Unlike other books on how rules are created it is much less focused on mechanisms and more on system design. It gives an insight in to the author's view of how a successful system should work. As such, it is bound to appeal to those with an interest in how wargames work as well as those who want to design their own games. I'd certainly recommend it.

Slingshot

Although best known to Westerners for taking over England under William the Conqueror, the Normans deserve more attention for their equally remarkable feats in the Mediterranean and the Balkans. Brown’s important book brings this to light in a way that will satisfy all historians interested in the Byzantine era as well as medieval warfare.

HistoryNet, Thomas Zacharis

Brown follows the progress of the Normans throughout the region in detail with specific focus on the military aspect. Their rapid progress from mercenaries to conquerors and finally crusaders is superbly covered. Campaigns through Italy, Sicily, the Balkans and the Near East show how efficient the Normans had become at battles and sieges.

The Normans from a different angle rather than the usual northern European aspect is very well written and presented in this chunky hardback.
Recommended

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Military Modelling

Mercenaries to Conquerors by Paul Brown evaluates military art and the role played by the Normans Mediterranean in the eleventh and twelfth centuries.

VaeVictis, November – December 2016

For me, the Normans were the people who rightly took the English throne by virtue of the fact it was promised to William of Normandy, and helped to civilise the indigneous British. The fact that I share their name is by the by, I have always thought that the Normans were the best people to civilise England and Wales. Paul Brown's brilliant study of the wider perspective of Norman conquests is both thrilling and informative.

Books Monthly, Paul Norman