By the Sword cover art

By the Sword

A History of Gladiators, Musketeers, Samurai, Swashbucklers, and Olympic Champions

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By the Sword

Written by: Richard Cohen
Narrated by: Richard Cohen
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About this listen

Napoleon fenced. So did Shakespeare, Karl Marx, Grace Kelly, and President Truman, who as a schoolboy would practice fencing with Bess - his future wife - when the two of them returned home from school. Lincoln was a canny dueler. Ignatius Loyola challenged a man to a duel for denying Christ's divinity (and won). Less successful, but no less enthusiastic, was Mussolini, who would tell his wife he was "off to get spaghetti," their code to avoid alarming the children.

By the Sword is an epic history of sword fighting - a science, an art, and, for many, a religion that began at the dawn of civilization in ancient Egypt and has been an obsession for mankind ever since. With wit and insight, Richard Cohen gives us an engrossing history of the world via the sword.

©2002, 2008 Narrative Tension, Inc. (P)2020 Tantor Combat Sports & Self-Defense History of Sports Military Olympics & Paralympics Weapons & Warfare World Sports Martial Arts Fencing Sport
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The only concern I had was that with some devices the audio was so deep that it was challenging to comprehend. However, it is more of a device-specific issue rather than a reflection on the reading itself.

The entire experience was simply captivating and awe-inspiring.

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