Soul of the SwordSoul of the Sword
An Illustrated History of Weaponry and Warfare From Prehistory to the Present
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Book, 2002
Current format, Book, 2002, , Available .Book, 2002
Current format, Book, 2002, , Available . Offered in 0 more formatsA sweeping illustrated history of war and the implements used to perpetrate it takes readers on a fascinating tour of humanity's most persistant and destructive character trait and the technology that has been developed to promote warfare. 35,000 first printing.
An illustrated history of war and the implements used to perpetrate it takes readers on a tour of humanity's most persistant and destructive character trait and the technology that has been developed to promote warfare.
It is axiomatic to say that war has driven and shaped human history. Yet a corollary to this truth is far less well understood: weapons have driven and shaped war. Major conflicts have turned on the success or failure of the weapons involved, and entire strategies have been created around the existence of key weapons. Putting the corollary together with the axiom, weapons reflect better than almost anything else the changes, fears, and desires of man and society.
In Soul of the Sword, a noted military historian and senior intelligence analyst at the National Ground Intelligence Center, Robert O'Connell, offers a history of weapons from the primitive mace to the nuclear warhead. Throughout he focuses on their impact on the course of warfare and on society. O'Connell's narrative is accompanied by illustrations by John Batchelor, the world's premier military illustrator, covering everything from the first Western gun to the Mosquito bomber.
A sweeping history of weapons -- their origins and impact on warfare and society --from prehistory to the present, including The Halberd In the 13th century, Swiss confederates relied on lightweight breastplates,halberd lances, and a democratic style of phalanx warfare that succeeded by agility and speed but ultimately failed against powerful cannons and firearms. The First Hand Cannon In the 15th century in France and the Low Countries, arms makers first shrunk down cannons by using bronze, allowing for new mobility.Hand cannons were transported on two-wheeled horsedrawn carriages and could be positioned and fired within minutes.No fortified city in Europe was immune to the threat. The WheeL Lock Pistol In one of the serendipitous technological borrowings that helped the West dominate in gun development, arms and clock-makers in Germany in the 16th century developed a new firing mechanism, using a serrated wheel to strike iron pyrite.When the fuse was eliminated, guns could suddenly be carried, shot, and reloaded by fast-moving cavalry. The Pariskanone First fired by Germany in March 1918, this cannon shelled Paris from a distance of 80 miles, firing shot as high as 24 miles in the air.Although it killed fewer than 260 citizens, the Pariskanone prefigured the constant terror of intercontinental ballistic missiles.
An illustrated history of war and the implements used to perpetrate it takes readers on a tour of humanity's most persistant and destructive character trait and the technology that has been developed to promote warfare.
It is axiomatic to say that war has driven and shaped human history. Yet a corollary to this truth is far less well understood: weapons have driven and shaped war. Major conflicts have turned on the success or failure of the weapons involved, and entire strategies have been created around the existence of key weapons. Putting the corollary together with the axiom, weapons reflect better than almost anything else the changes, fears, and desires of man and society.
In Soul of the Sword, a noted military historian and senior intelligence analyst at the National Ground Intelligence Center, Robert O'Connell, offers a history of weapons from the primitive mace to the nuclear warhead. Throughout he focuses on their impact on the course of warfare and on society. O'Connell's narrative is accompanied by illustrations by John Batchelor, the world's premier military illustrator, covering everything from the first Western gun to the Mosquito bomber.
A sweeping history of weapons -- their origins and impact on warfare and society --from prehistory to the present, including The Halberd In the 13th century, Swiss confederates relied on lightweight breastplates,halberd lances, and a democratic style of phalanx warfare that succeeded by agility and speed but ultimately failed against powerful cannons and firearms. The First Hand Cannon In the 15th century in France and the Low Countries, arms makers first shrunk down cannons by using bronze, allowing for new mobility.Hand cannons were transported on two-wheeled horsedrawn carriages and could be positioned and fired within minutes.No fortified city in Europe was immune to the threat. The WheeL Lock Pistol In one of the serendipitous technological borrowings that helped the West dominate in gun development, arms and clock-makers in Germany in the 16th century developed a new firing mechanism, using a serrated wheel to strike iron pyrite.When the fuse was eliminated, guns could suddenly be carried, shot, and reloaded by fast-moving cavalry. The Pariskanone First fired by Germany in March 1918, this cannon shelled Paris from a distance of 80 miles, firing shot as high as 24 miles in the air.Although it killed fewer than 260 citizens, the Pariskanone prefigured the constant terror of intercontinental ballistic missiles.
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- New York, N.Y. : Free Press : Distributed by Simon & Schuster, c2002.
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