The Medieval Fortress: Castles, Forts and Walled Cities of the Middle Ages

Book Description

The castles of the Medieval world continue to interest readers, both as architectural wonders and because of their dramatic role in world history. The general public is largely unaware of just how many castles survive today or over how wide an area of Europe and the Middle East they are to be found.

Fortifications specialists J.E. and H.W. Kaufmann and technical artist Robert Jurga (authors of the acclaimed Fortress Europe: European Fortifications of World War II) have once again combined European sources and personal observations to present a unique portrait of military architecture. They reveal how the medieval fortress combined both Roman and barbarian features, with some influences from as far away as China. Detailed coverage is given to castles in the British Isles, France, Germany, Moorish Spain, and as far east as Poland and Russia, as well as Muslim and Crusader castles in the Middle East.

The Medieval Fortress covers the origin and evolution of the castles and other walled defenses, their major components, and the reasons for their eventual decline, which was not solely due to the introduction of gunpowder. Also receiving extensive coverage are the weapons and equipment of garrisons and besieging troops. Over 100 photographs and 400 extraordinarily detailed technical drawings accompany the main text, which also takes an in-depth look at representative castles of each major type.

Customer Reviews:

Total Information - Great Line Art - Very Krunchy.......2004-11-18

This book starts from the first few pages with an in depth study of the fortified positions of the middle ages - i.e. castles, keeps, etc. Despite a level of detail that may be too in depth for a beginner, the book itself provides a very readable style and is absolutely full of useful information (krunchy bits) for authors or others wishing to make an in depth study of medieval fortifications (ATTENTION GAMERS!). It has hundreds of high quality, albeit sometimes confusing, line art portraits that show each and every aspect of castle or its related cousins (where is #67 again - its sometimes like Where is Waldo finding the numbers referenced in the subtext). The book also has a great deal of information regarding siege techniques and the weapons used therein - and this information is fantastic in its level of detail and the included line art! The included photos are all in B&W, and some are rather grainy, but by far, they all serve the purpose they were intended to - they show the true grandeur of the castle as it was.

Within the text, the authors do have a habit of referencing other authors, which, if your looking for more on the subject, is good. However, by page 80, they have referenced at least 30 other authors and works (is that not what the bibliography is for).

Outside of this one complaint, the book is absolutely invaluable to anyone interested in the subject!

NOTE: This review references the soft-cover red front edition of the book, which I could not find the link for on Amazon (it may be an out of print edition or not, I am not sure - however, the TOC of the this edition appears identical to mine, so I am assuming that the contents have only been repackaged for the HB binding).

A Good General Overview but.............2004-11-17

On the whole, I found this book to quite informative with many detailed descriptions of medieval European castles and cities. On some specific castles the data can be fairly general. I found this to be most obvious on castles that I have been fortunate enough to visit in the past and purchase a guide brochure or booklet from which I naturally compared the data.
I found the section on eastern European fortifications and their developement over the centuries to be very interesting as this was a subject I previously knew very little about.
But I do have one major 'gripe' or dissatisfaction with the book. The detailed and extensive floor plans provided throughout the book all suffer from some serious 'under labelling'. For example, a specific castle floor plan might have 20 itemised (numbered) points or features of interest on it. But when one refers to the "legend' or 'key' to find out what a certain feature is, it becomes painfully obvious that not all 20 features are actually clarified or described in the key. This is a fault that is not isolated and is unfortunately prevalent on the vast majority of floor plans in the book.
I'm not sure whether this problem is peculiar to the published edition I purchased or is in fact inherent throughout the whole published run. In any case it appears to be a large oversite in the 'quality control' department of the book's publication process. Other than these faults, I thought this book to be a good 'read'.

Great study of medieval castles.......2004-06-01

If you've been looking for a complete book on medieval castles, you have found the book for you. Although it touches lightly on such on such areas as medieval food, hygene, and battles, the bulk of this book is an in-depth study of castles. The writing is a bit dry, but very informative, covering fortresses from England, France, Itally, and even eastern Europe. I doubt there is much about castles unsaid in this book.

Medieval Fortress by Kaufmann.......2003-09-30

This is an excellent work. It would be perfect for a student
project with a focus on Middle Ages building designs. The author
provides detailed engineering specifications for castles, forts,
a motte and rising towers. The engineering statics implications
are explained in the detailed design process. The work covers
action implementalities; such as, the ram, siege and cannon.
The author spends a portion of the book explaining how
war objects were constructed during the Middle Age period.

In addition, he concludes that an increase in wall size
necessarily means weakening the overall superstructure.
Some time is spent explaining the model diet for the period
which consisted of wheat, barley, oats and fish. This work
will help readers understand the building requirements
for structures created during the Middle Ages. The book would
be valuable for historians, art buffs, architects, engineers
and a wide constituency of other readers.

Just get it - you will not regret!.......2002-03-26

It does not matter if you all ready are a "fort-geek" or some one, who just want a book on the topic: This book will for sure please you.

"The Medieval Fortress" is a nice big (app. 11" x 8.5" or 28,5 x 22 cm), 319p. book, which covers the development of fortified places through out Europe and North-Africa from the early to the late middle ages - when the forts had their glory.
The book is built up of five main chapters. The First deals with the elements of a fortification; the Second deals in general with the different kind of fortifications in different parts of Europe (Islamic, Byzantine, Frankish, British, Norse, Slavic and Magyar (Hungarian)); the Third does the same, but with emphasis on the emerging castle; the Fourth chapter introduces gunpowder and the decline of the high castle walls through the description of several sieges (Constantinople, Rhodes, and siege of fortifications during the Reconquista); Chapter Five goes in depth with some selected fortifications in Europe: Some of the more famous ones and some more obscure. The reader is guided through fortifications/castles in Great Britain, Ireland, France, Low Countries, Switzerland, Holy Roman Empire, Scandinavia, Central Europe (present day Slovakia, Czechia, Hungary, and Slovenia) Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Eastern Mediterranean, Italy, Spain&Portugal, and North Africa. The appendixes gives the names of some more important builders and architects and their titles in different languages (French, Portugese, Spanish, Duch, Sweedish, and Russian), a chronology of important sieges from 623 (Constantinople) to 1529 (Vienna), a history of medival artillery and a glossary.
There are endless amounts of B/W pictures alongside with even more B/W line drawings and plans of forts, just like on the front cover of the book.

This book is a very good buy!

Book Description

Castles and Forts is rich with factual and visual details about life inside the world's many different types of fortifications.

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History of Forts and Castles
Ian Hogg
Manufacturer: Crescent
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Forts and Castles: Masterpieces of Architecture

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Forts and Castles: Masterpieces of Architecture
Terri Hardin
Manufacturer: New Line Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1577170326
Release Date: 2005-01-01

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Forts and Castles of Ghana
Albert van Dantzig
Manufacturer: Sedco Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 9964720106

Book Description

The forts and castles of Ghana form a unique memorial to a precolonial period when representatives of European trading companies bartered as equals with African merchants. It was a colourful episode of world history spanning four centuries, from the fifteenth century Portuguese voyages of discovery to the beginings of the imperial epoch. This books traces the history of more than fifty forts, castles and trading posts built on Ghana's coasts by various European nations. Each entry is accompanied by a descriptive guide and black and white illustrations. Albert van Dantzig, originally from Holland, has lived in Ghana since 1963 and is the senior lecturer in history at the University of Ghana, he is the author of two previous books; The Dutch Participation in the Slave Trade and The Dutch on the Guinea Coast, 1680-1740.

The Sand Castle: Blockade Running and the Battle of Fort Fisher (Wm Kids, 17.)

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The Sand Castle: Blockade Running and the Battle of Fort Fisher (Wm Kids, 17.)
Margaret Whitman Blair
Manufacturer: White Mane Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1572493461

Book Description

A carefree day at a Civil War museum turns perilous as 14-year-old Jamie Henry, his older brother Rob, and their friend, Sarah Singleton, journey back in time to December of 1864, the final days of the war in Wilmington, North Carolina. Jamie hopes to save pretty Madeline Manon, daughter of a blockade-running captain, from certain death in a shipwreck. But he is thwarted in his efforts by the ship's first mate. Meanwhile, Sarah takes a job at nearby Fort Fisher as nanny to the small children of Colonel William Lamb and his wife, Daisy. The colonel is the fort's dashing young commander whose mighty cannons defend Wilmington and safeguard the blockade runners bringing in arms and supplies for the Confederate army. When Jamie's older brother Rob joins them in the past, he becomes an aide to Colonel Lamb, as the army at the fort frantically prepares for a massive Yankee invasion by land and by sea. When Jamie is drafted into the Junior Reserves, both brothers must ! fight for their lives in the terrifying Battle of Fort Fisher, as well as struggle against their common enemy, Gaston.

Forts and Fortresses: From the Hillforts of Prehistory to Modern Times-The Definitive Visual Account of the Science Fortification

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Forts and Fortresses: From the Hillforts of Prehistory to Modern Times-The Definitive Visual Account of the Science Fortification
Martin Brice
Manufacturer: Facts on File
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0816022380

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ONE FINE BOOK
Correction on Review of Texas Forts History
Mixed Review of An Illustrated History of Texas Forts

Illustrated History of Texas Forts
Rod Timanus
Manufacturer: Republic of Texas
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1556227957

Book Description

This guide presents over one hundred Texas forts and camps in the order that they came into being, and illustrates their history with period drawings, plans, and maps.

Customer Reviews:

ONE FINE BOOK.......2001-03-14

"Something of Value" is not just the title of Robert Ruark's book but also a fitting description of this one by Rod Timanus. It should be highly recommended to anyone interested in Western history, generally, and in Texas history in particular. Among its outstanding illustrations is a fascinating overlay titled "The Alamo - Then and Now," comparing the current plot parameters with those of the sprawling original compound in 1836.

The author's acquired professional skills, his evident personal predilections, and exceptional perceptions are evident in the book. What were the real names of Kit Carson and Bat Masterson? What was "the mile-long shot"? Here you'll find the answers to these and other questions.

Gathering information is only one facet of a researcher's work. Finding what he seeks is one of the more time-consuming features of his job. What distinguishes this book from most others is its efficiency: it presents information which apparently can't be found elsewhere in a single volume, thereby saving time and effort for both the interested reader and the historian.

It's not a textbook and wasn't so intended. Too many reviewers examine a volume merely by reading only the text - and they very often do so, it seems, without overmuch regard to an actual examination and real consideration of it, focusing not on the book's substance but on how they'll "criticize" it. The Introduction or Preface to any book is usually the key to understanding its target, and clarifies the scope and intent of the volume. The aims of the author become clear when that section is read. As just one example, some might see this book as an unlikely "travel guide." That's not the book's purpose.

In keeping with available information, historical priority and practical logistics, some entries have relatively thorough histories while others have shorter sketches. If the aggregate details in each and every case don't resolve conjectures or provide explanations to questions long-unanswered (and which may remain forever-unanswerable), they are still details which shed more light on what transpired in those places so long ago.

It's very relieving to see that this book isn't saddled with the affectation known as footnotes, which are comparable to hearing a knock at the door on one's wedding night. Anyone can provide them. Not everyone, however, can take the information normally and traditionally found in footnotes and weave it skillfully and seamlessly into the tapestry of the text. Those who are sticklers for specific dates and names of historical figures associated with a fort should look elsewhere. That's not the aim of this book.

This volume's very existence exemplifies the principle of priority, a concept from which many of us could learn. The author of this work has evidently set a goal, which he's clearly met, of producing a book that can be read and enjoyed by the reader, not merely examined and studied exclusively by the scholar (though they should surely benefit from it). The author discusses matters that would be of interest to virtually anyone with even an indirect interest in Western history.

The astute and discerning reader would view this book for what it is: an illustrated history of Texas forts, just as the title says. Those who can gauge something on its own merits are the exceptions, not the rule - but they're the gems in the settings of an author's readership.

Those who would benefit most by this volume and would respond most positively to it, be they laymen or historians, are those with the prudence and integrity to form their own opinions and draw their own conclusions. The author evidently has enough confidence in his readers' intellect to feel they will do this. This book would be at least enough to satisfy one's desire for historical information, would be the ideal starting point for additional research, is enjoyable reading and, perhaps most importantly, it should meet the expectations of those interested in learning about the forts of Texas. - - JEFFREY DANE, e-mail: Jeffdane43@aol.com / March 14, 2001.

Correction on Review of Texas Forts History.......2001-02-15

Upon re-reading the book's section on Presdio de Los Adaes, I did find the a few sentances relating to the history of the fort on page 41. I want to correct myself and clarify that the book does have some text related to the drawing on page 42. It is not enough to satisfy my own desire for historical information.

The book also presents a nice overlay map of historic Fort Stockton and its present location in the present-day Fort Stockton, Texas.

I would also like to state that however disappointing the book was to me from my own historical scholar's viewpoint, "An Illustrated History of Texas Forts" would be nice reading for those who are interested in a less-detailed history of the state's forts. It would be good reading for those buyers who have a casual interest in Texas fort history and would suffice as a nice gift for them.

Mixed Review of An Illustrated History of Texas Forts.......2001-02-15

Sadly, this book did not meet my expectations of what I thought it was going to be. It is one of several books published by the excellent Republic of Texas Press Company, but this particular book did not meet my expectations for the subject matter; in particular, it falls short on the specific history of Texas Forts.

My faults with the book are that it provides only sketchy details on lesser-known forts located throughout Texas. Some of the fort histories barely make a sentance or short paragraph in the book. Historical dates in the book are very generalized and I am a stickler for specific dates and names of historical figures associated with a fort. Several of the forts listed do not include a specific location, only a generalized region. In the Civil War-section of the book, the histories of several Confederate camps are not addressed at all, and only the location of their historical markers are printed. And for some inexplicable reason, the map of Presidio de Los Adeas is presented on page 42, but no text accompanies it in the book to explain its significance to Texas history.

The book does have some good points, such as the historical overlay map of the Alamo outlining its place in modern-day San Antonio. Bigger forts and battles are covered in more detail, but not any more than can already be found in other existing Republic of Texas books such as Bill Groneman's "Battlefields of Texas". The book does have a few more maps of other forts and some accompanying modern-day drawings are presented, but I believe the book can hardly be called an "illustrated" history of its subject matter.

This book would also not make a good travel guide, except to the most well-known forts, for which information can be picked up elsewhere.

Book Description

Join Kat, Lynn and Alex as they experience the most bizarre summer of their young lives. An uncovered treasure takes them on a wild adventure filled with flowing hot lava, a dangerous castle, indian attacks and a death defying pirate fight. Become part of their experience as they Chase their dreams and imaginations. Perhaps the greatest leg of their journey is the discovery of true friendship.

Customer Reviews:

A child's Imagination can take them anywhere.......2006-11-15

This story was great fun and a terrific reminder to how a child's imagination can take them anywhere they wish to go in the land of make believe, especially when trying to find something to do over summer vacation. If you grew up in the country at all, you will be able to relate to these three bright kids and their yearn for adventure in the woods. For the author's first writing attempt, it is a well imagined adventure, although the ending leaves you still kind of wondering. Overall, a thrilling adventure, and a formation of a great friendship.... Didn't we all try to start a club at least once.....

Adventurous.......2006-08-16

My mom bought this book for me and I found it very adventurous as I became involed with the characters and their attempts to figure out the treasures. Lots of suspense and mystery...you have got to read this story.

Exciting Children's Book.......2006-08-09

I found this book very interesting and perfect for children. It will draw them into the excitement because it's very believable! Great book!!!

Book Description

For more than thirty years, the bestselling Draw 50 series has shown children how to create everything from puppies to ships, horses to skyscrapers, and aliens to racing cars. In this new addition to the beloved series, Lee J. Ames shows you how to draw sixty of his popular sketches step-by-step. His clear instructions help budding artists learn the basic movements and procedures of drawing, allowing you to explore your interests in a fun, familiar, and easy-to-master way.

Customer Reviews:

Fantastic!.......2007-01-15

My son received this book for Christmas and LOVES it. It's a great book for anyone that loves to draw - it breaks everything down for you and has a step by step illustration for every picture in the book.

Draw 50 Aliens: The Step-by-Step Way to Draw UFOs, Galaxy Ghouls, Milky Way Marauders, and Other Extraterrestrial Creatures (Draw 50)

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A book drawers will love
a really good book
Draw 50 Aliens plus
A Wonderful Book for Children

Draw 50 Aliens: The Step-by-Step Way to Draw UFOs, Galaxy Ghouls, Milky Way Marauders, and Other Extraterrestrial Creatures (Draw 50)
Lee J. Ames
Manufacturer: Broadway
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 038549145X
Release Date: 1998-10-20

Book Description

Alien fever is running high: the Alien movies and reissue of the Star Wars trilogy have made outer space fascinating to a whole new generation of children. And who better to help budding artists master their drawings of the friendly folk from the final frontier than Lee Ames--creator of the phenomenally successful Draw 50 series?

An ideal tool for young artists or the parent or teacher seeking to help a child master their artistic skills, Draw 50 Aliens includes creatures from every walk of the galaxy: Ames gives instructions for drawing UFOs, Nebula Nomads, Milky Way Marauders, and every other type of extraterrestrial. And, in the tradition of the Draw 50 series, all of these characters are humorous, lovable, and very accessible for children.

With over two million copies in print, the Draw 50 series has successfully shown children how to create everything from a robin to a spaceship, Tyrannosaurus rex to John the Baptist. But with Draw 50 Aliens, Ames has--perhaps as never before--hit upon a deeply appealing subject, one that taps into children's sense of wonder and will keep them endlessly entertained and forever sketching away.

Customer Reviews:

A book drawers will love.......2003-01-15

I looked at the book Draw 50 Aliens. I thought it was a good book because it has easy steps for drawing the aliens and UFOs. I think kids in 4th and 5th grade who are good drawers would like this book I recommend this book to people who love to draw.

a really good book.......2001-03-25

This really helped my drawing talent. It taught me How to draw in a different way then i am used to. i rate this book five stars 'cause that is pretty much what it deserves.

Draw 50 Aliens plus.......2000-06-04

I bought this book for a younger friend who likes to drawstange creatures. I used to teach art to children and used a number ofthe Lee Ames books in my classes which were always a big hit. I noticed that not all children can follow the visual step-by-step instructions but those that did usually had a great time and good results. This books seems to be of the same quality as the other Lee Ames books I've purchased.

A Wonderful Book for Children.......2000-02-04

Ric Estrada, who illustrated this book, has come up with some wonderfully imaginative characters that show the younger reader the basics of drawing a cartoon character. Mr. Estrada, a forty year veteran of comic books and animation, shows how the building blocks of solid design are formed from the simplest of shapes. Not only is this a great learning tool, but the names and commentary inside are quite entertaining as well. I highly recommend this book.

50 Nifty Space Aliens to Draw (50 Nifty)

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The Greatest "How To Draw" Book

50 Nifty Space Aliens to Draw (50 Nifty)
Neal Yamamoto , and Jessica Oifer
Manufacturer: Lowell House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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50 Nifty Cartoon Characters to Draw

ASIN: 0737301635

Customer Reviews:

The Greatest "How To Draw" Book.......2000-05-18

One of my friends had this book! It is so awesome! It really helped me draw. I am not a very good drawer, but with the help of this book I made a master piece Alien! This is a great book!

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