I note that Hugh Soar's new book "Straight and True: A Select History of the Arrow" is advertised on Amazon.com with a publication/release date of April 24, 2012. Can you provide us with any other details or information on the book, such as, other sources from which to order the book and whether it will be possible to order signed copies? I like the picture of the dust jacket for the book that I saw on Amazon. I am looking forward to ordering a copy!

David - I fear that 24 April is rather optimistic ! They always do that in order to reel buyers in. They even offer books they do not have ! We are however on the home straight now.

We shall of course have a small supply ourselves, but whether it is financially viable for us to post to the States is questionable. How much are they asking on Amazon ? The "official" supplier in the UK is ORCA.

Veronica-Mae

Veronica-Mae - You're right - Amazon will do that! I'm glad you folks are on the home stretch. I checked the Amazon price -- they had $22.00 crossed out and then showed a price of $14.96. Will there be both hard cover and soft cover versions published?

I'm sure there are number of us who are excited at the prospect of acquiring Hugh's new book!

Dear Dave - I am afraid I gave a wrong steer on the distributor, it is no longer Orca, it is Pen and Sword, a very good company

I daresay that there will eventually be a soft cover version, but - as with previous books - not until the hard covers ones have proved good sellers.

Hugh has mixed feeling about the quality of his latest offering; but I feel that the information within will be just as fascinating as his other books. The poor arrow gets largely forgotten or set aside in favour of the charismatic bow. The arrow however has a charisma of its own - and the bow is not much use without it !!

Regards, Veronica-Mae

Hi Veronica-Mae, Thanks for the information update -- much appreciated.

There doesn't seem to be nearly the amount of material written on arrows that there is on bows. You are absolutely on the mark with your observations on arrows versus bows.

While a number of archers have made their own bows, many more of us have made our own arrows or experimented with arrows. In reality, many archers feel that the arrow is much more important than the bow because a poorly crafted arrow will never hit the mark regardless of how well the bow shoots/performs.

I have no doubt that Hugh's new book fills an important void and will be a "hit"! I look forward to an interesting "read" as well as learning more about the arrow from a historical and traditional point of view! Hugh is an excellent writer and has a way of capturing our interest and drawing us into his material

Amazon US now shows a release date of July 6, 2012. Any truth to this? They show a price of $24.24.

John Edgerton

David, Amazon are still a bit optimistic. We are told by our publisher that he anticpates "towards the end of July" He has not mentioned a price to us yet.

Regards

Administrator

Thanks very much for the update -- that's good news - the end of July is not far off -- I'm excited!

Amazon US now says August 22 and $24.21 (US dollars).

John Edgerton

I have to report that the Fedex man today delivered a packet to No 29 with two books in it - yes folks, Straight and True is out at last. Thank you all for your patience.

Administrator

Congratulations! I plan to order a copy shortly.

I ordered a copy of "Straight and True..." on Friday from Amazon.com at $17.16 [possibly a pre-publication price]. Amazon's estimated arrival date is October 18, 2012 to November 20, 2012. What was interesting to me was the fact that used copies were listed -- one for $208.25??? How can this be if Amazon doesn't even have the book in stock yet? I guess that there are many things going on in the world that I just don't understand!

Dave - the machinations of Amazon are legion. Frankly I would not believe Amazon if they told me the sun would rise tomorrow. They regularly offer books they do not have; but quite why they offer recent books at such inflated prices is beyond me. We were recently told that they were offering "Secrets of the English Warbow" at - would you believe - £300 !!

Perhaps they believe that if folk see what the books will fetch (!?!) they will be encouraged to buy one, or even two, in the hope of selling again at a hefty profit. (suckers)

Veronica-Mae

I know what you mean about Amazon -- I continue to be amazed concerning the asking price for reasonably available books.

In any event, I'm sure my copy of "Staight and True..." will arrive before I know it -- I am really looking forward to reading it.

I was looking at Amazon US and it said that delivery was one to three months. However, I am going to order it anyway.

John Edgerton, Newark, California