Customer Reviews
Hits the mark - By: An Englishman abroad, 31 Jul 2007 
This book is handsome enough to adorn any coffee table, but it's much more than a glossy tribute to one of history's most feared & famous weapons - the longbow. Actor Robert Hardy - a key player behind the important, & controversial, technical analysis of the powerful bow staves recovered from the wreck of the Tudor warship Mary Rose - contributes several feisty chapters, but the bulk of this substantial book is the work of Dr Matthew Strickland, a lecturerin Medieval History at the University of Glasgow.
Dr Strickland is a leading authority on Medieval warfare, & he uses his knowledge to place the longbow squarely within its broad historical context. He provides a scholarly but readable account of the role of archery (including the crossbow & composite bows) from Hastings to the Armada. En route, 'The Great Warbow' tackles not only the epic set-piece encounters of the Hundred Years War, but all manner of lesser battles & skirmishes fought from Scotland to Portugal. In addition, it includes coverage of such relevant themes as hunting, armour, castles & the rise of gunpowder weapons.
From start to finish, the combination of narrative & analysis is based upon an intimate acquaintance with the sources, including many chronicles that have never been publishedin English. This is bolstered by a generous selection of well-reproduced & thoughtfully-captioned illustrations. There is also enough technical data to support the book's conclusions, although this is not stretched beyond its limits simply to prove a point.
The end result is not only a comprehensive account of the capabilities & limitations of the longbow, & the armies who both used it & faced it, but also what is now perhaps the best English-language overview of Medieval European warfarein general.
queery - By: Mr. A. Hay, 18 Jun 2007 
can someone tell me please, is this a rehash of the earlier book by Hardy, or is it's content different enough to justify buying it
Highly recommended - By: , 15 Jan 2006 Being a keen archer for many years,using both the modern compound bow & the old English Longbow,I saw this book advertised on Amazon & added it to my wishlist.
My parents got it for me for Xmas & as soon as I opened it that was the last anyone saw of me for the holidays.
It is highly informative on many different aspects,things like the technical side of the bow,why we were the only country to adopt itin such high numbers,and other things like the types of arrowheads used & how archers would aim for the faces of Knights with lifted visors at 100 paces.
One fascinating chapter,although quite sqeamish,has highly detailed surgical reports of how these were removed from any soldier lucky(?) enough to survive one embedding itselfin their head.
The authors Matthew Strickland & Robert Hardy(yes the actor from All creatures great & small!) obviously have a great respect & love of this symbol of Medieval England.
I defy any true Englishman or lady not to feel an immense feeling of pride when they read this.
Buy this book & I promise you will love it.It's not just a good book,it's a beautiful one.
For St.George!!!!
Very informative - By: , 09 Jul 2005 This is an excellent book which deals comprehensively with the use & effect of both the longbow & crossbow. But it is more than this inasmuch as it surveys the great battles of the later middle ages & considers the tactics - including archery - which helped to win or lose them. The authors are clearly experts & the illustrations are superb - it deserves to become the standard workin the field.
