Kathleen M. Haywood

So, I am a very entry level archer. I'm not even sure if I could classify myself as an archer. I'm a guy who likes to play with bow and arrows. This book was great for me. It doesn't just go over how to shoot, it goes over EVERYTHING. And it does so with great attention to detail and excellent diagrams, photos and tables. Make no mistake, this is a textbook. If you were taking an archery class I expect this would be the assigned reading. Because of this it's a bit dry. But, from a rank amateur, this book has everything I wanted to know and more to become a better archer.… (mer)

Excellent, highly illustrated reference manual. Information is laid out clearly with liberal diagrams demonstrating both the right and wrong way to tackle an aspect of this sport. Several types of sport subsets were discussed in length, among them, differing styles of bows, like recurve and compound, both indoor and outdoor competitive shooting, and elements of hunting and fishing with a bow. Exercises and other such activities are peppered throughout the book. I frankly found every chapter fascinating.

I have a background in youth competitive archery (compound), though I have been sadly out of practice for years, ever since going off to college meant moving away from my then-local archery range. Still, I love this sport. Being able to review this new manual has been a treasure to me and, very best of all, has gotten me all fired up to getting actively back into the sport.

Highly recommended to any archery enthusiast as an introductory or intermediate text. Five stars.… (mer)

Review of Archery: Steps to Success, 4th Edition

Authors Kathleen Haywood and Catherine Lewis have written a very valuable, extremely clear written guide to how to successfully learn archery in their book, Archery: Steps to Success.

This guidebook takes readers through “a progressive plan for developing” each archer’s skills.

The primary strength of the guidebook comes from the many images used to demonstrate proper stances, bow handling, good physical form, and aiming skills. Each photo or drawing is clearly labeled and marked to maximize comprehension and application of the many techniques they recommend.

They also discuss in detail how to find a bow that matches the archer’s abilities and enables the archer to continue to develop that skills. No aspect of archery is too small for them, since they also go into some detail about how to buy and use replacement nocks on arrows. As a relative but enthusiastic novice, I had no idea that there were so many different kinds of nocks or so many alternatives for replacing them if they break or are lost.

While I found the chapter on “Upgrading, Tuning, and Maintaining Equipment” quite helpful, I also appreciated the chapters devoted to explaining how various archery competitions can be conducted. I am not nearly at a level to compete, but the guidebook helps me feel that, if I do as Haywood and Lewis advise, I could one day become an archery competitor and not completely embarrass myself.

I highly recommend this book to any archer, since even the most experienced archer might tend to overlook some of the advice this guidebook gives on occasion.… (mer)

If you want to take up the sport of archery, or even if you are an experienced archer, I highly recommend this book. It contains detailed information on just about every aspect of the sport of archery. Everything is thoroughly covered here. Selecting and properly fitting your equipment, safety equipment, accessories for your bow, fine-tuning your shots, perfecting your T-form, training and practice, competition, and more – it’s all here. There are sections at the end of each chapter with activities you can do, with or without a partner, to improve different aspects of your shooting skill. These sections allow you to score yourself so you can see areas where you need to practice more, or need to improve.

The book contains copious full-color diagrams and photos that help illustrate points made in the test. I think the graphics are well-chosen and do not just add “fluff.” They are really useful and complement the text. I have noticed in other texts that graphics can be over-used and not helpful, but that is not the case here. In fact, some of the graphics are there for you to use when scoring your own shots, so that you can see where you need to make adjustments.

The authors both seem like very experienced archers with in-depth knowledge of the sport.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book and learning how to increase my success with archery. I tried out some of the exercises and I did see improvement in my scores, as well as in my skill level. (I’m a beginner and have plenty to learn.) I plan to continue using the information in this book to improve my archery skills. It is written so that you can use it to train yourself, or to work with a partner. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn archery, works at a summer camp, coaches archery, or just wants a fun outdoor activity to do with your family.… (mer)