Art of the Catapult: Build Greek Ballistae, Roman Onagers, English Trebuchets, and More Ancient Artillery

Art of the Catapult: Build Greek Ballistae, Roman Onagers, English Trebuchets, and More Ancient Artillery

by William Gurstelle
Art of the Catapult: Build Greek Ballistae, Roman Onagers, English Trebuchets, and More Ancient Artillery

Art of the Catapult: Build Greek Ballistae, Roman Onagers, English Trebuchets, and More Ancient Artillery

by William Gurstelle

Paperback

$16.95 
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Overview

With some scrap wood, rope, hammer, nails, and this book, build seven historic catapults including Ludgar the War Wolf, God's Stone Thrower, Cabulus, and the Wild Donkey -- simple yet sophisticated hurling machines that rely on the fundamentals of math and physics using levers, force, torsion, tension, and traction.

Through these exciting projects, the colorful history of siege warfare comes to life -- the stories of Alexander the Great and the battle of Tyre; Saladin, Richard the Lionheart, and the Third Crusade; pirate-turned-soldier John Crabbe and his ship-mounted catapults; and Edward I of England and his battle against the Scots at Stirling Castle. For the legions of Tolkien fans, budding backyard warriors, and engineering wizards, this book is a must-have.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781556525261
Publisher: Chicago Review Press, Incorporated
Publication date: 07/01/2004
Pages: 192
Product dimensions: 7.00(w) x 9.75(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range: 10 - 14 Years

About the Author

William Gurstelle is the author of Absinthe and Flamethrowers, The Art of the Catapult, the bestselling Backyard Ballistics, Building Bots, Whoosh, Boom, Splat, and Notes from the Technology Underground. He is a professional engineer who has been researching and building model catapults and ballistic devices for more than 30 years. He is a contributing editor at Make magazine and writes frequently for Wired, The Rake, and several other national magazines. He can be contacted at nfttu.blogspot.com.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgmentsix
Time Linex
Introduction: The Days Before Gunpowderxv
1Always Be Careful1
2The Science of Siege5
3Catapults Around the World17
Spring Engine Catapult29
Viking Catapult37
4Shooting Snakes in a Barrel--The Catapults of Alexander the Great47
Alexander's Artillery: The Macedonian Ballista60
The Slings of the Ancients
A Ballearic Hand Sling70
A Thracian Staff Sling73
5A Black Flag Flies over Acre--Saladin, Richard, and the Third Crusade77
God's Stone Thrower: A Traction-Style Catapult83
6Cabulus, the Great Horse Trebuchet95
Cabulus, the Great Horse Trebuchet104
7John Crabbe--Tinkerer, Sailor, Soldier, Spy115
Making Rope124
Wild Donkey: An Onager Catapult127
8The Hammer of the Scots137
Ludgar, the War Wolf145
9The Sun Sets on Catapult Warfare155
Basket-Pult158
Glossary165
Bibliography167
Index169
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