Author: DK
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0744034698
Category : Antiques & Collectibles
Languages : en
Pages : 320
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Book Description
This fascinating visual account of firearms shows everything from the earliest cannons to modern weapons of war. It also highlights how gun technology and military tactics developed in tandem over time. Centuries ago, the Chinese discovered that if they put gunpowder and a projectile into a metal tube and ignited it, they could fire the projectile with enormous force. The first guns were born. Firearms: An Illustrated History showcases over 300 firearms including pistols, revolvers, rifles, shotguns, machine-guns, and artillery, each with annotated close-up photographs and details of their origins, barrel, and caliber. It details the use of the firearms, not just in the military but for sport, hunting, and law enforcement. This comprehensive volume traces the history of firearms, highlighting "turning points" such as the rifle with its parallel spiraled groves that could impart a spin to bullets making them fly straighter. It also showcases iconic firearms such as the Walther PPK self-loading pistol popularised in James Bond films. With information on the great gunsmiths including Beretta and Kalashnikov and a detailed guide to how guns work, Firearms: An Illustrated History is an essential purchase for everyone interested in guns and military history.
Author: Robert S. Seigler
Publisher: Univ of South Carolina Press
ISBN: 1611177936
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 431
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Book Description
A thoroughly researched account of weapons innovation and industrialization in South Carolina during the Civil War and the man who made it happen. A year after seceding from the Union, South Carolina and the Confederate States government faced the daunting challenge of equipping soldiers with weapons, ammunition, and other military implements during the American Civil War. In The Best Gun in the World, Robert S. Seigler explains how South Carolina created its own armory and then enlisted the help of a weapons technology inventor to meet the demand. Seigler mined state and federal factory records, national and state archives, and US patents for detailed information on weapons production, the salaries and status of free and enslaved employees, and other financial records to reveal an interesting, distinctive story of technological innovation and industrialization in South Carolina. George Woodward Morse, originally from New Hampshire, was a machinist and firearms innovator, who settled in Louisiana in the 1840s. He invented a reliable breechloading firearm in the mid-1850s to replace muzzleloaders that were ubiquitous throughout the world. Essential to the successful operation of any breechloader was its ammunition, and Morse perfected the first metallic, center-fire, pre-primed cartridge, his most notable contribution to the development of modern firearms. The US War Department tested Morse rifles and cartridges prior to the beginning of the Civil War and contracted with the inventor to produce the weapons at Harpers Ferry Armory. However, when the war began, Morse, a slave-holding plantation owner, determined that he could sell more of his guns in the South. The South Carolina State Military Works originally designed to cast cannon, produced Morse’s carbine and modified muskets, brass cartridges, cartridge boxes, and other military accoutrements. The armory ultimately produced only about 1,350 Morse firearms. For the next twenty years, Morse sought to regain his legacy as the inventor of the center-fire brass cartridges that are today standard ammunition for military and sporting firearms. “Does justice to one of the greatest stories in American firearms history. If George Woodward Morse had not sided with the Confederacy, his name might be as famous today as Colt or Winchester.” —Gordon L. Jones, Atlanta History Center “Excellent and well-researched.” —Patrick McCawley, South Carolina Department of Archives and History “For connoisseurs and scholars of military history (especially Civil War), history of technology, or Southern/South Carolina history, this is a must-read and reference volume pertaining to a previously little-known aspect of the nineteenth century that had a far-reaching impact in the manner wars would be fought by soldiers decades later.” —Barry L. Stiefel, College of Charleston
Author: Philip J. Cook
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199339007
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 297
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Book Description
No topic is more polarizing than guns and gun control. From a gun culture that took root early in American history to the mass shootings that repeatedly bring the public discussion of gun control to a fever pitch, the topic has preoccupied citizens, public officials, and special interest groups for decades. The Gun Debate: What Everyone Needs to Know® delves into the issues that Americans debate when they talk about guns. With a balanced and broad-ranging approach, noted economist Philip J. Cook and political scientist Kristin A. Goss thoroughly cover the latest research, data, and developments on gun ownership, gun violence, the firearms industry, and the regulation of firearms. The authors also tackle sensitive issues such as the effectiveness of gun control, the connection between mental illness and violent crime, the question of whether more guns make us safer, and ways that video games and the media might contribute to gun violence. No discussion of guns in the U.S. would be complete without consideration of the history, culture, and politics that drive the passion behind the debate. Cook and Goss deftly explore the origins of the American gun culture and the makeup of both the gun rights and gun control movements. Written in question-and-answer format, the book will help readers make sense of the ideologically driven statistics and slogans that characterize our national conversation on firearms. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in getting a clear view of the issues surrounding guns and gun policy in America. What Everyone Needs to Know® is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press.
Author: United States. Department of the Army
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Mechanics (Persons)
Languages : en
Pages : 116
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Book Description
Author: Larry Kahaner
Publisher: Turner Publishing Company
ISBN: 1118040473
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 254
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Book Description
No single weapon has spread so much raw power to so many people in so little time—and had such a devastating effect—as the AK-47 assault rifle. This book examines the legacy of this world-changing weapon, from its creation as means of fighting the Nazis to its ubiquity today in every kind of conflict, from civil wars in Africa to gang wars in L.A.
Author: Gene Nunnery
Publisher: Univ. Press of Mississippi
ISBN: 1496820002
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 146
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Book Description
During his life, Gene Nunnery was recognized as a master turkey hunter and an artisan who crafted unique, almost irresistible turkey calls. In The Old Pro Turkey Hunter, the vaunted sportsman shares over fifty years of personal experience in Mississippi and surrounding states, along with the decades-old wisdom of the huntsmen who taught him. Throughout the book, his stories make clear that turkey hunting is more than just killing the bird—it is about matching wits with a wild and savvy adversary. As Nunnery explains, “To me that’s what it’s all about: finding a wise old gobbler who will test your skill as a turkey hunter.” Through his stories, Nunnery reveals that the true reward for successful turkey hunting lies in winning the contest, not necessarily exterminating the foe. Real sportsmen know that every now and then the turkey should and will elude the hunter. As Nunnery looks back on his extensive career, he analyzes vast differences in practice, old and new. The shift, he decides, came during his last twenty years on the hunt, and that difference has only increased in the decades since this book was originally published. Michael O. Giles, Bass Pro staff team member, master turkey hunter, and award-winning outdoors writer and author of Passion of the Wild, writes a new foreword that brings the practice of turkey hunting into the present day. Filled with a tested mixture of common sense and specific examples of how master turkey hunters honor their harvest and heritage, The Old Pro Turkey Hunter is the perfect companion for the novice or the adept.
Author: Hal M. Friedman
Publisher: Government Printing Office
ISBN: 1884733867
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 412
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Book Description
Product Description: Digesting History: The U.S. Naval War College, the Lessons of World War II, and Future Naval Warfare, 1945–1947, by Professor Hal M. Friedman, studies the contribution of the Naval War College, especially in the presidency of Admiral Raymond Spruance, to strategic thought during the first critical postwar years—that is, between the end of the war and the formulation of Containment. This transition period is especially valuable as a window through which to explore institutions such as the College in transition from a hot war to a cold one. While seminal studies exist of the College’s work in the interwar years, none have been published on this period.
Author: Robert Gaudi
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 1787380475
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 591
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Book Description
At the turn of the twentieth century, European colonial powers scrambled in Africa for trade, land and political advantage. When the First World War broke out, they were forced to contend with one another not just in trenches on the Western Front, but in East Africa's swamps and savannahs. In that unforgiving landscape, General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck and a small cadre of hardened German officers fought as equals with their African troops against the Allies, creating the first truly integrated army of the modern age.? African Kaiser is the fascinating tale of a forgotten guerrilla campaign: of rhino charges and artillery duels with scavenged naval guns; of hunted German battleships hidden up unmapped river deltas; of a desperate army in the wilderness, cut off from the world, enduring starvation, malaria, and dysentery; and of the remarkable intercontinental voyage of Zeppelin L59, whose improbable 4,000 mile journey to the Equator and back made aviation history. But mostly, it is the incredible true story of General von Lettow-Vorbeck, the only undefeated German commander of the Great War.
Author: James G Burton
Publisher: Naval Institute Press
ISBN: 1612513697
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 293
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Book Description
From the late 1960s through the mid-1980s, a small band of military activists waged war against corruption in the Pentagon, challenging a system they believed squandered the public’s money and trust. The book examines the movement and its proponents and describes how the system responded to the criticisms and efforts to change accepted practices and entrenched ways of thinking. The author, an air force colonel and part of the movement, worked in the pentagon for fourteen years. He presents a view of the Department of Defense that only an insider could offer. He exposes serious flaws in the military policy-making process, particularly in weapons development and procurement. The details he gives on the unrelenting push for high-tech weapons, despite their ineffectiveness and extraordinary cost-overruns, provide a strong case for the charge of ethical bankruptcy. The second half of the book deals with the author’s attempts to get frontline equipment tested under combat conditions. For the first time, readers learn the nasty details of his battle with the army over line-fire testing of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle—a battle that he eventually won, leading to the personnel carrier’s redesign and the saving of many lives. Never reluctant to name names and reveal details, James G. Burton presents a forceful case. And his revelations offer insights not found elsewhere into the motivations and actions of the people who wield power from within. Nor does he stop at the walls of the Pentagon. In his epilogue he tells what happened in the field during the final hours of the Gulf War that allowed Hussein’s elite Republican Guard to escape. Now back in print after having inspired a feature HBO film, this explosive account of insider corruption is sure to serve policy-makers for generations to come.
Author: James M. Volo, Ph.d.
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781533444691
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 120
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Book Description
The Old West has had a powerful impact on the concept of gentlemanly masculinity among Americans. To behave like a gentleman may mean little or much. To spend large sums of money like a gentleman may be of no great praise, but to conduct ones self like a gentleman implies a high standard even for those without financial means. For almost two centuries, the frontiersman has been a standard of rugged individualism and stoic bravery for the American male. Provider, protector, counselor, and knight errant to the weak or helpless, men on the frontier stood apart. Newspapers, Dime Novels, and Wild West Shows helped to form the popular view of Old West masculinity in the later 19th century. Novels and short stories served this purpose in the first half of the 20th century, but it was films and TV that cemented the image of the Old west that most post WWII Baby Boomers have today. The study of film and other media representations has been a particularly energetic field for masculinity research. However, western films are not so much about the West as they are about the Westerner. He stands alone, heroic, powerful, and seeking justice and order. The Westerner is the "last gentleman" and Westerns are "probably the last art form in which the concept of honor retains its strength." Directors and screenwriters, ultimately having overcome the simplistic shoot-em-up, used the genre to explore the pressing subjects of their day like racism, nationalism, capitalism, family, and honor, issues more deeply meshed with the concept of manliness than simply wearing a gun belt and Stetson hat. Fear not, Old West purists! For those traditionalists among you, these pages are filled with authentic designs, facts, weapons, and tales from the mid 1800s to the turn of the century and slightly beyond. Here are some of the roots of the most popular holsters, fashions, weapons, cartridges, and myths preferred by collectors and reenactors. So-called Cowboy Action enthusiasts, NRA members, and armchair generals will find sections of this work devoted to their hobbies, and while stodgy academics might cringe, Old West historians will have their obsessions somewhat mollified. Nonetheless, the current author grew up in the days of Shoot'em-up Saturdays at the movies, prime time TV Westerns, and those wondrous sights and sounds of Cowboy gunfights with cap guns on a hillside and Indian encounters on the pavement during a childhood when neither activity was considered politically incorrect. Few other authors in this genre have a resume that includes formal training in science, weapons, and horsemanship; nor have they actually been a horse wrangler, ridden in a troop of cavalry, and reenacted a mounted charge with dozens of others, Hollywood cameras running, revolvers or swords in hand. Nonetheless, there comes a time when we are all "too old and too fat to jump rail fences with horses" (True Grit) and must retire to our easy chairs to write. What follows is a serious (if a bit nostalgic) effort at history by a critically noted author and widely published historian with the proper credentials and practical experience to attempt to carry it off. Cling to your Bibles and to your guns, partner! Dudes need not apply.
