NOTE ON HISTORICAL RESEARCH
Anyone interested in further research regarding the places and events in the Lion of War series ought to consider the following materials, which I consulted extensively during the preparation of the novels.
Many of the specific details on movement and weaponry are my own invention, serving the necessities of storytelling and the supernatural elements that can’t necessarily be determined by research. Many of the larger battle descriptions, however, are largely faithful to scholarly research. For battlefield tactics, strategies, weaponry, and chronology, the primary source was Battles of the Bible by Chaim Herzog and Mordechai Gichon. The Military History of Ancient Israel by Richard A. Gabriel provided insight into military tactics as well. For archaeological and anthropological research, I relied primarily upon the classical volumes A History of Israel by John Bright and Bible History: Old Testament by Alfred Edersheim. Modern sources consulted include New Illustrated Bible Manners and Customs by Howard F. Vos and The New Manners and Customs of Bible Times by Ralph Gower. For those looking for a well-researched, biblically faithful account of the whole of David’s life, I recommend Eleanor Gustafson’s The Stones.
Other sources consulted that I encourage readers to examine are David: A Man of Passion and Destiny by Charles R. Swindoll, David: Shepherd, Psalmist, King by F. B. Meyer, The Life of David by Arthur W. Pink, and The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Frank E. Gæbelein, General Editor.
Many of these books come from a Christian perspective, since I am a Christian. However, I did spend considerable time consulting Jewish sources both ancient (Josephus, Antiquities) and modern (materials provided by the Jewish History Resource Center of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem).
The best research, however, is found on site in Israel. I’ve had a wonderful time getting to know experts on the land, reading books by scholars of all the Abrahamic faiths, and sorting through many known facts on David’s life, but none of it fully came alive to me as a storyteller until I spent time in the land itself. Sites that a curious reader must make it a point to visit are Ein Gedi, the Valley of Elah, Tel Gath, the Gilboa highlands, the Negev region, Masada (a possible location for one of David’s strongholds), and, of course, the City of David.