthusiasts, Historical European Martial Artists and re-creationists who wish to explore Poland's Commonwealth and the weapon that symbolized its nobility. |
| biggest swords in history: The Flower of Battle , 2018-07-12 The Flower of Battle is Colin Hatcher's translation of Fiore dei Liberi's art of combat from the early 15th century. The work included high-resolution images and English text laid out in the manner of the original. |
| biggest swords in history: Butterfly Swords Jeannie Lin, 2010-10-01 During China's infamous Tang Dynasty, a time awash with luxury yet littered with deadly intrigues and fallen royalty, betrayed Princess Ai Li flees before her wedding. Miles from home, with only her delicate butterfly swords for defense, she enlists the reluctant protection of a blue-eyed warrior…. Battle-scarred, embittered Ryam has always held his own life at cheap value. Ai Li's innocent trust in him and honorable, stubborn nature make him desperate to protect her—which means not seducing the first woman he has ever truly wanted…. |
| biggest swords in history: Blackwing Ed McDonald, 2017-10-03 “A remarkably assured fantasy debut that mixes of the inventiveness of China Miéville with the fast paced heroics of David Gemmell.”—Anthony Ryan, New York Times bestselling author of The Legion of Flame Set on a postapocalyptic frontier, Blackwing is a gritty fantasy debut about a man’s desperate battle to survive his own dark destiny... Hope, reason, humanity: the Misery breaks them all. Under its cracked and wailing sky, the Misery is a vast and blighted expanse, the arcane remnant of a devastating war with the immortals known as the Deep Kings. The war ended nearly a century ago, and the enemy is kept at bay only by the existence of the Engine, a terrible weapon that protects the Misery’s border. Across the corrupted no-man’s-land teeming with twisted magic and malevolent wraiths, the Deep Kings and their armies bide their time. Watching. Waiting. Bounty hunter Ryhalt Galharrow has breathed Misery dust for twenty bitter years. When he’s ordered to locate a masked noblewoman at a frontier outpost, he finds himself caught in the middle of an attack by the Deep Kings, one that signifies they may no longer fear the Engine. Only a formidable show of power from the very woman he is seeking, Lady Ezabeth Tanza, repels the assault. Ezabeth is a shadow from Galharrow’s grim past, and together they stumble onto a web of conspiracy that threatens to end the fragile peace the Engine has provided. Galharrow is not ready for the truth about the blood he’s spilled or the gods he’s supposed to serve… |
| biggest swords in history: Japanese Swords Colin M. Roach, 2010 |
| biggest swords in history: With Fire and Sword Henryk Sienkiewicz, Jeremiah Curtin, 1898 A historical fiction novel, set in the 17th century in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth during the Khmelnytsky Uprising. It was a vehicle for expressing Polish patriotism in a Poland partitioned and deprived of independence. Despite some deviations, the book's historical framework is genuine and the fictional story is woven into real events. Many characters are historical figures, including Jeremi Wiśniowiecki and Bohdan Khmelnytsky (Polish: Bohdan Chmielnicki). Sienkiewicz researched memoirs and chronicles of the Polish nobility, or szlachta, for details on life in 17th-century Poland. The book was written, according to the author, to lift up the heart of the Polish nation in the unhappy period following the failed January Uprising during the era of the partitions of Poland. Thus it often favors epic plots and heroic scenes over historical accuracy. Nonetheless, Sienkiewicz's vivid language made it one of the most popular books about that particular place and era. |
| biggest swords in history: Sticks, Stones, and Broken Bones Rick J. Schulting, Linda Fibiger, 2012-04-19 This volume presents an up-to-date overview of the evidence for violent injuries on human skeletons of the Neolithic period in Europe, ranging from 6700 to 2000 BC, and provides an invaluable baseline for comparisons with both earlier and later periods. |
| biggest swords in history: Whirlwind Barrett Tillman, 2010-03-02 WHIRLWIND is the first book to tell the complete, awe-inspiring story of the Allied air war against Japan—the most important strategic bombing campaign inhistory. From the audacious Doolittle raid in 1942 to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, award-winning historian Barrett Tillman recounts the saga from the perspectives of American and British aircrews who flew unprecedented missions overthousands of miles of ocean, as well as of the generalsand admirals who commanded them. Whether describing the experiences of bomber crews based in China or the Marianas, fighter pilotson Iwo Jima, or carrier aviators at sea, Tillman provides vivid details of the lives of the fliers and their support personnel. Whirlwind takes readers into the cockpits and gun turrets of the mighty B-29 Superfortress, the largest bomber built up to that time. Tillman dramatically re-creates the sweep of wartime emotions that crews endured on fifteen-hour missions, grappling with the extreme tedium of cramped spaces and with adrenaline spikes in flak-studded skies, knowing that a bailout would put them at the mercy of a merciless enemy or an unforgiving sea. A major character is the controversial and brilliant General Curtis LeMay, who rewrote strategic bombing tactics. His command’s fire-bombing missions incinerated fully half of Tokyo and many other cities, crippling Japan’s industry while still failing to force surrender. Whirlwind examines the immense logistics and construction efforts necessary to support Superfortresses in Asia and the Mariana Islands, as well as the tireless efforts of engineers to build huge air bases from scratch.It also describes the unheralded missions that American bomber crews flew from the Aleutian Islands to Japan’s northernmost Kuril Islands. Never has the Japanese side of the story been so thoroughly examined. If Washington, D.C., represented a “second front” in Army-Navy rivalry, the situation in Tokyo approached a full-contact sport. Tillman’s description of Japan’s willfully inadequate approach to civil defense is eye-opening. Similarly, he examines the mind-set in Tokyo’s war cabinet, which ignored the atomic destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, requiring the emperor’s personal intervention to avert a ghastly Allied invasion. Tillman shows how, despite the Allies’ ultimate success, mistakes and shortsighted policies made victory more costly in lives and effort. He faults the lack of a unified command for allowing the Army Air Forces and the Navy to pursue parochial goals at the expense of the larger mission, and he questions the premature commitment of the enormously sophisticated B-29 to the most primitive theater in India and China. Whirlwind is one of the last histories of World War II written with the contribution of men who fought in it.With unexcelled macro- and microperspectives, Whirlwind is destined to become a standard reference on the war, on multiservice operations, and on the human capacity for individual heroism and national folly. |
| biggest swords in history: The Book of Five Rings Miyamoto Musashi, 2010-09 Miyamoto Musashi's Go Rin no Sho or the book of five rings, is considered a classic treatise on military strategy, much like Sun Tzu's The Art of War and Chanakya's Arthashastra. The five books refer to the idea that there are different elements of battle, just as there are different physical elements in life, as described by Buddhism, Shinto, and other Eastern religions. Through the book Musashi defends his thesis: a man who conquers himself is ready to take it on on the world, should need arise. |
| biggest swords in history: Iron and Steel in Ancient Times Vagn Fabritius Buchwald, 2005 |
| biggest swords in history: The Sword Arm of Chivalry: The History of a Militant Culture James M. Volo, 2018-09-26 This is the history of an era dominated by militancy: both warlike and religious, if the two can be separated. The true interest in the centuries of the early Middle Ages lies with the gradual evolution of new forms of military efficiency, which ended in the establishment of a military caste (knights) as the chief power in war and the human mechanism of government. The existence of feudalism and its association with the Christian Church is one of the most important factors concerning the Middle Ages. In the medieval period, the individual mounted warrior seemingly held sway for an extended time |
| biggest swords in history: The Greatest of Dystopian Classics of All Time Edgar Allan Poe, William Hope Hodgson, Jack London, Ernest Bramah, Jonathan Swift, Cleveland Moffett, Anthony Trollope, Richard Jefferies, William Dean Howells, Ayn Rand, Samuel Butler, Milo Hastings, Edward Bellamy, Fritz Leiber, Irving E. Cox, Philip Francis Nowlan, Richard Stockham, Ignatius Donnelly, Owen Gregory, H. G. Wells, E. M. Forster, Fred M. White, Mary Shelley, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain, George Griffith, Edwin A. Abbott, Arthur Dudley Vinton, Gertrude Barrows Bennett, Hugh Benson, 2022-11-13 DigiCat presents to you this meticulously edited Sci-Fi collection, packed with the selected dystopian novels & the post-apocalyptic classics: Ayn Rand: Anthem Jack London: Iron Heel H. G. Wells: The Time Machine The First Men in the Moon When The Sleeper Wakes Edward Bulwer-Lytton: The Coming Race Hugh Benson: Lord of the World Edward Bellamy: Looking Backward: 2000–1887 Equality Mary Shelley: The Last Man Edgar Allan Poe: The Conversation of Eiros and Charmion Owen Gregory: Meccania the Super-State Jonathan Swift Gulliver's Travels William Hope Hodgson: The Night Land Fred M. White: The Doom of London Series The Four White Days The Four Days' Night The Dust of Death A Bubble Burst The Invisible Force The River of Death Ignatius Donnelly: Caesar's Column Ernest Bramah: The Secret of the League (aka What Might Have Been) Milo Hastings: City of Endless Night Arthur Dudley Vinton: Looking Further Backward Gertrude Barrows Bennett (aka Francis Stevens): The Heads of Cerberus E. M. Forster: The Machine Stops Richard Jefferies: After London Samuel Butler: Erewhon Edwin A. Abbott: Flatland Anthony Trollope: The Fixed Period Fritz Leiber: The Night of the Long Knives Richard Stockham: Perchance to Dream Irving E. Cox: The Guardians Cleveland Moffett: The Conquest of America Richard Jefferies: After London William Dean Howells: A Traveler from Altruria Through the Eye of the Needle Philip Francis Nowlan: Armageddon–2419 A.D. The Airlords of Han (Sequel) Anonymous: The Great Romance Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain: Sultana's Dream George Griffith: The Angel of the Revolution The Syren of the Skies (Sequel) |
| biggest swords in history: Maori Weapons in Pre-European New Zealand Jeff Evans, 2015-03-01 A valuable introduction to the unique armory of weapons that Maori developed prior to contact with Europeans, including details of manufacture and accounts of combat. |
| biggest swords in history: The Samurai Swordsman Stephen Turnbull, 2008-02-20 Samurai tells the story of the courageous and highly disciplined fighting men of this time, showing how they evolved from the primitive fighters of the seventh century into an invincible military caste with a fearsome reputation. In the early seventh century, the samurai rose to prominence during the struggles between the emperor and the military leaders (shogun). They took part in the invasion of Korea, as well as helping to keep Japan free from foreign influence. From the Heian period through to the Onin wars, the history of the samurai is replete with tales of heroism and bloodshed. Although the samurai is most famous for his use of the sword, he also used a wide variety of other weapons, such as the crossbow, the dagger and the spear. Samurai armour and costume were constantly evolving, and by the twelfth century most samurai were wearing the box-like yoroi armour. Samurai examines samurai fighting tactics, as well as acts such as ritual suicide (hari-kiri) and the taking of enemy heads as trophies. |
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