The Seige: Under Attack in Renaissance Europe.

Lisa Arsenault is a high-school English teacher who is involved in
several ministry campaigns to increase literacy.

The revolt of the Netherlands against Spanish rule in 1585 is the focus of this young-people’s book on Renaissance-era warfare. The author’s specific interest is siege warfare, and the Netherlands campaign affords much material. Spanish troops with Italian mercenaries laid siege to many Dutch towns for extended periods of time. Factual information is blended with events surrounding the imaginary town of Berkdorp. By using a fictional situation the author can not only highlight important details but also model typical seige—and beseiged—mentality, behaviour, and tactics.

Detailed and complex information on every aspect of the Renaissance siege is presented in an informative, intriguing fashion. There are meticulous descriptions of the life of a soldier, earthworks preparation, defender counter-preparations, weaponry, types of assault, and the after-effects of the assault. Key words are printed in bold type and thoroughly defined. A timeline along the bottom of each page of text indicates the rate of progress through the weeks of the typical siege. An index allows readers to quickly access specific information.

Each category of information is printed on sepia-coloured paper which lends a nicely aged appearance to this cache of information for young people. The facing page illustrates the text with a full-page colour-drawing that includes captions and labelling where appropriate. Highly recommended.