A discussion of the tactics and technology of warfare during the Middle Ages, including the tradition of personal combat, the use of armor, castles-and-siege weapons, and the dominance of the mounted knight.

Discusses the weapons, tactics, gunpowder, castles, fortifications, cannons, handheld guns, ships, and other weapons used in Middle Ages warfare, and includes bibliographical references and an index.

"A simple introduction to the European warriors known as barbarians, including their history, lifestyle, weapons, and how they remain a part of today's culture through video games and films"--Provided by publisher.

The Third Reich's senseless purges and war on European cultural artefacts are profiled by Nicholas, who describes how art treasures were both perserved and destroyed.

"Chess is the most enduring and universal game in history. Here, bestselling author David Shenk chronicles its intriguing saga, from ancient Persia to medieval Europe to the dens of Benjamin Franklin and Norman Schwarzkopf. Along the way, he examines a single legendary game that took place in London in 1851 between two masters of the time, and relays his own attempts to become as skilled as his Polish ancestor Samuel Rosenthal, a nineteenth-century...

The history of knights, from their everyday lives to their clothing, training, heraldry and orders, as well as their role in literature and film, and the decline of traditional knighthood

T is the year 1415, the epic battle of Agincourt has just been fought, and never has it been a more glorious time to be a knight. But as any warrior will tell you, the path to chivalry is not an easy ride. This entertaining manual will tell you all you need to know about the ups and downs of knightly life in the Middle Ages, from how to look your best on the battlefield to the going rates for ransoming a duke, as well as the best places to go on crusade...

"Iron curtain: Divided at the end of World War II, Europe was a poetential flashpoint for 40 years as the superpowers maintained an uneasy peace uild on deterrence. Oriental communism: From the withdrawal of the old Colonial powers to the conflict in Korea, instability, regional conflicts, and the boiling over of Cold War tensions marked much of the 20th century in Asia. Wars in peace: The perennial problems of civil war, terrorism, and bilateral...

For centuries, the world of Islam was in the forefront of human achievement--the foremost military and economic power in the world, the leader in the arts and sciences of civilization. Christian Europe was seen as an outer darkness of barbarism and unbelief from which there was nothing to learn or to fear. And then everything changed. The West won victory after victory, first on the battlefield and then in the marketplace. In this volume, Bernard...