⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 9/10
Anyone with an interest in Roman history, be that in fiction or non-fiction, will often come across military passages where various items of equipment are mentioned. One of them will certainly be the ubiquitous gladius. We won’t even think about it; we’ll move on without a second thought, confident that we know exactly what is being talked about.
But it does us all good, once in a while, to pause, and challenge our own pre-conceptions. That is exactly what this book does. It’s not a big book – about 80 pages – but appears to contain just about everything known about this iconic sword. And the story is not as simple as it may appear.
The author traces the history of the gladius; its probable origins, its various incarnations, how it was made, and gives his views and opinions as to why the changes occurred. Because you can tell a lot from this seemingly simple weapon. Why was it so successful? Did the changes to the gladius over time change Roman tactics? Or did a change of tactics lead to changes in the weapon? There are no clear answers, but the author does an excellent job of explaining the competing theories, and explaining his own conclusions.
The other thing worth mentioning are the illustrations. There are many, and they add enormously to the text. Pictures of extant weapons in various European museums, as well as pen drawings and diagrams. This, of course, means that this is not an ideal book to read on a Kindle. If you buy the Kindle version, it is definitely worth reading it on a tablet or PC if you can, or at least using one to look through the pictures.
Overall, this is an excellent resource. Clear, concise and beautifully illustrated.
This is a review of the Bloomsbury 2016 Kindle edition.
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