Anyone used to the dry and mechanistic U.S. fencing manuals published in the 1970s and 1980s will be pleasantly surprised. In the Art and Science, Evangelista is in his element. Here is a guy who pursues fencing with a degree of personal devotion that he managed to create and run a fencing academy in rural Missouri. (This in itself would qualify for applaudable success in any metropolitan area. It is a truly Herculean feat for Peace Valley, MO.)

A former student of and later assistant to Ralph Faulkner, Evangelista breaks new ground as a writer. He succeeds in creating a well-centered book that is as complete as it is readable, full of personal and professional anecdotes and experiences, as well as historical perspective. He manages to establish himself as a competent, credible protagonist of modern fencing, without the sanctimonious overbearance that makes reading certain other fencing books such a chore.

It becomes evident that for Evangelista, the student is first and foremost an individual, the master primarily a mentor who forms the student not just by drill but also by taking him into his confidence -- explaining and referring rather than lecturing.

(One personal note: He's also the first author to allude to my theories about the origins of the saber target in the context of a fencing book, even though he is cautious enough not to fully agree with them. Sorry, Nick, but after reading "Moving Target" on page 23, I hope I have convinced you to see it my way...).

This is one of the best sports fencing titles to hit the bookstores in a decade -- and a good buy to boot!