A wide-ranging study of the significance of swords throughout the whole Anglo-Saxon period, offering valuable insights into the meaning of and attitude towards swords. Swords were special in Anglo-Saxon England. Their names, deeds and pedigrees were enshrined in writing. Many were curated for generations, revealed by their worn and mended condition. Few ended their lives as casual discards, placed instead in graves, hoards and watercourses as part of ritualised acts. Contemporary sources leave no doubt that complex social meanings surrounded these weapons, transcending their use on the battlefield; but they have yet to transcend the traditional view that their primary social function was as status symbols. Even now, half a century after the first major study of Anglo-Saxon swords, their wider significance within their world has yet to be fully articulated. This book sets out to meet the challenge. Eschewing modern value judgements, it focuses instead on contemporary perceptions - exploring how those who made, used and experienced swords really felt about them. It takes a multidisciplinary and holistic approach, bringing together insights from art, archaeology and literature. Comparison with Scandinavia adds further nuance, revealing what was (and was not) distinctive of Anglo-Saxon views of these weapons. Far from elite baubles, swords are revealed to have been dynamic "living" artefacts with their own identities, histories and places in social networks - ideas fuelled by their adaptability, durability and unique rolein bloodshed. Sue Brunning is Curator of European Early Medieval Collections at The British Museum.

"The Book and the Sword was Louis Cha's first novel, published in 1955. The story has a panoramic sweep which has at its heart a few unbeatable themes: secret societies, kung fu masters, and the sensational rumour so dear to Chinese hearts that the great Manchu Emperor Qian Long was not in fact a Manchu but a Han Chinese, a line of descent that came about as a result of a 'baby swap' on the part of the Chens of Haining in Southern China. It mixes in the exotic flavours of central Asia, a lost city in the desert guarded by wolf packs, and the Fragrant Princess. This lady is an embellishment of an actual historical figure - although whether she actually smelled of flowers, we will never know."--Jacket

When Susan stumbles into an alternate universe, she must overcome tremendous odds to deliver a desperate people and restore hope to a world far from her own.

From the award-winning author of Swordspoint comes a witty, wicked coming-of-age story that is both edgy and timeless. . . . Welcome to Riverside, where the aristocratic and the ambitious battle for power and prestige in the city’s labyrinth of streets and ballrooms, theatres and brothels, boudoirs and salons. Into this alluring and alarming world walks a bright young woman ready to take it on and make her fortune. A well-bred country girl, Katherine knows all the rules of conventional society. Her biggest mistake is thinking they apply. Katherine’s host and uncle, Alec Campion, the capricious and decadent Mad Duke Tremontaine, is in charge here—and to him, rules are made to be broken. When he decides it would be far more amusing for his niece to learn swordplay than to follow the usual path to ballroom and husband, her world changes forever. And there’s no going back. Blade in hand, it’s up to Katherine to find her own way through a maze of secrets and betrayals, nobles and scoundrels—and to gain the power, respect, and self-discovery that come to those who master. . . . “Unholy fun, and wholly fun . . . an elegant riposte, dazzlingly executed.”—Gregory Maguire, New York Times bestselling author of Wicked

The Age of Man has begun. The "undesirable" creatures of legend have been driven from their lands, magic has been forsaken, the old gods reduced to myth.Now humans will rule the kingdoms of the island continent of Pentania. But they are not alone. Alson's king has been assassinated, its capital besieged by a malevolent wizard. The chaos and terror now sweeping the land have come to the remote village of Diln -- sending young Jarom far from his home to seek aid against the nefarious usurper. But a mysterious council has decreed Jarom must find one of the mythical Swords of Asahiel -- the divine talismans the elven avatars used to forge the earth -- in order to save a quarrelsome, fledgling humanity. For a Demon Queen has awakened from the abyss -- and humankind is about to discover its powerlessness in the face of the ancient terrors of the world.

As entrenched bureaucracies, military organizations might reasonably be expected to be especially resistant to reform and favor only limited, incremental adjustments. Yet, since 1945, the U.S. Army has rewritten its capstone doctrine manual, Operations, fourteen times. While some modifications have been incremental, collectively they reflect a significant evolution in how the Army approaches warfare—making the U.S. Army a crucial and unique case of a modern land power that is capable of change. So what accounts for this anomaly? What institutional processes have professional officers developed over time to escape bureaucracies' iron cage? Forging the Sword conducts a comparative historical process-tracing of doctrinal reform in the U.S. Army. The findings suggest that there are unaccounted-for institutional facilitators of change within military organizations. Thus, it argues that change in military organizations requires "incubators," designated subunits established outside the normal bureaucratic hierarchy, and "advocacy networks" championing new concepts. Incubators, ranging from special study groups to non-Title 10 war games and field exercises, provide a safe space for experimentation and the construction of new operational concepts. Advocacy networks then connect different constituents and inject them with concepts developed in incubators. This injection makes changes elites would have otherwise rejected a contagious narrative.

After being shipwrecked in Japan, adopted, and taught the Way of the Warrior at samurai school, Jack is ready to embark on the next chapter of his training: the Way of the Sword. His lessons involve fighting blindfolded, using a b-o staff, and finding messages in origami—all while withstanding the constant pressure of being a foreigner. The stakes are raised even higher when the school holds a contest. The winners will learn the great samurai Masamoto-sama's secret martial arts technique.