A dazzling collection of specially commissioned photographs presents a comprehensive historical survey of arms and armour. It not only illustrates their design construction and uses but also helps us to see how methods of warfare have changed over the last two or three thousand years.Starting with the earliest weapons known to man- flint axes thought to be 250 000 years old - the book traces the development of hand weapons through the daggers and spears of the Bronze Age the longbows of the Middle Ages the plate armour of medieval knights to the percussion revolvers of the nineteenth century. It ends with the rifles and revolvers of the American West.Arms & Armour is a compelling introduction to the history of hand weapons. It is an exceptionally beautiful and informative visual guide that gives us a very real sense of what it was actually like to be in combat - whether as a Roman legionary or a North American frontiersman.