By The Sword

Description

The art and science of sword fighting goes back almost to the dawn of civilization and has been an obsession for much of mankind throughout recorded history. From the Roman arena to feudal Japan and from the duellists of Europe to the development of modern-day Olympic fencing, Richard Cohen traces the course of swordsmanship with wit and erudition in a fascinating and wonderfully discursive account. Packed with anecdote, superbly written and built on a solid foundation of historical research, this is a tribute to a deadly but beautiful skill, the mastery of which for centuries defined a man.

Author description

Richard Cohen is the author of By the Sword. He was previously publishing director of Hutchinson and Hodder & Stoughton and the founder of Richard Cohen Books. He has written for the New York Times, the Guardian, the Observer, the Daily Telegraph, and the New York Times Book Review and has appeared on BBC radio and television. In 2004 he was appointed Visiting Professor of creative writing at Kingston University and is the recipient of a Sloan Foundation grant for this book. He lives in New York City.