Crusader Castles of the Teutonic Knights, The Stone Castles of Latvia and Estonia  •  Stephen Turnbull HISTORY •  2004 •  PAPER  • 64 PAGES This heavily illustrated book shows the history, design and life of the crusader castles of the Livonian Order in what is now Estonia and Latvia. It's the second volume in a history of the military fortresses and castles of the Teutonic Knights, covering 1185-1560. With diagrams, maps and pictures, including photographs of how the castles look today. (BLT19, $16.95)
Fortifications of the Incas, 1200-1531  •  H. W. Kaufmann  •  J.E. Kaufmann  •  Adam Hook ARCHAEOLOGY •  2006 •  PAPER  • 64 PAGES A slim guide to Inca fortifications, including Cusco and Machu Picchu, and their effectiveness in repelling by the Spanish invaders. With illustrations, photographs and diagrams. (AND66, $18.95)
The Great Wall of China 221 BC-1644 AD  •  Stephen Turnbull HISTORY •  2007 •  PAPER  • 96 PAGES Turnbull charts the history, purpose and technical challenges of this most famous fortification in absorbing detail in this handy, illustrated guide. With full color reconstructions by Steve Noon, black-and-white drawings and color photographs. One of a series sponsored by the Fortress Study Group. (CHN390, $18.95)
Japanese Castles 1540-1640  •  Stephen Turnbull HISTORY •  2003 •  PAPER  • 64 PAGES The landscape of 16th- and 17th-century Japan was dominated by the graceful and imposing castles constructed by the powerful ‘daimyo' of the period. In this the most turbulent era in Japanese history, these militarily sophisticated structures provided strongholds for the consolidation and control of territory, and inevitably they became the focus for many of the great sieges of Japanese history: Nagashino (1575), Kitanosho (1583), Odawara (1590), Fushimi (1600), Osaka (1615) and Hara (1638), the last of the battles that brought an end to a period of intense civil war. This title traces their development from the earliest timber stockades to the immense structures that dominated the great centers of Osaka and Edo. (JPN247, $18.95)
The Walls of Constantinople AD 324-1453  •  Stephen Turnbull HISTORY •  2004 •  PAPER  • 64 PAGES The walls of Constantinople are the greatest surviving example of European medieval military architecture in the world. They withstood numerous sieges until being finally overcome by the artillery of Mehmet the Conqueror in 1453, and exist today as a time capsule of Byzantine and Medieval history. This book examines the main defensive system protecting the landward side of the city, which consisted of three parallel walls about 5 miles long. The walls defended the city against intruders, including Attila the Hun, before finally being breached by European knights during the Fourth Crusade in 1204 and, ultimately, destroyed by Turkish artillery in 1453. (TKY147, $18.95)