BookList Review

The Navigators series, akin to the Kingfisher Knowledge and DK's Eyewitness books, is another visually engaging and arrestingly designed tour of high-interest topics. In this entry, two-page spreads cover all things medieval, from the earliest castles and orders of knights to siege and battle tactics and even rules of heraldry and chivalry. The design is perhaps best suited for readers who like to pore over all the bits of informational detail and immerse themselves in the copious illustrations and photographs, many of which feature costumed actors digitally set into medieval backdrops that sometimes give the feel of a low-budget History Channel dramatization. But the book also functions well for more casual browsers: while they won't glean all the information scattered across the busy pages, the sum total should provide a fairly thorough introduction to medieval ways. There's much to look at, a good deal to learn from the captions and main text, and a Web site featured on each page to facilitate deeper investigations. This doesn't offer anything all that new, but it offers it well.--Chipman, Ian Copyright 2008 Booklist