I am a huge history buff, so when I go away, I try to visit any castles around, even those that are tumbling down. This book drew my eye with its amazing photos. The book is set up chronologically with the oldest castles up to the newest. There are descriptions and some history of the castles that go along with the amazing photographs. Dr. Jestice also highlights castles from around the world, so not just the ones we hear of in the UK. I enjoyed this book and recommend it to those who love history like I do. It would make an amazing coffee table book in hard cover format.

This is a visually stunning book that is also filled with ample historical information. It’s also a fun way to see the world without leaving your reading nook. Recommended!

A very good book with some fascinating details! The photographs were stunning and the castles were all very interesting. The castles only had a few short snippets of information each, but you can do a short Google search if you want to know more.

I received a copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review, and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

A wonderful photograph book showing many wonderful castles from around the world with short introductions to each castle picture. I loved reading this book so much the pictures were brilliant and I loved the stunning pictures and the layout of this book. Its a great introduction to learning able some of the most spectacular castles still standing from around the world. Im just loving getting this photograph books that you can look back on time and time again. This would make a beautiful coffee table book that other people will come and look through and makes brilliant talking points
Atm I'm having issues with my phone loading pages so I can only leave review on goodreads, amazon ,Instagram and twitter but will do it in more place once these technical issues are resolved

This is a beautiful book to look at and read. I learned a lot reading it. The book is arranged chronologically and looks at where and why the castle was built and what has happened to the castle throughout history. I was not familiar with many of the castles outside of Europe. Even though there is a lot of information included the photographs are the stars. This book will make a great gift. Enjoy

When I pick up a book like this, I expect beautiful sweeping pictures that take the reader to new locations. And instead this seems to be full of blurry pictures, out of focus pictures, and pictures that look old. The information is great, but pictures just make this feel like I picked up a book from the 80s at the local library. The other thing is it’s not always easy to tell which pictures are which of the castles. This especially is true when there are interior shots of the castles.

I really like this book, instead of by country or continent, it is by certain time periods. The majority of images are exterior images of the castle. Some introductory information about the castle. A travel to many parts of the world to see a variety of castles.

Beautifully illustrated book detailing castles around the world. Many of these had not come to my attention before - but now they're on my bucket list!

Recommended for anyone interested in architecture on a grand scale!

I think I grabbed Castles of the World in zero point five after it dropped on Netgalley, maybe less. Classical churches aside, castles are maybe one of the greatest architectural projects I can think about – one of the oldest for sure. They’re just– they exude strength and competence. It’s not about being impregnable, as castles have been conquered left and right; it’s about the cleverness of the builders, about trying to find a way to resist one moment more than the opponent.

I wouldn’t live in a castle, mind you, but I do like looking at one.


**

From the Highlands of Scotland to the plains of northern India, Castles of the World is a beautiful examination of past worlds viewed through strongholds that continue to enrich the modern landscape. They evoke an imagined age of aristocratic warriors and noble aspirations. Presented in a handy, pocket-sized format, arranged chronologically and illustrated with more than 200 colour photographs, Castles of the World examines more than 150 fortifications from across the world, from Cathar castles and Alpine schlösser to Norman keeps and Samurai strongholds. Discover how the 13th-century Eilean Donan Castle in Scotland was destroyed during the Jacobite rebellion of 1719; learn about Turkey’s Marmaris Castle, built in 1522 by Suleiman the Magnificent to support his attack on neighbouring Rhodes; and explore the Mughal-constructed Red Fort in Delhi, home of Muslim rulers from 1648 until 1803, and today a symbol of Indian nationalism.

224 pages
Photography, history
Amber Books LTD
Goodreads

**

Cover: Lovely! I’m very partial to castles with a personality – the brown color many of them sport may be practical, but it’s also boring – and the contrast between Neuschwainstein and the landscape is striking. Great choice.

Yay!

- CotW, written by Phyllis G. Jestice, is a visual travel among castles. From the oldest, built to withstand actual attacks, to the modern and more decorative ones, Jestice put together an informative book, filled with pictures and cultural tidbits. It might be a niche topic, but it sure is interesting. Built atop of hills, surrounded by moats, sometimes only reachable by boat, in the general imaginary they’re a stronghold; visiting them, even by proxy, feels like taking a step in the past.

- Fairytales aside – Neuschwanstein, I’m talking to you – castles are the quintessence of defense, and the first sections explore that aspect. Until Late Medieval, the majority of them were fortified and made of stone, while stylistic elements were often mixed. Later on, they became less of a fortress and more of a residence for noble families. Big windows might raise eyebrows–cool target, Francis–but they’re mostly there as a show-off.

- Very nice pictures, glossy and crisp. I would have loved some more details, like staircases or ceilings, but I’m a detail nerd, so XD

- Good structure. As always, I appreciated the unobtrusive blurbs. They’re informative, but straight to the point. I know I’m always pointing this out, but I need to mention once more the lack of typos or grammar mistakes.

Special mention:

- Carcassonne, France. My favorite castle, I went looking for it and I’m so glad I found it. I’ve been able to visit it once, it’s one of my fondest memories.
- Bory Castle, Hungary. Pretty exterior aside, the details are fantastic.
- Hluboká nad Vlavou Castle, Czech Republic. I love the photo angle.
- Matsumoto Castle, Japan. Snow-capped!
- Trakai Island, Lithuania. I love the footbridge.
- Coca Castle, Spain. Mixed style, but what I adore is the moat.
- Castillo de Bellver, Spain. It’s a circular castle, very peculiar.
- La Alhambra, Spain. Impressive details, I’d love to see it in person.

Nay!

- I wanted more! Sorry, castles are never enough, haha.

TL;DR
5 stars on GR, and well-deserved.

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

Castles of the world is a beautiful photographic history guide of some amazing castles. The book starts with the earliest castles across the world and moves on to more recent ones.
The photography was beautiful and I enjoyed every single photograph! There was minimal information about these castles but if you wanted to learn more I'm sure a Google search would help you find more out.
I wished I could see more photos of quite a few of the castles featured.
Another great book that is great to keep and refer back to again and again or even have on your coffee table for display and a conversation starter.

Four and a half stars rounding up.

Beautifully illustrated coffee table book about castles from all lands and all times... from ancient ruins to medieval fortresses to modern palaces. I wish there was more detail in the captions about the area and history of each castle, however, they are clear and interesting, with enough information to catch your interest. This book would make a great gift for anyone who loves history, travel, or gorgeous architecture.

I am extremely grateful to Netgalley and Amber Books for the opportunity to read and review “Castles of the World”.

With more than 200 colorful pages of castles/citadels and a brief description of each one’s history, this book is one of the most thorough I’ve seen of its kind. I gained so much insight into the past. I learned how some of the castles/citadels were built, why they were built, why a particular location was chosen, who served while they stood, when some of them were destroyed and then rebuilt and what some of them were used for then and now. Despite my understanding that all castles were built for protection as fortresses, I learned that some were built to be palaces or hunting cabins and intended to show wealth. One was noted to have held slaves and another to have been a concentration camp. One castle was built on a man-made island that had been constructed from layers and layers of wood. As some one who has lived in Europe and visited several castles I had no idea of the number and variety of castles that existed across the world. While many of the well known ones are quite elaborate, others were built from cardboard or wood and quite simple. I was fascinated to see the detail shown in some of the photos of Castles (or what remained of them) dating back to the Bronze age and up to the present. Some were views of the inside, others were views from the top, some were up close and others from a distance to show the large expanse of the entire castle. Among the locations highlighted in this book are: Albania, Belgium, Cuba, Egypt, Ghana, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Korea, South Korea, Spain, Moroco, Ukraine, Lithuania, Russia, Romania, Tibet, Macedonia, Yemen, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates.
I highly recommended this book to others that are fascinated with castles, history and travel. I know I have added many to the list of places I will visit in the future.

Would you like to live in a castle? I certainly would! This book makes it possible for you to imagine living in one. Magnificent panoramic pictures of castles and interesting, well-researched 'potted' histories' of castles make this an excellent book for castle-lovers, or for those needing a short introduction to the history of a particular castle. This has pictures of the classic 'fairy tale' European castles, but it also has Middle Eastern, African and Asian castles. It is a beautiful coffee table book.

I won't see a castle any time soon, unfortunately. This book by Dr Phyllis G. Jestice is the next best thing!
I received this free ebook from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

EDITION Paperback
ISBN 9781838860981
PRICE £9.99 (GBP)

I love castles - I always have - and a lot of my trips in Europe are about visiting castles ! So I loved this book - and it has definitely added to my future travel list ! So many beautiful places around the world to see, and such gorgeous photos as always from Amber Books!

This is the perfect coffee table book. Lots of fascinating castles shown in beautiful pictures. Accompanying the image is a description of each building. I found myself reading the book and mentally making a note of those i have visited and all those i want to go to. Perhaps the publisher could include a checklist within the book.]
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to receive this ARC.

This was a fab book full of photos and fascinating details from castles from around the world. It’s not just full of the usual suspects, but of castles I’d never heard of from Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, Turkey, Iran and more. In the digital copy I had via the NetGalley app the photos didn’t always meet up with the text, but I’m sure in the finished book it will be perfect and make the book even more interesting. If castles are your thing and you can’t get away because of Covid this would make a great treat, maybe even a good Father’s Day gift?!

Disclaimer: ARC via Netgalley

Dr Jestice’s book about castles is coffee table book instead of a substantial or academic history.
It’s a good coffee table book, mind. The pictures are stunning. The paragraphs that accompany each picture provide something interesting detail about each castle. The selection of castles is broken down by construction period, and why the book starts with predominately European ones that changes radically as the book the progresses (though the definition of Castle is somewhat elastic).
Overall, a good book with stunning pictures that will give you a list of places to visit.

Beautiful photography , makes me want to go an explore all these beautiful places. Captions were a little dry for me, but my historical obsession comes from a more immersive experience rather than facts. Really interesting to see how castles progressed over the years and the designs and how the differ in different countries

This really is a beautiful book. The pictures just make me want to go and explore all of the castles within. I also enjoyed all of the little tidbits of information. I learned a lot and really enjoyed this book.

Fascinating! The choices of photographs of castles from all over the world and the brief histories of each is absolutely full of wonder. Some are in ruins, some only neglected for a century or two, some partially restored, and one even houses three museums. I LOVED it! What a delightful visual escape.
I requested and received a temporary digital ARC of this book from Amber Books Ltd via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!