Lords of Battle: The World of the Celtic Warrior (World of the Warrior)
Stephen Allen | 2007-03-27 00:00:00 | Osprey Publishing | 224 | Ancient
To the classical civilizations of Greece and Rome, the Celtic warrior of the late Iron Age was the archetypal barbarian: savage, undisciplined, and bloodthirsty. In a clash of cultures that lasted almost 500 years, the rich and vibrant society in which he lived, fought, and died was virtually destroyed, becoming the stuff of myth and legend.
Covering the period from the first mention of the Celts by ancient Greek writers to the Roman conquest of Britain, this book examines the Celtic warrior, his society and his place within it, and the conflicts that would eventually destroy his world. Beautifully illustrated with many examples of Celtic art and craftsmanship, this book provides a fascinating insight into a culture whose legacy has endured to the present day.
Reviews
This book is a great starting place for someone who is interested in learning about the Celts and their starting point. The narrative is easy to read and yet still in depth. A lot of the sources quoted in this book are avalible from Amazon. The photographs of the various artifacts are wonderful and both in black-and-white and color.
The only problem that I have with the author is that the book could be a little longer and go even deeper into the subject. But all in all, this is a great book.
Reviews
The item was to be delivered in May, has not arrived, it has been 10 days since email was sent to bookseller and still no response....unless something changes I would not use them again
Reviews
This is a good introduction to Celtic civilization. It is well illustrated with numerous color photos that blend well with the text. The bibliography, although brief is current. It would have benefited if the quotes from ancient authors were noted as to the relevant chapter or book. The book is a bit thin when it comes to the actual history of this wide-spread Celtic peoples and has two glaring errors. The author seems to think that a potlatch is a celtic term (even listing it is his glossary. The sutor also gives an incorrect date for the battle of Zama it was 202 BC, not 146 BC.
Reviews
This book is very good. If you have any older titles on Celtic history you'll find this a good update based on more recent archeological findings. If you have no previous reference material on the ancient celts, this may be your best, first, book on the topic. Very readable with excellent photographs of artifacts.
So, why the three stars? Basically, this book is published through Osprey. They are world renowned for their graphic and interpretive content, especially for gamers, modelers and to a lesser extent the reenactment community. They are THE industry standard in graphic illustrations of military settings.
I considered this book would follow previous Osprey hardback formats: recombinations of many of their individual paperbacks into a cohesive and comprehensive whole. I was sadly mistaken. There are no illustrations by McBride or other renown illustrators who've graced the many Men-at-Arms, Warrior, or fortifications series. There are a limited number of photos of reconstructed forts or specific military items. Instead there is a greater or equal emphasis on artistic artifacts. None of the lush hillfort renderings or other graphical content that would have made this a one stop, show all, book on the ancient celts are included. That of and by itself was the greatest disappointment I've experienced from any Osprey title.
So if this is your first title on the ancient celts, it's probably a 5 star purchase, if it's a much needed update to your celtic collection, it's probably a 4 star. If you're an Osprey fan looking for specific renderings or a cohesive combination of previous graphics, you should probably NOT buy this book.
It would have been fantastic if they had combined the graphics from the "rome's enemies" and other men at arms series with the fortifications series... it would have "brought it all together" into a comprehensive and visual whole that has never really been done for the celts. This is no "Empires Collide" or "The Normans Warrior Knights and Castles"; consider the format changed for this title, before you buy.
Reviews
Lords of Battle was a really, really good read. Many books on the Celts are more like references, with many nice pictures, discrete sections etc., books that you tend to dip into, but not read through. With Lords of Battle however, I read it cover to cover, and enjoyed it greatly. The text is great, the images beautiful, and its well turned out. As the title suggests, it is focused on Celtic Warrior, but not exclusively so, there is a lot of accompanying information. If you want to read only one book on the Celts (giving a broader view, linguistics, insular Celts etc), then it should be "The Celtic Empire" by Peter Ellis, but this book makes a good accompaniment, and there were a number of interesting perhaps "new" nuggets of information, that I have not found in other books on the Celts. For example the early retrograde movements of the Danubian Celts into Britain and what is now Belgium, some interesting things on the Celtiberians etc. Its an excellent addition to anyones library on the Celts.
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