There is a great shortage of scholarly work on the Great Wall of China. Arthur Waldron’s essential The Great Wall of China: From History to Myth (Cambridge: 1990) covers its history very well, particularly on the political squabbles during the Ming dynasty, and I acknowledge the use I have made of it. His discussion on the Great Wall as myth is detailed and valuable but lacking in fieldwork observation. Nevertheless, interested readers should consult his work for the political history of the Great Wall that I have not covered here. Much information about life on the watchtowers, and by extension the Great Wall itself, is contained in an important article by Henry Serruys entitled ‘Towers in the Northern Frontier Defenses of the Ming’ in Ming Studies 14 (1982), pp. 9–77. Most of my references to local interaction between guards and Mongols comes from this work
Good background to the historical events may be found in the relevant volumes of The Cambridge History of China. There are also references to the Great Wall in David A. Graff Medieval Chinese Warfare: 300–900 (London: 2002).
Any book on the subject by William Lindesay is worth reading, and his classic Alone on the Great Wall (London: 1989; paperback edition 1991) should be compulsory reading for anyone planning a visit, if only to realise how lucky we are today. He has also written The Great Wall (Hong Kong: 1999) and The Great Wall: China’s Historical Wonder and Mankind’s Most Formidable Construction Project (Hong Kong: Odyssey Guides, 2002). His small book The Great Wall in the ‘Images of Asia’ Series (Oxford: 2003) is an excellent one-volume guide to the Wall’s history and construction.
For a remarkable visual tour of the Great Wall from end to end in high quality artistic black and white photographs see Daniel Schwarz The Great Wall of China (London: 2001). The weird and wonderful world of Chinese siege weaponry is covered in my two volumes on Siege Weapons of the Far East in the Osprey New Vanguard Series.
Several books in English have been published by the Chinese Great Wall expert Luo Zhewen, including the large format Spanning the Ages: China’s Immortal Dragon by Luo Zhewen and others (Beijing: 1994). Luo Zhewen’s The Great Wall: History and Pictures (Beijing: 1995) is effectively a shortened paperback edition. Recent years have also seen a growth in publication of Chinese books with multi-lingual text that chiefly consist of artistic photographs of the Great Wall. Some are remarkably good with beautiful and atmospheric compositions. Particularly fine artistic photographs by Li Shaobai appear in the beautifully designed The Invisible Great Wall (Beijing: 2004). In China I also purchased two popular tourist picture books both called The Great Wall, with excellent photographs. Each was excellent value for money and made a good souvenir. These are readily available, and actually cost less from the postcard sellers on top of the Great Wall than they did in my hotel!