ABC ARCHERY - Secrets of the English War Bow
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List Price: $35.00
Our Price: $25.55
Your Save: $ 9.45 ( 27% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Westholme Publishing
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 623.441
EAN: 9781594160257
ISBN: 1594160252
Label: Westholme Publishing
Manufacturer: Westholme Publishing
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 240
Publication Date: 2006-08-04
Publisher: Westholme Publishing
Studio: Westholme Publishing
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Editorial Reviews:
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Dominating medieval battlefields for more than two centuries but requiring long and arduous practice to command, the English war bow and its battle shaft are the symbols of the rise of British power in Europe. Despite being crafted for hundreds of years and wielded by generations of archers, the sole surviving examples of this fearsome weapon—the military version of the longbow—are those recovered from the Tudor warship Mary Rose. Now for the first time, expert craftsmen use all available evidence including applied archaeology to unlock the secrets of the English war bow. Historian Hugh D. H. Soar is joined by Mark Stretton, arrowsmith, and Joseph Gibbs, bowyer, in order to demonstrate how a war bow and its associated arrow heads and shafts may have been constructed and used. In addition to showing the complete manufacture of a bow from tree selection to stringing and how specialized arrowheads were forged and attached to shafts, Secrets of the English War Bow provides information on the actual performance of the war bow, including the bow’s effectiveness against various materials and, for the first time, its use against moving targets, since bows were often drawn against mounted soldiers. Armed with this new information, Soar provides an analysis of both successes and failures of the war bow in several important battles. Illustrated in color and black and white, Secrets of the English War Bow provides an invaluable service for those interested in medieval military history, archery, and technology.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating: 
Summary: Not the best on this topic
Comment: This wasn't a bad book, although the strange style it's written in--a somewhat archaic sounding, stuffily pedantic voice--impeded my ability to absorb the concrete information the book contains. The two chapters on the construction of medieval arrows, and medieval arrowheads, the latter of which included information on how to forge replicas, was interesting and useful.
My main complaint is just that there are better books on this subject out there. One is "Longbow: A Social and Military History," by Robert Hardy, and the definitive book that I've found (though it's admittedly quite expensive) is "The Great Warbow" by Matthew Strickland and Robert Hardy. Particularly if you have access to the latter book, there's really no reason to read this one.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Indepth and complete
Comment: This book is by far 'the best' on the subject. When you finish reading it, you'll be well informed and accurately too. The author is, in my opinion, the most knowledgeable authority on the longbow and more.
Customer Rating:
Summary: No Secret About It; It's Good!
Comment: Hugh Soar, author of The Crooked Stick and recognized authority on the history of English archery, has given us a book that analyzes the persistent, nagging questions that historians and archers have puzzled over for decades. What was the effective range of a war bow? What was the typical draw weight? How many shafts a minute could a war bow put into the air? How effective was the war bow against plate armor, really? How were the strings made? The list goes on and on. However, Soar's intent is to try to figure out what was historically possible, not to write a 'How to Create Your Own War Bows and Arrows' book. Arrowhead making aside, there is not much technical instruction. If you have bowyery knowledge already, you will most likely gain some insight. If not, you will still learn a lot, but not enough to do it yourself.
To Soar's credit, his approach is practical, as well as academic. Soar is no stranger to the bowyer's and fletcher's arts. However, he collaborated with other experts, such as Mark Stretton and Chris Jury, in order to gain as complete an examination as possible. Stretton's analysis of arrowhead design and effectiveness was particularly interesting, as he is a blacksmith capable of reproducing replica arrowheads and an archer trained in the skills necessary to shoot 150+lb war bows.
At the same time, Soar is very open about the limitations of his research. Frustrating for the reader, as well as the author, he has to confess at several places that source evidence either does not exist or is incomplete. He is also very clear about the limitations of his own testing. Despite these problems, Soar does a good job of using what evidence there is. His conclusions, whether you agree or disagree with them, are not flights of fancy, but thoughtful, well educated guesses.
However, the reader is ultimately left with the conclusion that there are still more secrets of the war bow yet to be explored and, perhaps, some of them will never be winkled out. That is the only disappointment of the book. One hopes that in the not too distant future there could be a More Secrets of the English War Bow.
As in his previous book, Soar's writing style is conversational, which makes the tremendous amount of information very accessible. He is also thorough. Each topic is treated individually, carefully, and with obvious affection. The author evidently loves his subject. Some times you would wish he would linger on a topic a little longer, but, considering the subject size, nothing is orphaned.
In conclusion, the book is highly informative, thought provoking, and reads well. It is accessible to the average person with little or no knowledge of archery or history, but, if that is the case, I would recommend Soar's previous book, The Crooked Stick, before you tackle this one to get some background. Academics would find this book helpful, also.
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