During lessons the other night, we got to talking about the fencing books everyone ought to read. Fencing doesn't produce the athlete biographies or sport histories you find on the bookshelves for other sports; most fencing books are about how to fence, or how to coach. Here are several, though, which deal with the history of the sport and the characters who inhabit it.
Any to add?
* By the Sword, Richard Cohen. A good introduction to fencing history, though limited in some respects. Excellent portraits of Helene Meyer, Jerzy Pawlowski and other notable fencers of the twentieth century.
* The Secret History of the Sword: Adventures in Ancient Martial Arts, J. Christopher Amberger. Excellent research into the history of the sport. Amberger debunks a number of myths about fencing history, and tells an intriguing tale about participating in a mensur.
* Harnessing Anger, Peter Westbrook and Tej Hazarika. Autobiography of the six-time Olympian and thirteen-time U.S. national champion.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
We've had a few additional suggestions. Feel free to post comments here:
ReplyDelete* Understanding Fencing by Zbigniew Czajkowski.
* One Touch at a Time by Aladar Kogler
There are other books not specifically devoted to fencing which might be helpful to the competitive fencer: Mental Toughness Training by James Loehr and the Inner Game series by Tim Gallwey are among them.