[.ca] A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of ... (ISBN 0486407268)

still, the only one.:
Despite past "killer" reviews, it is a vital work: easy to use and comprehensive. It is advised however not for the novice because of scattered errors and imagionary information. One must use it along with other, refined works and judge carefully the details.

Stones Glossary:
A very well illustrated and concise pictionary if you will of arms and armor around the world. A good basic reference work for the arms enthusiast or re-enactor.

Of all places at all times?:
For the author's supposed fixation on 'Oriental' weaponry, he covers absolutely nothing in regards to Chinese weapons. One picture caption talks about a Japanese chain weapon "Above an unnamed Chinese weapon." The weapon that is 'unnamed' is a wind and fire wheel, much like the indian chakram, but a very popular wepaon nontheless. His coverage of Indian, Indonesean and Japanese weapons is acceptable, but his coverage of Chinese wepaons, a very significant field as far as warfare is concerned, is lousey at best. "Of all places places at all times" isn't an accurate description by a long shot, but it's an easy reference for people looking into european weapons for certain. The fact that it was written originally in the 20s makes for a lack of up-to-date info, but again, it's an easy to use reference

Ecclectic but broad collection of arms and armour descriptio:
This eccentric collection of arms and armour descriptions began as Stone's personal glossary and progressed into the seminal work of his time. Despite its random and too often erroneous misconceptions (the man couldn't figure out how double mail was made or what it was even though he had seen it on several occasions) it offers an ecclectic smattering of the arms and armour Stone encountered during his lifetime. Read with caution, this Glossary proves to be a valuable resource to the arms and armour scholar.

An Historically Improtant Book:
Over the many years I have used Stone's Glossary as a reference, I have seldom been disappointed, but then I don't ask too much of it either. Keeping in mind the era in which it was compiled and the biases thereof, I have little difficulty extracting useful information from it when needed. There are many modern references which are more accurate, and certainly the study of arms and armour has produced more informative works. There are few that rival this work in detail of scope, however. Those which cast as broad a cultural net have fewer examples and entries, while those that are more detailed seldom have nearly as many examples from so wide an area. I would highly recommend this book to anyone researching the era for any kind of period fiction or screenplay, especially anything dealing with the height and decline of the British Colonial Empire.