Forts: An Illustrated History of Building for Defence by Jeremy Black

£30

A fascinating, illustrated history of forts and castles from their earliest origins to the 20th century.

Ever since humans began to live together in settlements they have felt the need to organise some kind of defence against potentially hostile neighbours. Many of the earliest city states were built as walled towns, and during the medieval era, stone castles were built both as symbols of the defenders' strength and as protection against potential attack.

The advent of cannon prompted fortifications to become lower, denser and more complex, and the forts of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries could appear like snowflakes in their complexity and beautiful geometry. Without forts, the history of America could have taken a very different course, pirates could have sailed the seas unchecked, and Britain itself could have been successfully invaded.

This book explains the history of human fortifications, and is beautifully illustrated using photographs, plans, drawings and maps to explain why they were built, their various functions and their immense historical legacy in laying the foundations of empire.

  • ASIN: ‎1472827635
  • Publisher: ‎Osprey Publishing; 1st edition (20 Sept. 2018)
  • Language: ‎English
  • Hardcover
  • ‎224 pages
  • ISBN-10: ‎9781472827630
  • ISBN-13: ‎978-1472827630
  • Dimensions: ‎28.24 x 2.25 x 28.04 cm

About the author;

Jeremy Black is Professor of History at the University of Exeter, UK, and a Senior Fellow at the Center for the Study of America and the West at the Foreign Policy Research Institute in Philadelphia, USA.


Christmas 2024

Last order dates for Christmas delivery. Orders placed after these dates aren't guaranteed to arrive before Christmas.

 SERVICE LAST ORDER DATE
UK Standard 16th December 2024
UK Express 18th December 2024

The museum will be closed on 24th, 25th and 26th December. Orders placed from 23rd December onwards may not be processed until at least 27th December. Please allow extra time for orders to arrive over the festive period. Our UK Express shipping services will not be available from 20th December 2024 until 6th January 2025.

Shipping

We process orders daily, Monday to Friday.

Collect instore (Leeds Museum)
Collect within 7 days
FREE
UK Standard - 3-5 Working Days £3.95
FREE on orders over £60
UK Express - 1-2 Working Days

£5.95
UK Express - 1-2 Working Days - AGE CHECK For full-size replicas (Swords, Gimli's Axe, Gandalf Staff) £14.50
International Shipping costs will be calculated at checkout based on destination and weight.

Please ensure that someone is available at the delivery address to receive your order. Any undelivered or uncollected parcels will be returned to sender. We will automatically issue a refund for all products once they have been received back at the museum, however, shipping is non-refundable.

Age Check - 18+

All sales of replicas and alcohol require age verification. You will be asked for proof of age at point of delivery.

Collect in store

  • Collections can be made from the shop at Royal Armouries Museum, Leeds during opening hours.
  • You will be notified via email once your order is ready for collection.
  • Once you receive this notification, we will hold your order for 30 days.
  • Please bring your order confirmation and ID that matches the name on the order.
  • Limited short stay, road-side parking is available on Clarence Road or Citipark operate the nearby Leeds Dock multi-storey car park. Please note that parking charges may apply.

International Shipping

16/12/2024 - Please note: We are currently unable to ship to Canada due to Canada Post industrial action. 

The estimated delivery time for Europe, USA and Canada is 7-10 working days and 10-14 working days for rest of the world, however this is not guaranteed. 

Please note that some products are not available to ship outside of the UK. A full list can be found on the Restricted Items page. Orders placed with a non-UK delivery address that include a restricted item may be subject to cancellation and a refund will be issued. If you are unsure, please contact us before ordering.

Please be advised that you are responsible for any import duty that may be charged on delivery of your order. If you are unsure, we advise you to check with your own customs and excise department before placing an order.

Contact us

You can find all the ways to contact us on our Contact Us page

You may also like

Recently viewed