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The horse's mouth
Now here's something new. A fencing book written from the perspective of the novice fencer. Unpretentious, clear, blunt, laid out using the insights and techniques of direct-mail publishing (my home turf), this is the exact opposite of Herr Wargalla's project.
While the means of visualizing techniques in this book has not changed from the days of Mrs. Cass' Book of Fencing or Maxwell Garrett's early, early books (fencers have black and white PVC pipes over their blades as they pose in various positions), I liked the style and brevity of the text. A particularly interesting segment is the author's personal journal of his budding romance with the foil.
And like the American fencing books of the early 20th century (especially the Spalding series, as well as Vince and Castello) the book serves as a promotional vehicle for a fencing distributor, Winsor.
Don't get me wrong: This is a good thing...a great thing...a thing that I wish would happen to my own stuff! It reduces the per-item cost of the book to the publisher, thus allows larger print-runs and, hopefully, a larger readership. (How else could a publisher break even on a US$9.95 retail price.)
This is a leap into the right direction!
Author: Werner, Doug
Title: Fencer's Start-Up: A Beginners Guide to Traditional and Sport Fencing, Chula Vista, CA: Tracks Publishing, 1997; 192 pp., b/w photographs. Softbound.
Hammerterz Rating: HHH
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