Thom RichardsonIslamic Arms and Armour (Royal Armouries: Arms and Armour)

I wasn't a fan of this book. The majority of it was weapons and armor from the 19th century. It only had a few things from the 15th century, but that was it. I was expected jazerants and swords from even the time of Muhammad. And that wasn't here. Go elsewhere, if you're not looking for modern stuff.

This is an excellent book, especially given the limits of the collection. The collection is based in Britain and is largely from 1500 - 1900. There are hundreds of photos of swords, daggers, handguns, cannons, shields, maces, and other such weapons.About 10 pages are an introduction to the collection, to Islam, and to especially the pre-Islamic Persian cultural influences that would spread throughout the Islamic world.From there, the Turks get about 50 pages of material. This is followed by about 5 pages for Arabia, about 15 pages for Africa, 15 for Iraq and Iran, 5 for the Christian realms of Georgia and Armenia under Islamic hegemony. The remainder of the book is a few pages each for Afghanistan, India, and Indonesia.Granted that distribution, the text is great. The author explains differences in style without bogging you down in details. Many weapons included a zoom-in to a sword hilt or a design feature as well as a zoom-out of the entire object. There are helpful maps with major battles marked, a glossary at the end, and a short "for further reading". I recommend this book.