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UK Holidays - Hadrian's Wall AD 122-410 (Fortress, 2)
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List Price: $16.95
Our Price: $12.71
Your Save: $ 4.24 ( 25% )
Availability: In stock soon. Order now to get in line. First come, first served.
Manufacturer: Osprey Publishing
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Average Customer Rating:   
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 941
EAN: 9781841764306
ISBN: 1841764302
Label: Osprey Publishing
Manufacturer: Osprey Publishing
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 64
Publication Date: 2003-02-19
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
Release Date: 2003-02-19
Studio: Osprey Publishing
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Editorial Reviews:
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Hadrian’s Wall is the most important monument built by the Romans in Britain. It is the best known frontier in the entire Roman Empire and stands as a reminder of the past glories of one of the world's greatest civilisations. Its origins lie in a visit by the Emperor Hadrian to Britain in AD 122 when he ordered the wall to be built to mark the northern boundary of his Empire and 'to separate the Romans from the Barbarians'. This title details the design, development and construction of the wall and covers the everyday lives of those who manned it as well as the assaults it withstood.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: The second greatest wall
Comment: Like the great wall of china, Hadrian's wall was a feat to build and maintian against marrauding barberians. It was breached and rebuilt many time until it became to a point where it could not long be maintianed. You'll learn about how they lived and policed the wall. If ancient Rome is you liking, you'll love the detailed informaiton.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Good introduction to the subject
Comment: Hadrian's Wall AD 122-410 is a nice introductory-level book on the topic of this impressive and historical feature in northern England. The artwork is great like in many of the titles produced by Osprey. For those who expect an in-depth, complete history of Hadrian's Wall, this isn't the book. Read the books on the subject by such authors as D.J. Breeze/B. Dobson and G. de la Bedoyere if you are. As previous reviewers commented, you can only fit so much into a 64-page book, and I thought Fields did an ok job.
Customer Rating:
Summary: All you need to cover most questions
Comment: A good entry level book that will cover most questions you need to cover without the need to buy a much more expensive and more complicated work.
The diagrams are plentiful detailed and interesting, and are supported by good writing and photo's. Detailed sources enable to connect to other works if it is more intense detail you need. I also found the brief Latin Dictionary totally fasinating.
Customer Rating:
Summary: I'd have to disagree
Comment: I am afraid I am going to have to disagree with the previous reviews of this book. Knowing a little about Osprey publishing and the way the set their guidlines for authors, I feel the brevity was in no way Dr. Fields fault. This conclusion was drawn particularly from the fact that Osprey required a certain word limit which was met in this 64 page volume.
That said I also have to disagree with the previous entries concerning the doctrinal importance and context of Hadrian's Wall. Indeed I feel Dr. Fields is correct in his assertion that Hadrian's wall was not a defensive point, but a staging point for operations further afield and a watch station to better react to problems before they got to the wall. As Webster in his 1998 republication of The Roman Imperial Army noted that the purpose of the wall was to "impose total control over all traffic passing in and out of the Province, with provision for the collection of fees, tolls and duties and a thorough inspection of goods and persons. Its military purpose is less clear, but it certainly could never have been used as a fighting platform, only as a patrol track. An efficient signalling system and alert surveillance by forwads units would have made it possible for command HQ to order units to move forward through the fort and milecastle gateways to any area to deal with hostile elements." This passage sums up Hadrian's Wall to 'T'. The actual garrison at any given locality on Hadrian's wall couldn't have held it for any length of time against a determined enemy. In addition to this fact it is worth noting that the emperor to succeed Hadrian, Antoninus Pius (AD 138-161), in short order moved the frontier to the lowlands of Scotland where he did in fact build earthen fortifications. So in conclusion I would argue that this book is well worth a read for those who want a simplified glance at the defensive work that still provides a decent synopsis and sufficient depth. This combined with a thorough biliography should mean that this is an excellent staging point for anyone insterested in doing further research on the Wall, its functions and significance.
Customer Rating:
Summary: 64 Pages?
Comment: Trying to cover the history, construction, use, and importance of Hadrian's Wall in 64 pages is impossible. It was a good effort, but Nic Fields just wasn't able to do it. I like this Fortress series from Osprey, and I like the brevity of these books, but Hadrian's Wall was a little too brief. One area Fields could have covered at least a little bit was that of the Emperor Hadrian himself and the reasons why he built this wall in the first place. Even though Fields doesn't believe the Roman army was a defensive one; Hadrian tried very had to outline the empire and create "defensive" lines like that of the wall. The previous review pretty much covered everything about this book. However, I will add that the illustrations and photos are wonderful and you will enjoy them. This is the first book I've read where I've wanted to purchase the original artwork. The nice thing is I will be able to buy them because Osprey has made available the email address and website of the company that produced the artwork. This book is very easy to read and the illustrations make this book even shorter than 64 pages. I finished reading this book recently on a flight from Frankfurt to Philadelphia. It was the only book I brought with me and I messed up because on an eight-hour flight I was left with nothing to read after three hours. Osprey books are suppose to be good introductions to topics, but this one doesn't quite cut it and I would suggest a different book on the subject or maybe even a good biography on Hadrian like Hadrian: The Restless Emperor by Anthony Birley. Birley covers Hadrian's Wall and his journey to Britain in great detail.
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