Weapons and Armor and Research

I couldn't find a blurb for this book, despite searching for a while. I would just type up the inside dust jacket copy, but I returned the book to the library almost a month ago.



Phaidon Guide to Antique Weapons and Armour
Robert Wilkinson-Latham

Release Date: August 2010
Genre: History
Rating: DNF
Source: Library
Buy the Book: Out of Print
Content Warning: None!

No Blurb found. :(

I checked this book out of my local library to read for research for a historical romance I have in the works. Okay, technically, my husband checked it out. But I always planned to read it.

My first disappointment came in the introduction, when I found the book only covered the period beginning after the fall of the Roman Empire. I wanted it to read about the weapons and armor used during the Roman Empire. Dang.

But I have several other ideas for historical stories, so I continued reading.

The twenty pages I read that first day turned out to be the most I read of it in one sitting.

Drier than the dessert, it nearly put me to sleep. The topic is interesting, the illustrations were outstanding. The presentation, however, left much to be desired...

How do you make such an interesting topic boring? By not listing developments in weapons and armor side-by-side. By saying, but not showing how, one influenced the other.

Also by sounding like the most boring history professor imaginable. Even worse than the ghost teacher from the Harry Potter series. Seriously.

In conclusion: No matter how fascinating subject, a boring presentation makes it not worth finishing.