The AK-47, or 'Kalashnikov', is the most abundant and efficient firearm on earth. It is so light it can be used by children. It has transformed the way we fight wars, and its story is the chilling story of modern warfare.
C. J. Chivers's extraordinary new book tells an alternative history of the world as seen through these terrible weapons. He traces them back to their origins in the early experiments of Gatling and Maxim, and examines the first appearance of the machine-gun - a weapon that first created the 'asymmetric' colonial massacres enjoyed by the British in Africa but which then led to the nightmarish stalemate of the First World War. The quest for ever greater firepower and mobility culminated in the AK-47 at the beginning of the Cold War, a weapon so remarkable that, over sixty years after its invention and having broken free of all state control, it has become central to civil wars all over the world. The machine-gun reused many innovations associated with the new agricultural technology of its time (as did the tank), and there is perhaps no better example of how so much of the modern era has turned on the awful ambiguity at the heart of human inventiveness.
Drawing on a huge amount of fascinating and original research, The Gun is the story of modern violence: its inventors, its users and its victims. It examines the weapon's impact from Eastern Europe to Vietnam to Afghanistan and Iraq. It is a book of eccentrics, sadists, obsessives, but also of the countless individual soldiers, terrorists, militiamen and civilians whose lives the AK-47 has transformed or destroyed.
Le informazioni nella sezione "Riassunto" possono far riferimento a edizioni diverse di questo titolo.
Le informazioni nella sezione "Su questo libro" possono far riferimento a edizioni diverse di questo titolo.
Spese di spedizione:
EUR 3,50
In U.S.A.
Descrizione libro Paperback. Condizione: Good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used textbooks may not include companion materials such as access codes, etc. May have some wear or writing/highlighting. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!. Codice articolo S_306398914
Descrizione libro Paperback. Condizione: Acceptable. Connecting readers with great books since 1972. Used textbooks may not include companion materials such as access codes, etc. May have condition issues including wear and notes/highlighting. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!. Codice articolo S_324120733
Descrizione libro paperback. Condizione: Very Good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!. Codice articolo S_393536626
Descrizione libro 8vo. softcover. 481pp. index, b/w illus. Very good. Codice articolo 57775
Descrizione libro Condizione: Good. Buy with confidence! Book is in good condition with minor wear to the pages, binding, and minor marks within. Codice articolo bk1846144086xvz189zvxgdd
Descrizione libro Condizione: Fair. Buy with confidence! Book is in acceptable condition with wear to the pages, binding, and some marks within. Codice articolo bk1846144086xvz189zvxacp
Descrizione libro Condizione: Very Good. Very Good condition. Shows only minor signs of wear, and very minimal markings inside (if any). Codice articolo 353-1846144086-vrg
Descrizione libro Condizione: Used. pp. 488. Codice articolo 262211555
Descrizione libro Condizione: Used. pp. 488. Codice articolo 5636412
Descrizione libro Paperback. Condizione: Like New. Like New. book. Codice articolo D7F5-8-M-1846144086-5