DUELING WITH THE SWORD AND PISTOL: 400 Years of One-on-One Combat by Paul Kirchner
Book Review by Alain Burrese
For those martial artists interested in actual mortal combat with edged weapons and firearms, Dueling with the Sword and Pistol: 400 Years of One-On-One Combat offers a meticulously researched wealth of information. Paul Kirchner, who also wrote The Deadliest Men: The World’s Deadliest Combatants Throughout the Ages, describes more than 60 actual life-or-death encounters.
The book is divided into four parts; Dueling With The Sword, Dueling With The Pistol, Variations On The Duel, and Remarkable Duelists. This is interesting history of dueling accompanied by numerous illustrations and footnotes that includes bowie knife duels, horseback duels and discussions on honor and insult.
The text does not glorify the duel
but instead points toward the author’s final conclusion that most serious
thinkers will recognize its fundamental irrationality.
Available from Paladin Press for $29.95.
For more information call Paladin Press at (800) 466-6868 or visit
http://www.paladin-press.com.