The chapter on weaponry is descriptive and there are excellent drawings as well as contemporary illustrations. Equally, the final chapter on the conduct of sieges is admirably forthright... the index is particularly good. TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT

In medieval warfare, the siege predominated: for every battle, there were hundreds of sieges. Yet the rich and vivid history of siege warfare has been consistently neglected. Jim Bradbury's panoramic survey takes the history of siege warfare in Europe from the late Roman Empire to the 16th century, and includes sieges in Byzantium, Eastern Europe and the areas affected by the Crusades. Within this broad sweep of time and place, he finds, not that enormous changes occurred, but that the rules and methods of siege warfare remained remarkably constant. Included are detailed studies of some of the major sieges including Constantinople and Chateau-Gaillard. Throughout, Bradbury supports his narrative with chronicles and letters. First-hand accounts of danger, famine and endurance bring the acute reality of siege warfare clearly before the reader.

JIM BRADBURY is the author of 'The Medieval Archer'; he writes and lectures on battles and warfare in England and France in the middle ages.