Mike Loades – författare

With his signature hands-on style, Mike Loades experiences what it is like to handle various dogs engaged in their traditional tasks. These adventures take him to the Jordanian desert, where he shares the saddle of his camel with a Saluki and to the green hills of Wales, where he works cattle with a Corgi (yes that was their original job). He mushes Huskies in Alaska, drives carriages with Dalmatians, flies falcons with Spaniels, nets over Setters and herds sheep with a Border Collie. For the chapter on Companion Dogs, he returns to the start of it all, spending time with some high-content (98%) wolf-dogs.Each encounter not only highlights the bond between humans and dogs, it also frames that connection in its historical context. Different types of dogs appear the way they do because, at some stage in their development, they were bred selectively for a specialist job. The author takes key types on a walk through history. Along the way he explores the methods and practices of their original occupations. He delves into when, where and why they were first bred as the types we recognize today.The fascinating and engaging text is supported by over 250 stunning colour photographs of dogs in action. It results in an illuminating journey through many cultures and time periods. This book is a personal and heartfelt tribute to the enduring partnership between humans and dogs. Find out more at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJ2gwgRTix4

An ancient design, emerging from Central Asia in the second millennium BC, the composite bow was adopted by a staggering variety of cultures, from nomadic tribal peoples such as the Huns, Turks and Mongols, to mighty empires such as the Romans, Byzantines, Persians, Arabs and Chinese.Offering high power and portability, the composite bow was an ideal cavalry weapon, though it was also used by infantry in open battle and as a siege weapon. In this important study, an expert on Eastern military technology tells the story of this extraordinary piece of military hardware; how it was made and how various cultures developed differing tactics for using it. He explains why the composite bow achieved such stunning successes and how it endured as a weapon of choice for thousands of years.

Technologically sophisticated and powerful, the crossbow has long enjoyed a popular reputation for villainous superiority because it could be used with little training as a weapon of assassination.Known to the Ancient Greeks and the Chinese as early as the 5th century BC, the crossbow developed both in Western Europe and in the Far East. Advances in trigger mechanisms, spanning and bow design allowed the development of ever more powerful bows. It was an extremely useful weapon, and especially effective in siege warfare for both attack and defence.In this study acknowledged weaponry expert Mike Loades traces the origins, development, combat record and lasting legacy of the crossbow, the formidable projectile weapon that played a key role in a host of battles and sieges across Europe and Asia.

A fascinating and lively history of four bows that changed warfare – the composite bow, the longbow, the crossbow and the Japanese bow, the yumi – by a world-renowned expert.War bows dominated battlefields across the world for centuries. In their various forms, they allowed trained archers to take down even well-armoured targets from great distances, and played a key role in some of the most famous battles in human history.The composite bow was a versatile and devastatingly effective weapon, on foot, from chariots and on horseback for over a thousand years, used by cultures as diverse as the Hittites, the Romans, the Mongols and the Ottoman Turks. The Middle Ages saw a clash between the iconic longbow and the more technologically sophisticated crossbow, most famously during the Hundred Years War, while in Japan, the samurai used the yumi to deadly effect, unleashing bursts of arrows from their galloping steeds. Historical weapons expert Mike Loades reveals the full history of these four iconic weapons that changed the nature of warfare. Complete with modern ballistics testing, action recreations of what it is like to fire each bow and a critical analysis of the technology and tactics associated with each bow, this book is a must-have for anyone interested in ancient arms.

This magnificent book tells the story of the evolution of swords, how they were made, how they were used, and the people that used them. It doesn't claim to give comprehensive coverage but instead takes certain surviving examples as landmarks on a fascinating journey through the history of swords. Each is selected because it can be linked to a specific individual, thus telling their story too and giving a human interest. So the journey starts with the sword of Tutankhamun and ends with the swords of J E B Stuart and George Custer. Along the way we take in Henry V, Cromwell and Uesugi Kenshin, and there is the most detailed discussion you'll find anywhere of all of George Washington's swords. The chapters on these specific swords and swordsmen are alternated with more general chapters on the changing technical developments and fashions in swords and their use. The reader's guide on this historical tour is Mike Loades. Mike has been handling swords most of his life, as a fight arranger, stuntman and historical weapons expert for TV and stage. He considers the sword as a functional weapon, work of art, fashion statement and cultural icon.As much as his profound knowledge of the subject, it is his life-long passion for swords that comes through on every page.His fascinating text is supported by a lavish wealth of images, many previously unpublished and taken specifically for this book.

With his signature hands-on style, Mike Loades experiences what it is like to handle various dogs engaged in their traditional tasks. These adventures take him to the Jordanian desert, where he shares the saddle of his camel with a Saluki and to the green hills of Wales, where he works cattle with a Corgi. He mushes Huskies in Alaska, drives carriages with Dalmatians and flies falcons with spaniels. Each encounter not only highlights the bond between humans and dogs, it also frames that connection in its historical context. Different types of dogs appear the way they do because, at some stage in their development, they were bred selectively for a specialist job. The author takes key types on a walk through history. Along the way he explores the methods and practices of their original occupations. He delves into when, where and why they were first bred as the types we recognize today. The fascinating and engaging text is supported by over 250 stunning colour photographs of dogs in action. It results in an illuminating journey through many cultures and time periods. This book is a personal and heartfelt tribute to the enduring partnership between humans and dogs.