The History of Castles: Fortifications Around the World

Rating:
Summary: Excellent!!!
Review: I love anything having to do with history and this book is so far the best which I own on castles & fortifications. It's filled with great info & pics/illustrations! I haven't read through the whole thing yet because the pictures are to distracting. I found my self just flipping through the book and staring at all of the cool pics. This book is a definite recommendation! Well worth your time

Rating:
Summary: An absolute must for the medieval castle hunter.
Review: This book is great tour guide to many of the most fascinating castles and fortifications in many parts of the world. The many full color photographs and detailed fascinating and clearing written text shows why and how castles were built in different regions. Covers why and how they were used, construction details, and in some cases, how they were destroyed in battle.
Some castles are described in detail with floor plans, designs, color pictures, construction details and castle history.
The many detailed photographs and illustrations present to the reader the various reasons for building a castle and how castles and other fortifications were constructed and used in different parts of the world.
I found this book to be of great help in understanding the design and construction details of medieval castles. While not detailed enough for one to build a castle from this book, it could be a good starting point for those of us that are builders.
Includes almost 200 full-color photographs, 30 recontructions, glossary, and 70 detailed maps.