Rapier fencing and duelling during the 16th and 17th centuries was dominated by the Italian masters, whose systems of sword fighting became increasingly sophisticated. Breaking away from this trend, Nicoletto Giganti developed something different: a frugal system of fencing that cut to the core of what a swordfight was and how to win it. Giganti's Scola overo Teatro, or The School of the Sword, became one of the most influential systems of fencing across Europe in the seventeenth century. In this remarkable new translation by historical fencing instructor and historian Aaron Taylor Miedema, author of Bayonets and Blobsticks, Giganti's work is presented fresh to the modern reader. Copiously illustrated with redrawings of dozens of Giganti's original plates, over 60 new photographs, and even a new plate, Giganti's detailed curriculum is augmented by comprehensive annotation and commentary. Regardless of whether you are a historian, a casual reader with an interest in the sword, or an accomplished swordsman, Nicoletto Giganti's The School of the Sword is a fascinating guide to the art of rapier fencing."

For a long time, it has been accepted that the bayonet was an inadequate weapon in World War I - an anachronism, relied upon by foolish generals eager to relive the glories of the Napoleonic Wars while incapable of coming to terms with the modern battlefield and trench warfare. But was this the reality of the Western Front of the Great War, or a myth perpetuated by historians? In reality, the soldiers of World War I seemed oblivious to what appears so obvious to critics ninety years removed. They quite liked their bayonets, and they used them - often. In this fascinating and provocative study, Aaron Taylor Miedema takes a new look at the role of the bayonet and shock tactics on the Western front. Through the experience of the Canadian Corps - the British shock troops of the Western Front - he challenges the conventional view of the bayonet as an obsolete weapon system and rekindles the controversial debate over technologies, old and new, on the field of battle.