If you or anyone you know plans a trip to Provence, make sure this book goes too! It is an excellent guide to the wonderful Provencal outdoor markets. If you want to experience Provence at its finest, this is one of the very best guide.

Full of gorgeous color photos, this is a beautiful as well as helpful book. After the trip, it is wonderful to go through the book again and savor all of the great memories. For the finest produce, cheese and other delights of the South, this book is a must have!

This excellent book was in the kitchen of a house we rented a couple of years ago in Caromb, northeast of Avignon. Not only were the lists of daily markets invaluable, but the recipe for quails with spring onions on tapenade-covered croutons, for example, allowed us to make good use of local products. (With all those fabulous tapenades available at market, I did not make my own, as the recipe suggests.) Patricia Wells's introduction reminds you of her own invaluable guides to food throughout France, and her inspiration and influence are apparent throughout the book -- the level of knowledge, enthusiasm, and appreciation for the wonders of Provençal food is engaging and contagious. The illustrations remind you of places you've been away from too long and get the juices flowing for a return visit for markets you missed the last time.

My cousin and I just returned from a 9-day trip to Southern France. Our highlights can all be found in this wonderful book. We met Henri Tomas and taste-tested and approved the Galette specialty of the house; taste-tested and brought back many bottles of wine from Chateau La Canorgue. We followed the suggestions and pretty much made the rounds to all of the sites. Our last evening in Provence, we sampled the goat cheese, bread from Henri Tomas' patisserie and the wine...we added our own Picheline olives and fresh market tomatoes to make our meal complete...what a last supper to have in France. Joy of Life, Indeed!!!!!! Thanks for making our trip a 10++++++.

I loved this book! It describes the vastness of medieval life and castles, covering so much ground. Besides that, Warner has a wonderful way with words and gives his experienced opinion on many matters, and can't help but agree with him fully. As a writer of medieval fantasy, this book has helped me so much! I will keep it as a permanent reference while I continue exploring the mysteries of the medieval world and write down what I can't see for myself.

Philip Warner was lecturer at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, England and is the author of a numerous of books.
In this work, he gives you the need for the Castle, why it came into being, how it developed. He show the strict structure of the Castle society - inside and out, the lives of the people running it and those serving in it, even down to what they are and worse. He even cover medieval recreation!!

He breathes live into the subject, giving a fresh new look instead of tired impressions.

Excellent work for people wish to see Castle life as it was or for Writers of Historical works.

Highly recommended.

This beautifully illustrated book explains how and why castles were built in the middle ages and why they were such a dominant influence on medieval life, especially in times of war. Philip Warner recreates a complete picture of daily life in a medieval castle: how peasants and nobles lived; how men fought in tournaments and trained for combat; how castles were sited, designed, managed, attacked and defended; and what the the people who lived in them ate, drank, and wore. This book will also go a long ways toward breaking up some of the preconceived notions that people have about castles. One learns that the castle was not primarily a refuge. The object of the castle wasn't to retreat from conflict, but to control it. The Medieval castle was a dynamic integral part of medieval society and Philip Warner does brilliant work in showing this. Whether you're a medieval history buff or just a curious layman read this book. It will take a little effort to find it, but it's worth the time.

It does not matter if you all ready are a "fort-geek" or some one, who just want a book on the topic: This book will for sure please you.

"The Medieval Fortress" is a nice big (app. 11" x 8.5" or 28,5 x 22 cm), 319p. book, which covers the development of fortified places through out Europe and North-Africa from the early to the late middle ages - when the forts had their glory.
The book is built up of five main chapters. The First deals with the elements of a fortification; the Second deals in general with the different kind of fortifications in different parts of Europe (Islamic, Byzantine, Frankish, British, Norse, Slavic and Magyar (Hungarian)); the Third does the same, but with emphasis on the emerging castle; the Fourth chapter introduces gunpowder and the decline of the high castle walls through the description of several sieges (Constantinople, Rhodes, and siege of fortifications during the Reconquista); Chapter Five goes in depth with some selected fortifications in Europe: Some of the more famous ones and some more obscure. The reader is guided through fortifications/castles in Great Britain, Ireland, France, Low Countries, Switzerland, Holy Roman Empire, Scandinavia, Central Europe (present day Slovakia, Czechia, Hungary, and Slovenia) Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Eastern Mediterranean, Italy, Spain&Portugal, and North Africa. The appendixes gives the names of some more important builders and architects and their titles in different languages (French, Portugese, Spanish, Duch, Sweedish, and Russian), a chronology of important sieges from 623 (Constantinople) to 1529 (Vienna), a history of medival artillery and a glossary.
There are endless amounts of B/W pictures alongside with even more B/W line drawings and plans of forts, just like on the front cover of the book.

This book is a very good buy!

(Review based on First DaCapo Edition, 2001)

If you liked Sydney Toy's book on Castles, you will love this one. Covering the earliest origins of castles to their decline at about the time of the Rennaisance, this book is a must-have for anyone fond of castles or interested in the middle ages. Although it has only black & white pictures and other books may contain a larger number of castles, this book is incredible in its scope of the subject and covers much history of the important castles and towns of Europe in the middle ages. Reading about this history and seeing pictures of the fortresses & towns gives me a feeling of how it was like to be there. I now have a wish-list of ancient towns & strongholds I would like to visit. The book has many 'basic' floorplans of castles & towns as well as rough maps of the regions talked about. Enough info for many book reports; great for design ideas since the coverage spans hundreds of years & styles of construction from All over Europe.

The Medieval Fortress: Castles, Forts And Walled Cities Of The Middle Ages is a superbly researched and presented historical survey of the castles and other walled defenses of medieval Europe. Fortification specialists J.E. Kaufmann and H.W. Kaufmann explain the origins and evolutions, compositions and components of these structures, along with their offensive and defensive strategies, weapons, and modifications. The informative, photographically illustrated and engaging text is enhanced throughout with technical artist Robert M. Jurga's illustrations, detailed technical drawings. The Medieval Fortress is an enthusiastically recommended addition to any personal, academic, or public library medieval studies reference collection or reading list.

Eileen Power's Medieval People sets out to study the Middle Ages not from the viewpoint of an Historical abstraction, but rather from that of the people who lived during the age. It is an account of six individuals who lived during the MA's; Bodo, a Frankish Peasant; Marco Polo, the famous Venetian merchant; Madame Eglentyne, prioress of Chaucer; an anonymous middle-class Parisian housewife; and two English merchants, one engaged in the wool trade and the other a clothier in Essex. The author has illustrated various aspects of social life of the era by drawing on such sources as account books, diaries, letters, records, and wills. She starts the work with a previously unpublished essay entitled "The Precursors," which describes the barbarian conquest of Rome. In this, she describes the lives of three men, Ausonius, Sidonius and Fortunatus and uses them to foreshadow the life that would re-emerge in the Middle Ages.
She starts by imagining a day in the life of the Peasant Bodo, in the time of Charlemagne. From her study of primarily economic documents from the Middle Ages of this time, she not only extrapolates but truly brings to life Bodo and his wife Ermentrude. From there, she goes on to the better documented life of Marco Polo, and also describes how he served as an inspiration for Columbus. Madam Eglentyne is next. Here, Power humorously details the inner workings of a gossipy nunnery and how Eglentyne would have gone about her life as an aristocratic women of God. She next details the life of a middle class Parisian housewife by studying the contents of the Menagier's Wife and validating many of it's points by citing other documents. She concludes by detailing the lives of the two Thomases; Betson and Paycocke of Coggeshall. Both are merchants and provide a chance for Power to really show off her grasp of medieval economics as well as an ability to compile disparate correspondences into a story of a life. This is a rare scholarly work that truly entertains while being read. One of the best books I've ever read.

Wonderful scholarship in a most readable written style. Goes beyond institutions to discover real people of the "middle" ages.

Eileen Power studies the Middle Ages, not from an abstract historical point of view but from simple and real people and what we can know about them. I particularly like her study of Marco Polo, from his notes and diaries, which gives us a materialistic and realistic vision of what they saw of the world, and not what we want to see of what they saw. I also loved Madame Eglentyne, a prioress taken from Chaucer but at once identified to one particular prioress through real life archives and descriptions. A very interesting and useful book to enable us to capture the density of everyday life in the Middle Ages.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU

Last year I struggled through Paris with a huge, fold-up type map. This year, I'm taking this pocket-sized one, and I expect it to be a lot easier.

When I first discovered this book when visiting Paris, I thought it was the most innovative idea and a real gem. After many more trips, I have found it to be invaluable and more useful than I could have ever realized. Many of my Parisian and French friends have their own copies so it is not just a "tourist" thing. Even when I am in the States, I find it useful for recalling the zip code for my friends' Parisian addresses or remembering where that one great bistro is located when recommending it to a friend. The pocket-sized scale of the book is most helpful in fitting in an average suit pocket or the most elegant of evening purses. It is a Parisian must along with real café and good pastries.

This is a complete map of paris and all its surrounding neighborhoods. The most important thing about this map book is that it is pocket-sized, spiral bound, and organized by Arrondissements. You can very quickly find the map you need. You don't look like a lost tourist staring at a two-foot by two-foot unfolded paper map (which typically tears along the fold-lines). The pages are a high-grade of paper. And the map can be held discretely in one hand.

I am French and was born in Provence, so I have spent most of my days there, except when I travel and when I was modeling in the world of high fashion. I know every village, and I fly my plane over Provence many, many times. I bought this book because it is so beautiful and shows the many wonderful places in my part of France. I am not good at taking the pictures, like these men do, and besides, I always do the flying. My sister would have to do the picture making. If you buy this book, you will be able to see my beautiful Provence in the pictures whenever you want to. Provence is very old and very picturesque, that is why the photography is so good. If it was not a most beautiful place in the world, it could not be so beautiful of a book. I am French and so I know it is this beautiful. It is more beautiful in the real world, if you can even think that. We have lots of cobble streets. Everyone loves the flowers, so you will see most beautiful flowers everywhere you look in Provence. We have hidden waters that come out into our special fountains. Every village must have their fountains and some are very, very old and are more special than any place else in the world. We like things to be beautiful, so you never see anything ugly in Provence. The earth is very good to us. We have herbs growing everywhere in the countryside. Lavender, Rosemary, and Thyme, you can find just walking in our wonderful hills. We love colors in Provence. Blue, yellow, ochre,green, we like all of those colors. Marcel Pagnol lived in Provence, too. He made his films and his books because he loved Provence. He was French. If you want to see a beautiful book that will make you smile and smile, get this book, and then come see for yourself that I am lucky to be French and live in Provence most of the time...................... ................Presented to you by Summer

Provence is heaven to me.I love the hills, the variety of plant life, and the exquisite villages with their definitive shuttters and dove cotes. The fountains bubble with life. The cobbled streets lead to some of the most fetching homes and buildings in the world. The Provencal people dress their windows in lace and paint the exterior and interior of their homes in the colors found in the Provencal landscape: blue, yellow, ochre, greens. Terracotta roofs provide the most wonderful color and texture to the landscape. Somehow everything blends wonderfully! The creators of The Most Beautiful Villages in Provence capture the essence of this southern region of France. The photography vividly presents the viewer with a panorama of gorgeous scenes: fields of lavender, geraniums in pots leading to a beautiful door, roof top views that are breathtaking, undulating paths that take you to splendid spots, aerial views of villages, an old roman road and bridge. A friend of mine, who was born in Provence, gave me this incredibly beautiful book; the only thing better, she says, is to be there! I plan to take this book with me to Provence next summer!! After seeing this book, nothing can keep me away!

In my opinion (and in the opinion of my wife!), Provence is the most beautiful place on earth, and the most romantic! My wife and I spend two weeks every year just traveling through the little hill towns and villages with no agenda other than to just enjoy ourselves, eat wonderful meals and luxuriate in the landscape. Besides getting a firsthand view of the most gorgeous place on earth, we find there is no better place than Provence to renew the love and friendship between us. If your ready for romance, then buy this book and take off. If not, you'd better stay at home.

Marie dreams of being a ballet dancer, but cannot follow her dream without a sponsor. This book was neat because Marie could do some dancing, and had a big surprise at the end (I think the best books have a surprise at the end!)

I loved this book from the very first page on! Marie has a tranquil life in bussling Paris, France. Her day consists of helping her parents in the family Cafe and Pension(pahn-SYOHN) or boarding house. Then meeting with Madam Gabrela for her dance lesson. Or, at least, that's how it used to be... Now, the streets of Paris are begining to fill with rebels, the air is filled with the whispers of Revolution. Change is in the wind not just for France, but for Marie personally. Some very important people begining to weave into Marie's life, giving her an idea that just might help with the Country's poverty problems. I absolutly loved this book! It provided such a vivid picture of France and her people, at such a difficalt time in it's history. This book taught me not only about France's Revolution, but parts of it's lanuage as well. Try it. You'll love it!

Marie is really cool! An invatation to dance s the beginning of her adventures! The best part was the suprise at the end! I think you'll like it!

While I think the Company of Saynte George has done a great job and certainly has pictured a good amount of their work, I do not recommend that those of ou reading this book take this as a definitive guide on how to be a medieval soldier or think that these photos are perfect; Embleton himself has said that some things in the book are just not right. While the book is very good, if you intend to do any reenactment of the time period, continue doing research for yourself and do not stop with this one book.

This book seems to be a continuation of the research done for the Osprey books where I came to know Mr. Embleton's work. As has been mentioned by another reviewer, this is not the end all be all of medieval soldiering resources, as Mr. Embleton says himself in the book. We can not know everything about what was made or worn in this age as not enough still exists to accurately document any given subject. Mr. Embleton's vast knowledge of his subject and in-depth research, I believe, allows him to make very good "guesses" as to what the pictures "mean." I do sincerely believe that this book is one of the better resources and deserves a place on any re-creationist's book shelf. Also, it is a great read! Be sure to check out ANY book with his name associated with it!

A fantastic guide for anyone researching the life of the medieval soldier. Wonderful photgraphy showing the common man-at-arms to the mounted knight. As well as woman soldiers of the age! I highly recomend it.

first to say - I've had my copy of the modern antiquarian for a few years now and it's enjoyed pride of place in my car for most of that time. never a book to be without if you're driving around britain.

but.. whoever thought this serves as a textbook must be.. new to the subject. some of the scholarship in here (the etymology in particular) is so wonky that I've laughed out loud while reading it - and this is not said as a cynical person. there are some really basic, glaring, wince-making errors, where julian has just tried to fit facts to his story.

the reason why I DO keep a copy with me is the second half, the gazetteer. this is written with so much energy, awareness and good humour that it becomes more of a companion than a book. accurate location details and directions, beautiful presentation, off-the-cuff poems, a sense of the author's own reaction and spirit. a really uplifting read - all the more reason why I wish the first half wasn't so shaky.

"The Modern Antiquarian" is a gorgeous book. It comes bound in a hardcover bright orange and metallic blue, the spine reminding me of a "sharp right turn" sign or a succession of Chevrons. The "dust jacket" is actually a hard cardboard dark blue and orange case with a cut-out in the center that focuses on a white sillouette of a dolmen, which is imprinted on the orange book cover itself. All the looks aside, this is a fabulously informative book on a subject which you can never have enough information. Julian Cope obviously took the time and effort to research and photograph the numerous prehistoric sites listed. He includes essays on the different folk-lores, theories, and conjectures that are forever lingering in such mysterious and unknown structures. His descriptions of the sites are very passionate and personal. He incorporates enough poetry, maps, personal photos, and enthusiasm to immerse the reader into taking the journey with him. The pages are full with pictures and are color-coded according to region. Anyone who is interested in prehistoric Britain, stone circles, or the just the very beginnings of human culture should read this book. It is a wonderful guide to a wonderful place.

The last thing you might associate Julian Cope with is a book about British Neolithic sites but this book is actually rather good. As someone who lives near many of them and who has a passing interest I was grabbed by his enthusiasm. He manages to infect the reader with a sense of place and wonder, after all, these Stones meant a lot to the people who put them there- Julian Cope seems to understand that. Rather than being a re-hash of some mad Von-Daniken book or an 'Aliens must have built these' afficiando he has done his homework and produced a book that could stand in pride of place beside any University textbook. Don't let put you off, an excellent text.

Even if you aren't too keen on the opinions and the poems this book is an excellent guide to British neolithic sites and who knows, it might make you want to visit them yourself. You should.

Mr. Mc Dowall's book, THE KURDS, sheds light on the ancient inhabitants of mountainous Kurdestan, a region rich in resources but torn by constant conflicts and wars. this book illustrates the uphill strugle of Kurds against regimes in Iran, Turkey and Iraq, for freedom, independence, or just mere recognition. I recommend this book to anyone interested in Anthropology, history or power politics.

Very detailed description of the modern history of kurds. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the history of the kurds.

The only shortcoming of the book is that it stops in the year 1996. And thus does not account for the capture of Abdullah Ocalan, the leader PPK, and other major new incidents. Nevertheless, you will learn a lot!

The tragic history of the Kurds, with regards to their internecine politics vis-a-vis the various tribes, and more importantly their use as a pawn by larger states in the harsh realpolitik of the region has been captured in this extraordinary book. From the Treaty of Sevres, which offered a glimmer of hope to the Kurds for statehood, to the Treaty of Lausanne, which ultimately marked the end of any Great Power support for statehood aspirations, the book creates a remarkable story.
Following WWI, and with the subsequent jockeying for power in the region following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, McDowall presents a clear pattern of failure by the Kurds to coalesce and create a common front to articulate their views. Also presented is the similarly clear pattern by the states, which currently have Kurdish populations, to disenfranchise the Kurds and marginalize their political aspirations.
This history covers the fallout from the Coalition war against Iraq (Operation DESERT STORM). I would love to see a more current version of the book which discusses how the current status quo has refueled Kurdish aspirations for autonomy...likewise I would like to see how recent events in Turkey have affected the Kurdish population of SE Turkey.
A great book for both the casual reader of the history of this volatile region of the world, and for the scholar alike...Highly recommended. McDowall has penned the authoratitive modern history.