"...Luard presents his arguments with clarity, commitment, and persuasiveness. The breadth, relevance, timeliness, and readability of this book strongly recommend it..."-Choice

A critical examination of the British defence system over the last century.

In the last half of the twentieth century, the world's two most powerful nations, the United States and the Soviet Union, have been unable to impose their will on far smaller and weaker countries notably Vietnam and Afghanistan by means of armed force. Evan Luard suggests that these failures are symptomatic of a fundamental change in world politics. The conflicts in question were typical of the wars that occur today. They were not traditional set-piece confrontations between industrially developed powers, each deploying its maximum capabilities against the other as in the Second World War; they were low-level conflicts in developing countries, undertaken primarily by guerrilla forces. In all such wars the fundamental issue is political power, and the author contends that political rather than military factors are ultimately decisive. Given the declining credibility of a resort to nuclear weapons, the balance of nuclear power is increasingly irrelevant in world politics. Luard draws his conclusions from a wealth of examples in recent history. He examines the various forms of armed intervention that have taken place. He also considers how the superpowers could reduce the dangers of regional conflicts, how Western Europe could influence relations among the superpowers, and how the UN might be made more effective in maintaining peace. The book is thus a source of practical ways to defuse tension at the world's political flashpoints, and a wide-ranging survey of many of the principal issues in contemporary international relations."

Jointly Published with the British Royal Armouries Medieval fighting has long been thought to be rough and untutored. Visions of men madly slashing to and fro and hoping for the best still dominate not only popular culture but modern histories of fencing as well. In recent years, the survival of more than 175 fighting treatises from the Middle Ages and Renaissance has provided a whole generation of enthusiasts, scholars, reenactors and stage choreographers with a wealth of new information. This text represents the earliest known text on swordsmanship anywhere in the world. Royal Armouries MS I.33 presents a system of combat that is sophisticated and demonstrates the diffusion of fighting arts beyond the military classes. Within the manuscripts richly illustrated full-color illustrations lie still-potent demonstrates of sword techniques, surprisingly shown by a Priest and Scholar. Most surprisingly, however, is the presence of a woman practcing in the text, the only one illustrated in any European fighting treatise. This full color facsimile & translation has been long-awaited and promises to become an important resource for years to come

Vols. 24-52 include the proceedings of the A.N.A. convention. 1911-39.

Katharine Briggs enjoys an unchallenged reputation in the world of folklore studies. The theme of this volume, the witch figure as a malevolent intermediary in folk belief, was chosen to reflect that aspect of Briggs's scholarship exemplified in her study of witchcraft, Pale Hecate's Team. The contributors draw on the disciplines of archaeology, comparative religion, sociology and literature and include: Carmen Blacker, H.R. Ellis Davidson, Margaret Dean-Smith, L.V. Grinsell, Christina Hole, Venetia Newall, Geoffrey Parrinder, Anne Ross, Jacqueline Simpson, Beatrice White, John Widdowson. Originally published in 1973.

A young man in his teens is transported from our world to a magical realm that contains seven levels of reality. Very quickly transformed by magic into a grown man of heroic proportions, he takes the name Able and sets out on a quest to find the sword that has been promised to him, a sword he will get from a dragon, the one very special blade that will help him fulfill his life ambition to become a knight and a true hero. Inside, however, Able remains a boy, and he must grow in every sense to survive the dangers and delights that lie ahead in encounters with giants, elves, wizards, and dragons. His adventure will conclude next year in the second volume of The Wizard Knight, The Wizard. Gene Wolfe is one of the most widely praised masters of SF and fantasy. He is the winner of the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement, the Nebula Award, twice, the World Fantasy Award, twice, the John W. Campbell Memorial Award, the British Fantasy Award, and France's Prix Apollo. His popular successes include the four-volume classic The Book of the New Sun. With this new series, Wolfe not only surpasses all the most popular genre writers of the last three decades, he takes on the legends of the past century, in a work that will be favorably compared with the best of J. R. R. Tolkien, E. R. Eddison, Mervyn Peake, and T. H. White. This is a book---and a series---for the ages, from perhaps the greatest living writer in (or outside) the fantasy genre. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

The Life And Death Of Sir Astanax Knight is a story based on dreams and visions of a past life, if there ever is such a thing. It follows the life of Sir Astanax Knight, through his young age of misunderstandings of knights, to his first and last loves. It shares some facts of knighthood with it as well. Sir Astanax is also plagued by a woman who appears only in his dreams. Who this beautiful woman is, is a mystery. This is my first, and perhaps only book, but I believe you will find enjoyment out of reading this tale of chivalry, sword fighting, war, love, adventure, and greed in my book, The Life And Death Of Sir Astanax Knight.