Adam Kosto is an historian of medieval European institutions. He studied at Yale (BA 1989), Cambridge (MPhil 1990), and Harvard (AM 1991, PhD 1996) before joining the faculty of Columbia University in 1997, where he now serves as Professor of History.

Kosto's clear and systematic work is testament to his brilliance, not only as a historian, but also as a storyteller. The book itself is packed with wonderfully illuminating material on the medieval hostage, but also the analogous development of medieval power structures and society. The versatility of this book means that it would not only be of interest to a well-established historian (legal or otherwise), but also to a non-historian, or someone starting out in the field.

• 1. Hostages in the Middle Ages: Problems and Perspectives ; 2. Varieties and Logics of Medieval Hostageship ; 3. Hostages in the Early Middle Ages: Communication, Conversion, and Structures of Alliance ; 4. Hostages in the Later Middle Ages: Representation, Finance, and the Laws of War ; 5. Conditional Hostages ; 6. The King's Ransom ; 7. Hostageship Interpreted, from the Middle Ages to the Age of Terrorism

Adam Kosto is an historian of medieval European institutions. He studied at Yale (BA 1989), Cambridge (MPhil 1990), and Harvard (AM 1991, PhD 1996) before joining the faculty of Columbia University in 1997, where he now serves as Professor of History.

Kosto's clear and systematic work is testament to his brilliance, not only as a historian, but also as a storyteller. The book itself is packed with wonderfully illuminating material on the medieval hostage, but also the analogous development of medieval power structures and society. The versatility of this book means that it would not only be of interest to a well-established historian (legal or otherwise), but also to a non-historian, or someone starting out in the field.

• 1. Hostages in the Middle Ages: Problems and Perspectives ; 2. Varieties and Logics of Medieval Hostageship ; 3. Hostages in the Early Middle Ages: Communication, Conversion, and Structures of Alliance ; 4. Hostages in the Later Middle Ages: Representation, Finance, and the Laws of War ; 5. Conditional Hostages ; 6. The King's Ransom ; 7. Hostageship Interpreted, from the Middle Ages to the Age of Terrorism

Adam Kosto is an historian of medieval European institutions. He studied at Yale (BA 1989), Cambridge (MPhil 1990), and Harvard (AM 1991, PhD 1996) before joining the faculty of Columbia University in 1997, where he now serves as Professor of History.

Kosto's clear and systematic work is testament to his brilliance, not only as a historian, but also as a storyteller. The book itself is packed with wonderfully illuminating material on the medieval hostage, but also the analogous development of medieval power structures and society. The versatility of this book means that it would not only be of interest to a well-established historian (legal or otherwise), but also to a non-historian, or someone starting out in the field.

• 1. Hostages in the Middle Ages: Problems and Perspectives ; 2. Varieties and Logics of Medieval Hostageship ; 3. Hostages in the Early Middle Ages: Communication, Conversion, and Structures of Alliance ; 4. Hostages in the Later Middle Ages: Representation, Finance, and the Laws of War ; 5. Conditional Hostages ; 6. The King's Ransom ; 7. Hostageship Interpreted, from the Middle Ages to the Age of Terrorism