Product Description

The bayonet has long been of interest to military collectors,

and its history ? going back to the 17th century ? is just as

fascinating. This spectacular photographic exploration of the

weapon begins with the inception of the bayonet in Bayonne,

France, and follows its evolution through the technical

advances of the next few centuries. Over 500 large scale,

full-color photos provide overall and detail views of 300

different bayonets from around the globe.

The book covers all types of bayonets, including Plug, Sword,

Socket, Knife, Yataghan, and many more. In addition to the

photographs, each bayonet is detailed with pricing

information, physical description, manufacturing data, service

history, and an examination of the effectiveness of the model.

The book also contains a reference section with information

on additional bayonet publications, collections and websites for

collectors and enthusiasts.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #408653 in Books
• Published on: 2004-12-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Customer Reviews

Hundreds of Bayonets from all Over the World
The bayonet has not been an effective military weapon since the days of Napoleon. But every military incorporates a bayonet into their latest fully automatic assault weapon and trains their soldiers in their use. In part this is incorporated into military training, I can remember the drill sergeants teaching us to scream, "The spirit of the bayonet is to kill."

In reality, I think that if you are spending your days camping out in the woods you find a knife to be invaluable. And if you have a knife, it just as well may have the capability of being attached to the end of your rifle (and a bayonet clip is one of the characteristics that define an Assault Rifle in the US). In turn, bayonets have become collectible items in themselves.

In this book, Martin Brayley provides an extensive and in-depth examination of bayonets from 37 countries all around the world, over 300 bayonets in all! He starts with an early plug bayonet, hard to say what rifle it fit as it would work with any rifle of the proper caliber. Then he goes on to the ring or socket bayonets of the 1700's, and from their through the bolt actions of all militaries and on to today's latest designs.

Bayonets, An Illustrated History
Photography in this book is excellent and sometimes the visuals are better than the text in aiding identification. The author points out some nuances in transitions that I had not encountered before. I felt it was worth the price and very handy as a quick reference.

Bayonet: An Illustrated History
Nice book. Excellent pictures which are very helpful whenn identifying items. Also text is well written. Some interesting bayonets are missing in this book.