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The History of Castles: Fortifications Around the World
The perfect tour guide to the world's most fascinating castles and strongholds.
191 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2001
4 people are currently reading
46 people want to read
About the author
Christopher Gravett
66 books7 followersChris Gravett is a former Senior Curator at the Royal Armouries, Tower of London, and a recognized authority on the arms, armour, and warfare of the medieval world. He has worked as an advisor for numerous TV and film productions, and has written many books. He currently works as a curator at Woburn Abbey, Bedfordshire.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 15, 2013
"History of Castles: Fortifications Around the World" is absolutely astounding. I found this oversize 2001 book while browsing randomly through the 710s and 720s (Dewey Decimal) library aisles.
The text is extremely well-written, and is never boring or condescending, even though Gravett goes very in-depth on his subject matter.
The book is filled with hundreds of amazing sketches, photographs, and color plates of castles and fortifications from around the world, many of which I had never seen before. It ends with a fascinating one-page glossary of castle-building terminology.
I am busy right now, selecting a few of the book's photographs which I will attempt to sketch for my own enjoyment. It is painful to know that I must return this beautiful volume to the library in just a couple of weeks.
I could continuously read this book over and over again for many years, and never be bored.
The text is extremely well-written, and is never boring or condescending, even though Gravett goes very in-depth on his subject matter.
The book is filled with hundreds of amazing sketches, photographs, and color plates of castles and fortifications from around the world, many of which I had never seen before. It ends with a fascinating one-page glossary of castle-building terminology.
I am busy right now, selecting a few of the book's photographs which I will attempt to sketch for my own enjoyment. It is painful to know that I must return this beautiful volume to the library in just a couple of weeks.
I could continuously read this book over and over again for many years, and never be bored.
April 23, 2023
Book: The History of Castles
Author: Christopher Gravett
Rating: 2 Out of 5 Stars
This is another case of the book not being for me. I love reading about castles and their uses. Therefore, I was very excited to give this one a go. However, it ended up being more of an overview of castles instead of the deep dive that I was looking for. Overviews are fine, but it wasn’t what I was looking for.
In this one, we are taken around the world to visit famous castles and forts. Some are very well known in history and others not so much. We are taken through their uses, structure, and how they were added to the castle. Again, this could have been interesting, but it was more of an overview. This would be helpful if you are someone who is planning on going to various castles and learning about them.
The book is also filled with pictures and diagrams of the castles. We get to see what the castles look like today, which is always a nice touch. It makes us see their wonder of them and puts us right there in the castle. It also allows the reader to see the different types and models of castles in different parts of the world. This was very interesting for me. I also liked getting to see how the castles changed throughout history.
My biggest problem with the book and what made it a miss for me was the lack of detail. If you are someone who is looking for something with a bit more detail and wants to expand your knowledge of castles, you may find this one to be rather weak. It doesn’t give you enough, in my opinion, to get a firm grasp on the castle. If you are someone who does have a deep understanding of castles, you are going to be bored with this one. It’s kind of a fine line. However, if you are planning on visiting several castles, this would be a great refresher. I guess it all just depends on what you are wanting to get out of this book.
Overall, it was just a miss for me.
Author: Christopher Gravett
Rating: 2 Out of 5 Stars
This is another case of the book not being for me. I love reading about castles and their uses. Therefore, I was very excited to give this one a go. However, it ended up being more of an overview of castles instead of the deep dive that I was looking for. Overviews are fine, but it wasn’t what I was looking for.
In this one, we are taken around the world to visit famous castles and forts. Some are very well known in history and others not so much. We are taken through their uses, structure, and how they were added to the castle. Again, this could have been interesting, but it was more of an overview. This would be helpful if you are someone who is planning on going to various castles and learning about them.
The book is also filled with pictures and diagrams of the castles. We get to see what the castles look like today, which is always a nice touch. It makes us see their wonder of them and puts us right there in the castle. It also allows the reader to see the different types and models of castles in different parts of the world. This was very interesting for me. I also liked getting to see how the castles changed throughout history.
My biggest problem with the book and what made it a miss for me was the lack of detail. If you are someone who is looking for something with a bit more detail and wants to expand your knowledge of castles, you may find this one to be rather weak. It doesn’t give you enough, in my opinion, to get a firm grasp on the castle. If you are someone who does have a deep understanding of castles, you are going to be bored with this one. It’s kind of a fine line. However, if you are planning on visiting several castles, this would be a great refresher. I guess it all just depends on what you are wanting to get out of this book.
Overall, it was just a miss for me.
February 10, 2018
just a quick overview if dozens of castles around the world.
December 24, 2013
Great overview of medieval castles all around the world.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews