The Medieval Crossbow: A Weapon Fit to Kill a King

Wow - a wonderful exploration of the history of the crossbow. Thoroughly researched and well thought out, I flew through this book in no time, and learned a lot along the way. Ellis-Gorman does a nice job explaining all the various iterations of the device and how they differ mechanically in the first few chapters, and then goes on to talk about the major historical occurrences. There's a lot of postulating going on. Much of the history the book raises cannot be verified or known for sure, and we're reminded regularly that “this is just another mystery that will likely remain unsolved” or “more study is required”, and while any history book worth it's salt is bound to ask more questions than it answers, it seems like the author is reminding us of this more regularly than necessary.

It's a small criticism, since I found this book so engaging. I was especially fascinated by the section on the West African crossbow, and by the hunting/trap crossbows.