This article was featured on Bowdoin’s Academic Spotlight. Congratulations Tom! It’s a beautiful book with amazing photos and illustrations. (Inside images after the jump). I did some photoshop work for some of the images.
(from the article)
Thomas D. Conlan, Associate Professor of History and Asian Studies, recently published Weapons & Fighting Techniques of the Samurai Warrior, 1200-1877 AD (Amber Books, UK, 2008). The book traces the history and development of the Samurai over seven centuries, from a small band of horse-riders to a distinct warrior order, highly skilled with bows, swords, guns and canons. Conlan’s detailed scholarship on their weapons, armor, equipment, fighting techniques and siege tactics is accompanied by over 300 detailed line-drawings, color photographs and maps. “This was a wonderful opportunity to make my research more accessible to a popular audience,” noted Conlan. “There are so many myths around the Samurai. People think of a 700-year warrior class and tend to see a stasis, when in fact the modes of warfare were changing very quickly. I aimed to show the flexibility of the warrior culture both materially and culturally. The Samurai were very pragmatic. They found ways to survive and prosper in an era of great turmoil.”