Longbow: A Social and Military History Paperback – 25 May 2006

The book arrived as described and delivery was earlier than advised!

Historically informed and historic in its own right in that it is researched, written and updated by an actor who became fascinated by the longbow after playing the role of Henry V at Agincourt in Shakespeare's play and on TV. He started finding out more about the devastating power of the war bow by visiting the site of Agincourt and other battles of the 100 years war. Then he started finding yew wood, seasoning it, building bows of his own, and becoming a master archer. When the wreck of the Mary Rose was rediscovered at Portsmouth, he was able to identify the ship's store of longbows, advise in their restoration, and add the discoveries there and in other finds to his store of expert knowledge. He remained an advisor to and champion of the Mary Rose exhibition till his death in 2017.This book was located for me by a specialist book collector, and made available with admirable care.

A lot of interesting information.

Arrived on time. Matched the dealer's description, very good read. Sadly the only book Robert Hardy wrote on the subject.

Fascinating but quite difficult to follow. Hardy has not got a natural writing style. The subject matter does make up for this however

A really well written book which for me as both an archery and history enthusiast gave me great pleasure. buy it now !

This book, which I have enjoyed for a dozen years, I think, is quite excellent and has not got through to the history community, at least in Scotland, because of the usual snobbery: the author is an actor, so how could his book be any good? It is better than anything else because it is scientific. Every fact about the bow is discovered by making modern versions of the bows and trying them out in the field as well as trying them out to extinction in a science lab. Prof Pratt of London University (a physicist) has papers on the longbow in this book which answer every question. The essential questions historians often ask are: what is the maximum range and the rate of fire? 400 yards has been shown to be possible with a bodkin arrowhead. The maximum rate of fire is likely to be 30 arrows a minute and great accuracy at least over a short range.It is clear that the Scottish historians have learnt nothing from this book for the reasons given: they think they know it all already; and yet know nothing. They do not study anything at depth because they assume it cannot be understood or known.There may be a few undiscovered facts about the longbow, most of which may have emerged in the years since the book appeared. But make no mistake: this is the book on the subject. No historian knows enough about science to take this line. Well done Robert Hardy.There is a long section about the longbows found aboard the Mary Rose when excavated. Hardy was closely involved in person as in everything else.Is any criticism possible? Only this: Hardy gives the average height of archers as about 5ft 7 or 8, I think. His own height, I guess. In fact the skeletons of archers found in the Mary Rose were bigger, as he tells us. How was it they were known to be of archers? Because of the stress fractures in the spine, caused over time by drawing the powerful bow.A brilliant, very accessible book.William Scott (elenkus)

If someone mentioned the name of Robert Hardy to you, you would probably bring to mind a picture of an English actor with a plummy-voice and tweed suit, who has appeared in countless television and theatre dramas and you would be correct. Many people do not know Robert Hardy's alter ego, the author and man who is interested in medieval weaponry in general and the English longbow in particular. Robert Hardy also has a long association with the Royal Armouries, so it soon becomes apparent that his love and knowledge of weaponry has been gleaned over a long period of time. With these qualifications it is only right and proper that people interested in the subject are more than ready to read what the author has to say on the subject.I found the book both fascinating and informative. I did however feel that some of the photographs could have been slightly better, but this is a minor criticism and I suppose there are only so many ways that you can photograph a bow before the photographs begin to look repetitive. The book covers every conceivable question anyone could possibly ask on the subject of the longbow the medieval equivalent of the automatic rifle.The book takes us from when the longbow was first used, possibly 8,000 years ago, right through until the present day. It gives detailed information on how to make a longbow from scratch, showing the tools and material needed. It covers all the major battles where either the outcome was decided by this fearsome weapon, or it featured heavily in the battle and even shows photographs of bows that were raised with the Mary Rose, Henry VIII's ship of war.I found it fascinating to read about a weapon that virtually every Englishman had to practice using at some point during his life, much like the football practice that many young men religiously attend today. Although in the case of the longbow, depending on the period in history, we are talking about it was compulsory.