The Book of the Crossbow: With an Additional Section on Catapults and Other Siege Engines (Dover Military History, Weapons, Armor)

Any work on crossbows, or any work on the history of arms that includes crossbows will have this book in the bibliography. So if you're studying crossbows, the impact of crossbows on history and society, seige weapons, the evolution of projectile weapons, or any related topic, start here.Section I, history; Arguably the weakest section of the book, as new manuscripts have turned up and reconstructive work has been done. Still, it is a solid foundation to the military and civil (and uncivil in the case of poaching) history of crossbows. There is also a discussion of the first firearms. Note also that most modern reconstructions cite original crossbows in museums and private collections, and this book.Section II, construction and management of crossbows through the sixteenth century; wherein several crossbows from the eleventh century through the sixteenth century. Payne-Gallway meticulously details construction of the stock, lockwork, prod, string, and accessories. And he then gets into how to use the crossbows. This is an exhaustive discussion of all aspects of making and using the discussed crossbows, and provides more than enough detail to do this at home (although it lacks the caveats about "Don't do this at home, you'll put an eye out"). No kidding. Follow Payne-Gallway's directions, and you will have a serious crossbow, that could put a quarrel through an engine block.Section III, construction and management of crossbows nineteenth and early twentieth century (and some odds and ends); This section gets into sporting crossbows as made and used prior to the development of fiberglass and composites. The odds and ends are the best part. A Chinese repeating crossbow, bullet shooting crossbows, and arrow throwing are some of the best parts of the book.Section IV, seige engines; Heavy ordnance! Trebuchets, and catapults, and ballistas, oh my! These would make excellent directions for a model builder or someone with a grander vision.In the addenda, there are more seige engines and a discussion of Turkish bows.This is an inspirational book. Payne-Gallway details all manner of awesome toys for responsible adults, and provides a robust foundation for reseach into a wide range of topics.This book is, however, not for people who are inclined to say "Watch this!", or can't be trusted to handle lethal impliments. Do not launch automobiles from a trebuchet without a safe impact area and emptying the gas tank. Crossbows were tools of war, and can kill. Kids; don't do this at home.I loved this book. I've used it extensively in historical research and projects, and personally find it very engaging.E.M. Van Court

Excellent book and illustrations with important historical data of personal use. Some information on its battle tactics, logistical issues such as weather, maintenance, etc. would have been more helpful as would whom would have been more likely to carry it in off battlefield operations [guards, sailors, bodyguards]. Costs for various crossbows have been left out due to the large number of periods and regions covered which would have some use to me as well. 4 out of 5 stars!

If you want to learn about the crossbow and the variety of them through the ages, this book is the best source i can think of. The author is extremely well versed in the subject and uses language most readers will be able to understand without a dictionary. In addition to this, the pictures and photos used give great information to those that need pictures instead of words to understand. I'm one of these and found the pictures very helpful in understanding things.I sttrongly recommend this book for anyone interested in this miltary and sport shooting subject.

it is a very thorough history of the cross bow and thorough information on how to build one.the language is very dated, being written at the turn of last century.. so, insightful on that little bit of history as well.even had some additional stuff pertaining to that era of warfare, useful if writing a period novel.

Amazingly in depth, very interesting and thorough work on the medieval crossbow. A joy to read even if a bit outdated in language. When your subject matter is hundreds of years old, even a book like this from the turn of the 20th century is still extremely relevant and useful!

This is about 100 years old now. It seems to be very thorough. The author rebuilt a number of historic crossbows for European museums so he knows his stuff. He describes some of the mechanisms but he does not provide plans per se. His drawings are detailed enough to follow pretty well.

My husband was able to make a crossbow for himself using this book.

I never imagined there could be such a fascinating and comprehensive book like this. The more I read, the more I am amazed and pleased. A book full of incredible information, pictures and details. Vast historical, technical and theoretical material with detailed and profound explanations on the subject. Recommend immensely.

I didn't have high hopes for this on a Kindle as tomes such as this with lots of referenced illustrations don't transfer well. It ISN'T as good as reading a paper copy of this wonderful book: I first read it as a school boy in the 1960s and even then it was a 1958 re-print of the 1903 original and you do really need one finger on the illustrations and one on the relevant text to get best value from it.Although it's not clear from the blurb and the 1904 Appendices are available as a separate Kindle book they ARE included in this edition.

After having looked for an affordable copy of this book for a very long time, I was amazed to find I could down load it to my Kindle. it is the ultimate read for all who are interested in the crossbow, its history and construction. It is every bit as good as the library archive copy I originally read, when I first became interested in building crossbows.

Tells you all about the history and is great if you like your crossbows.

one for those who love history and like to know how things work

The books contents are amazing. A very good read. However the edges of the pages had a load of grubby black marks. Not something that I would associate with a brand new book.