It was often hyped that the Great Wall was the only man-made edifice that could be seen from space. While that has since proven to not be true, it is still, in its entirety, the largest man made object ever constructed.

China often had problems with the nomadic tribes that lived on its borders as they would raid villages when grazing was poor for their animals. During these times, it was not uncommon for a village or town to have some sort of static defense, like a wall, to keep these people out. The Chinese emperors of the time then got the idea that perhaps it would be a good idea to start to build structures at strategic locations to do the same thing.

Eventually, this started with walls of tamped dirt to the magnificent constructions of brick and stone that most of us equate with the Great Wall as shown on the cover. Not only was the Great Wall an impediment to the Mongol nomads, but during WWII, it was used quite effectively against the Japanese during their attempts to take over the country.

The author, Stephen Turnbull, does a superb job of taking a huge amount of information and compressing it into the basics. It includes the history of the wall through the ages and various rulers, the construction of the various sections (which was not uniform as different areas had different materials at hand), as well as a look into the lives of those whose job it was to both build and defend these structures. This is all further enhanced by excellent photographs of the wall as it is today and the stunning illustrations and maps provided by Steve Noon.

Together it provides an outstanding primer on this most imposing construct. I learned a great deal from this book and I know you will too. Like all Osprey titles, it is one you can buy with confidence.

February 2007

For more on the complete line of Osprey books, visit www.ospreypublishing.com. In the US, it is Osprey Direct at 44-02 23rd St, Suite 219, Long Island City, NY 11101., where you can get a catalogue of available books.

If you would like your product reviewed fairly and quickly by a site that has nearly 350,000 visitors a month, please contact me or see other details in the Note to Contributors.