Civil War Cavalry & Artillery Sabers (Swords)

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Summary: The best yet.
Review: For years, the field of American Miliary swords has barely been addressed. Since Peterson's book, which is good, but by now quite outdated, there has been no orderly study of the field. Bezdek's books have been useful, but are not as comprehensive as Peterson's. The rest of what is out there has been amateurish. This has been particularly apparent if you are familiar with Jean L'Hoste's superb books on French swords. Finally, someone has come along, not only to fill the gaps, but to significantly expand our knowledge and understanding of American swords: John Thillman.
This is a well-written, beautifully illustrated book on sabers of the Civil War era. If you own it, you will have at your fingertips virtually every reliable bit of information known about the subject, in a wonderfully useful form. Best of all, the author is planning further volumes to cover other sword types. There can be no doubt: this is the book to buy. It will expand not only your understanding of American swords, but sword manufacture, manufacture in general during the Civil War, and the use of swords and sabers during the Civil War. Bravo, Mr. Thillman. Keep up the outstanding, and seminal work!

Rating:
Summary: Finally an up-to-date source on Civil War blades
Review: For years, the field of American military swords has only been superficially addressed. The foremost book on the topic, has been Harold L. Peterson's The American Sword, 1775-1945. Though a very good treatment of the subject, it has grown to be quite out-of-date in scholarship (the first edition was published in 1954). Since his book, there hasn't been any serious publication dedicated to American swords that is until now. John H. Thillman, an expert on U.S. cavalry and artillery sabers, has assembled a comprehensive and meaningful guide to Civil War sabers. The first section contains notes on design, materials, and components and is followed by a 16-page color section of photographs. The main body of the volume lists, in alphabetical order, every maker, importer, foreign manufacturer, assembler, retailer, and model. An important feature of this book is that it includes all known sabers from the prewar period dating to 1833. Every make and every known variation is covered with full history, tables and illustrations. The work is extensively illustrated with close-up images showing particular details of the weapons and how to distinguish one from another, as well as photographs of officers who used them. A truly groundbreaking work.
Civil War Cavalry & Artillery Sabers is well-written and beautifully illustrated. It is extremely easy to use when searching for a particular type of saber or manufacture. Sidebars in each section call out specific identifying characteristics and lists of inspectors of particular blades. The image quality is very good. A strong bibliography and useful index complement this book, making it easily one of the best works on American swords to come to light. The price might seem high, but at $79.95, it will be the most inexpensive lesson on Civil War swords a person can obtain. (originally reviewed for Military Trader magazine: www.militarytrader.com)

Rating:
Summary: A Must for Civil War Collectors and Enthusiasts!
Review: I have been interested in Civil War swords for the past 30 years. Unfortunately good sword reference books with pictures were limited. This volume answers allot of questions and has loads of images. As they say a picture is worth a thousand words.
I recommend it as an excellent buy.