A History Of Weapons

Discover the truth about strange and ancient weapons like the atlatl, the sarissa, the urumi and the maka pahoa ko'oko'o in this fascinating history of weapons.

For the first time in paperback, a photographic history of civilization, as seen through the world's most deadly and fascinating firearms. The Illustrated History of Guns is a comprehensive look at the tools of battle. To craft this book, more than five hundred photographs of genuine specimens were specially commissioned from the six-thousand-piece collection of the Berman Museum of World History. The weapons featured span a period of close to four thousand years, ranging from Ancient Greece to World War II, and from the Crusades in Europe to the US Civil War. It features a wide array of diverse treasures, including the traveling pistols of Confederate president Jefferson Davis, a royal Persian scimitar with 1,295 rose-cut diamonds and rubies, and a single 11-carat emerald set in gold, first owned by Shah Abbas I of Persia and given in tribute to Catherine the Great. The Illustrated History of Guns also offers information on weapons innovators, including Alexander Forsyth, Eliphalet Remington, Samuel Colt, Sergei Mosin, the Mauser brothers, Hiram Maxim, John Browning, Richard Gatling, John T. Thompson, John Garland, Feodor Tokarev, Oliver Winchester, and Mikhail Kalashnikov. With unparalleled historical perspective and background on persons significant to the development and advancements of weapons technology or military strategy, The Illustrated History of Guns belongs on the shelf of every history buff and firearms enthusiast.

Discusses the invention of complex weaponry, including guns, explosives, automatic weapons, and such weapons of mass destruction as gases, the atomic bomb, and biological weapons.

This definitive guide covers the entire history of weapons, from the earliest, most primitive instruments up to remarkable advances in modern defense and warfare, including:Riot-control devicesElectrified nightsticksInfantry weaponsMultiple-launch rocketsFiber-optic misslesWire-guided torpedoes"Stealth" technology

A weapon, arm, or armament is any device used with intent to inflict damage or harm to living beings, structures, or systems. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as crime, law enforcement, self-defense, and warfare. In a broader context, weapons may be construed to include anything used to gain a strategic, material or mental advantage over an adversary. While just about any ordinary objects such as sticks, stones, cars, or pencils can be used as weapons, many are expressly designed for the purpose – ranging from simple implements such as clubs, swords and guns, and to complicated modern intercontinental ballistic missiles, biological and cyberweapons. This book has been written keeping in view the requirements of undergraduate and postgraduate students and research scholars in the area of weapons and warfare and Military history.

Following the 9/11 attacks and the anthrax letters that appeared in their wake, the threat posed by the widespread accessibility of chemical and biological weapons has continually been used to stir public fear and opinion by politicians and the media alike. In Chemical and Biological Weapons, Edward M. Spiers cuts through the scare tactics and hype to provide a thorough and even-handed examination of the weapons themselves—the various types and effects—and their evolution from World War I to the present. Spiers describes the similarities and differences between the two types of weapons and how technological advancements have led to tactical innovations in their use over time. As well, he gives equal attention to the international response to the proliferation of chemical and biological weapons, analyzing global efforts aimed at restraining their use, such as deterrence and disarmament, and the effectiveness of these approaches in the twentieth century. Using Iraq as a case study, Spiers also investigates its deployment of chemical weapons in the Iran-Iraq War and the attempts by the international community to disarm Iraq through the United Nations Special Commission and the United States-led war in 2003. A timely and balanced historical survey, Chemical and Biological Weapons will be of interest to readers studying the proliferation and use of chemical and biological warfare and the reactions of the international community throughout the last several decades.

Describes in text and pictures weapons used through the ages, from the stones of prehistoric man to the bombs of modern times.

Learn about the evolution of weapons by studying the design of the Civil War weapons cataloged in this attractive, full-color reference book. More than three million Americans fought in the Civil War and over six hundred thousand men, or two percent of the population, died in this dreadful conflict. Its impact is still felt today, for the war shaped our nation, and our national character. Studying the weapons used by both the Union army and Confederate forces tells an intriguing story of its own. The well-equipped Union army had access to the best of the industrial North's manufacturing output. By contrast, the South had to get by with imported arms and locally made copies of patented weapons. But the pressure of war quickly led to improvements in both sides' firearms. A War that began with single-shot horse pistols ended with multi-shot revolvers. Poignant archive photography is used throughout the book, showing the weapons in contemporary action, and placing them in their Civil War context. Evocative paintings by renowned Civil War artist Don Troiani bring the battlefield action to life.