Archery Books

This is a treasure of a book. If you're an American history buff, you will love this. Maurice Thompson writes about his adventures afield with bow and arrow in the post-civil war South. His descriptions of daily life and customs left me with a sense of the times. His commentary is by present-day standards very politically incorrect; however, it comes off as just being authentic. Finally, his detailed accounts of the habits of animals and birds, the weather and trees bring out his unapologetic love of the natural world. He has a most earnest and gentlemanly style of writing. I imagine he was a thoughtful, courteous, and respectful individual.

A gentle book telling tales of archery in the deep south of USA, poetic and visually descriptive of the slower life of holiday adventures and the enjoyment shared by two brothers with the bow and arrow during the late 1800's, don't be put off that it is a photocopy book of an out of print edition, the print might be bad, but the content is good. Good bedtime reading.

Like twenty serpents bound together hissed the flying arrows feather. Mauriece Thompson wrote this book in a gentler time for a less politically correct reader.

The documentation of two brothers who go into the woods to escape yankee persecution after the civil war. Living off the land and surviving in the swamps of Florida, they live off the land with what their hand-made bows and tackle can produce. If you're into archery or the post civil war this is a must have(if someone had not seen fit to steal my original copy I wouldn't be looking for another).

In Chinese Archery, Stephen Selby draws upon his years of study and interest in Chinese language and culture, as well as an accomplished archer, to present a definitive history of traditional archery in China as related by historians, philosophers, poets, artists, novelists and strategists from 1500 B.C. down to the present day. Written around parallel text translations of classical Chinese sources (some famous, some obscure), the reader is provided vivid and detailed explanations of the techniques of bow-building, archery and crossbow technique over the centuries. Chinese Archery is unique, definitive, and a very impressive contribution to Chinese history, and the sport of archery.

I have not only read through most of this book, but also met the author. He is someone who is quite the expert at practicing the archery in which this book discusses. I have found this book to be extremely thorough in both the history of archery in Asia, as well as the forms and exercises associated with it's practice. The level of research makes this a scholarly work but presented in a readable fashion full of pictures and diagrams where appropriate, translations of period references on almost every other page, and instruction on how to shoot a bow in the Chinese style as can only be told by someone with personal experience in addition to the translations of instruction from various texts.

A nice feature of this book is how archery in China is put into perspective across the large span of history and geography it covers. It is not an isolationist view of a single culture but rather it takes into account the styles of archery as well as the attitudes about it from the various cultures that were both influential to and influenced by China.

Overall I would say it is an intense, well rounded book and I highly recommend it.

"Chinese Archery" by Stephen Selby is a book that iseasy to use. The author introduces the subject of each chapter, thenfollows with the original Chinese sources and his straightforward translations. He then discusses the texts and the ideas they present. Selby is careful to include references to variant interpretations, where the texts may be ambiguous or where there may be scholarly debate. Unless it is vitally important to reading a given section, most of this discussion is kept to footnotes. The book covers three thousand years of archery in China and discusses bows, arrows, crossbows, archers' rings, targets, and shooting technique. Selby includes some clear and relevant colour photographs at the beginning of the book and supplements them with black and white photographs in the body of the work. He also uses old woodblock prints, computer-generated drawings and diagrams to illustrate the translations. "Chinese Archery" is a good resource for the scholar and an interesting book for the nonspecialist. An extensive bibliography and the careful discussions of the translations are a positive advantage. Having the Chinese texts present makes this book more valuable than a translation only because the reader can check the original. With the discovery of new material, "Chinese Archery" will become a reference for identification and comparison. The bow-maker and the archer will benefit from the descriptions and instructions in this book. Readers, who are interested primarily in other forms of traditional and modern archery, will at last have an insight into what really was going on in Chinese archery over the last three thousand years. The general reader will see through the window of a particular activity the many ways in which a culture can approach dealing with its problems, including education and social relations.

A stroke striking someone down at the age of thirty two - it can happen, and it struck down a woman in her prime. "Shooting Star: The Amazing Life of Ann Marston" celebrates the brief yet accomplished life of Ann Marston, beauty pageant champion, archery champion, model, & early promoter of Rock N' Roll. Covering her short life, it is an inspirational yet sad tale and a cautionary tale that everyone may be struck down, so always consider the now. "Shooting Star: The Amazing Life of Ann Marston" is a must for community library biography collections.

Shooting Star tells the story of archer extraordinaire Ann Marston. Born "In the shadow of Sherwood Forest" in 1938, Ann won a local beauty contest at ten months old and soon became a popular child model, appearing in numerous print ads and catalogs throughout England. She showed an interest in archery and by the age of nine was winning archery competitions throughout England.

In 1949 the Marston family moved to Wyandotte, MI, where Ann became an international archery champion, a finalist in the Miss America pageant and a rock band promoter despite being diagnosed with diabetes at age 12, which eventually stole her sight. Ann's life ended tragically in 1971 after suffering a massive stroke.

Author Alana Paluszewski had access to Ann's personal diaries, family home movies and photographs, enabling her to accurately tell the story of the first female professional archer. Shooting Star: The Amazing Life Of Ann Marston is of interest to archery aficionados, Detroit pop history buffs and anyone interested in reading the inspirational story of a true sports pioneer.

Anyone who is into the fine sport of archery should buy this book and become familiar with this facet of history!

Did you know that the bow was used for both hunting food and as a weapon? Traditional Archery is a beautifully illustrated book about how archery shaped civilization for many centuries.

Bert Grayson has incredible knowledge on this subject, and we are so happy that someone has taken the time to put this all in a book that can be shared with others instead of sitting in a room in Missouri. Awesome, informative...a must for anyone who loves archery through the ages!

This volume provides an overview of the world-class Charles E. Grayson collection of archery equipment, housed at the University of Missouri, Columbia. Traditional Archery is an important guide to the diversity of bows, arrows and other related paraphernalia used by ancient and modern cultures across the globe. This work will become a standard reference on the subject, taking a rightful place alongside other classic studies such as Mason's 1893 North American Bows, Arrows and Quivers, Heath's 1971 The Grey Goose Wing, and Hamilton's 1982 Native American Bows, for example.

Traditional Archery is well-written, providing information on the nomenclature and technology of bows and arrows, as well as region-specific discussions of equipment from Asia, the Middle East, Africa, the Americas, and Europe. The photographs complementing the text are superb, providing the reader with representative examples from the Grayson collection. Additional illustrative materials include photographs, drawings, and paintings showing archery equipment in use in a variety of settings such as hunting and warfare.

The value of this book lies in the presentation of a large amount of information in a manner that is accessible to the general reader, but is also detailed enough for scholars researching the prehistoric and historic manufacture and use of archery equipment. Dr. Grayson is an outstanding authority on the subject, having studied archery in all its aspects as a historian, bowyer, and hunter. His background, along with the breadth of the collection he amassed over many decades, makes Traditional Archery a unique contribution.

What an excellent book!! I could not put this book down!! It is a definate page-turner!! Very well written. The author did her research as it gives an insight to a great historical figure. I highly recommend this book!!!

Shirl Kasper has written the most historically accurate book on Oakley. Her marriage to Butler was in 1882, remember she loped 6 years off her age when another younger woman sharpshooter joined Buffalo Bill's show? She was 21 when she married Butler, not 16 as many books show.

Like Dave from Australia, I recall reading this book-several times-when I was in high school 40 years ago. Altho I have not read it since then I can distinctly recall my fascination with both the subject and the writing style. Mr. Hodgkin wrote with the tone of a mature, objective, and humble authority, yet also with a restrained passion and love for his subject, with historical anecdotes strewn throughout the text. There is considerable detail and many photos, such as how to "rough out" a stave with a hatchet. You would just love to sit with this man in front of a fireplace with a pot of tea and encourage him to talk about the longbow. As a man taking up shooting a longbow in my late fifties, I will be ordering this book and look forward to reading it once again.

I first read this books years ago when I was still in high school, and became totally devoted to the longbow. This book was written some time after WW2, so is a little biased towards that bow classics: yew, lemonwood and osage. Adrian writes fluidly and clearly, and with that old-school english that is absoloutely charming.

Reading this is like sitting next to him, talking to him personally about longbows and archery, it's that warm and welcoming.

Chapters range from selecting wood, making strings, bows(Dah!), shooting technique and the longbow in a historical context. There is a broad scope of information within these covers, but none of it is vague.

This book is well worth it.

on one page, for example, he uses "individual" several times. there are obviously many other words one could use, such as "man" or "person," but for some reason Austin prefers to be boring.

The bibliography of Homeric studies is almost inconceivably vast (there are acute comments by contemporaries of Socrates), and I can't claim to have read more than a small fraction of even the major works in English. However, I once made an effort to find, and read, the most famous and / or frequently cited works.

At about the same time this work first appeared, to generally excellent reviews, and I added it to my "must read" list as soon as it arrived in the UCLA library. Although I found that I disagreed with, for example, some of his views on the oral-formulaic theory of composition, the argument was well-expressed. I kept on reading. The previous reading of major critics turned out to be helpful in understanding Austin's book, which itself proved exceptionally illuminating for my next re-reading of Homer -- not always the case, unfortunately.

"Archery at the Dark of the Moon" is in part a close reading of the Odyssey, in part a sustained argument over theories of reading and interpretation. As I have suggested, it is probably not a good place for someone to start. For those with some background, in both Homeric issues and critical theory, it will be rewarding reading.

Don't ask me to sort out exactly how it changed my views of an already familiar text, not at this date. When I re-read Austin in paperback in the mid-1990s, I was surprised at how familiar it still seemed; I had assimilated that much. For me, that marks it as an extremely impressive book.

The first chapter, for example, despite my reservations, has some acute observations about the "fixed epithets" attached to Odysseus, and how their appearance is governed by more than metrical considerations. He shows that almost all of the sixty-odd uses of "polymetis" -- usually translated as something like "of many plans" -- appear when the hero is about to cajole, convince, or trick someone. He suggests that "thinking hard, he said" might be a better rendering. In any case, this hero is being described in ways more meaningful than his ships, which, as is well known, are "black" or "hollow" in accordance with the space to be filled in the line, not their appearance or cargo capacity.

On larger issues, too, such as the working of the story, Austin has much to say that is worth attention. I doubt that there will ever be a generally convincing explanation of the (rather bizarre) archery contest that forms the climax of the epic (and provides his title), but Austin is at least interesting as a critic of the story, without needing to propose unusual axe-shapes and odd modifications of the laws of physics to justify the text.

This really ought to be back in print.

Good basic book explaining the essentials in stance, bow handeling and marksmanship +, helped this beginner a lot and i would reccomend it for anyone who has , or is learning the sport on their own.

I learned the basics of archery. It was very helpful in setting up a program.

Unlike Philbert Suggs review, which is obviously, a sarcastic, soap-box stance, of a denial ridden, brain damaged animal rights/anti-hunting advocate who has not read the book in the first place. He is obviously shrouded by self-substantiated lies including his false profile in which he says he is a hunter and uses Elvis as his picture (a drug-ridden, stammering bafoon such as himself, evidently). Such people could benefit from reading such books in which denials of natural processes of life and death are not tolerated and truth is spoken. People are hunters by nature, Ted has always promoted that as he does in this book. Ted has never tolerated false idealistic views such as those perceived by Mr. Suggs who thinks his food has never had an effect on an animal or the environment or has denied that his actions through his course of life has never lead to the death of an animal or destruction of their environment. People who share views as those of Mr. Suggs pave a dangerous path to destruction of humanity through denial and lies. Rock-on Ted, and keep on spreading the truth of humanity and our impact of the environment, helping to preserve habitat and the abundace of wildlife for generations to come, and teaching kids to not just "Say No" to drugs, but, to kick the dealer in the balls, drag them in to the street, smash them into the curb and leave them to rot in the gutter. You have helped many youth to preserve their life and give them a good path to follow to become an asset to their community and the wild in general.

I myself am not a hunter. I really just do not understand it. However, my husband enjoys it immensly. While I do not understand the hunting mentality I do understand people such as Mr. Suggs. While, Mr. Suggs is exceedingly gifted in the art of penning sarcasm, he unfortunately lacking in his choice of reading materials. I find it odd that a person who does not enjoy a sport, nor the person who is participating in the sport, would read a book involving both. I give kudos to Mr. Suggs writing ability, shame on him for speaking out of turn.

My 5 year old son loves this book and has learned well the meaning of the stories, highly recommended!

This is a picture book with two short stories simple enough for a five-year old to enjoy but good for older children too. Through the stories of two young Chinese boys seeking lessons from the old masters we are introduced to the concepts of meditation, mindfulness and discipline. The book includes simple definitions of Buddhism, Shaolin, Sifu and Kung-fu. The stories are about Kung-fu and archery.