Cutting edge of history

Guardian Review: Richard Cohen covers over 2,000 years of fencing history in ‘By the Sword: A History of Gladiators, Musketeers, Samurai, Swashbuckler and Olympic Champions’.

Once Cohen leaves the Middle Ages, however, the book picks up pace and interest. First, because the sport of fencing is one of the most beguiling. At the Sydney Olympics many of my happiest moments were spent watching long-limbed and short-tempered Mittel-Europeans trying to impale each other - so much more subtle than beach volleyball. Because of this there are Olympian administrators who wish to dispense with the sport. Cohen points the finger at Canadian lawyer Dick Pound who took against fencing ‘on the grounds that it did not pay its way, people didn’t want to watch it, and sponsorship was minimal’. So much for amateurism. Hasn’t he heard Madonna’s a fan?