Firepower: How Weapons Shaped Warfare

by Paul Lockhart Narrated by Brian Nishii

Overview

The “fascinating” (Wall Street Journal) story of how military technology has transformed the world

The history of warfare cannot be fully understood without considering the technology of killing. In¿Firepower, acclaimed historian Paul Lockhart tells the story of the evolution of weaponry*and how it*transformed*not only*the conduct of warfare*but also the very structure of power*in the West,*from the Renaissance to the dawn of the atomic era.*

Across this period, improvements*in*firepower*shaped*the*evolving art of war.*For*centuries, weaponry*had*remained simple enough that any state could equip a respectable army.*That all changed around 1870,*when*the cost of investing in increasingly complicated technology*soon*meant*that*only a handful of great powers could afford to manufacture*advanced*weaponry,*while other countries fell behind.¿Going beyond the battlefield,*Firepower*ultimately*reveals*how*changes in*weapons technology*reshaped*human history.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Fascinating stories…Mr. Lockhart writes in an easy, conversational manner.”—Wall Street Journal

“A fascinating new history of weapons technology.”—The Daily Beast

“An accessible account of how weapons became part of systems rather than warriors’ tools.”—Army Magazine

“This entertaining, valuable book is a must read for educated lay readers, as well as for serious students of military technology.”—Technology and Culture

"Detailed and broad...Readers of military history (particularly about military technology, warfare, and the effects of these on society as a whole) will find this book interesting."—Library Journal

“Do new weapons create novel tactics and strategy or simply enhance unchanging doctrines? Paul Lockhart’s exhaustive study of the origins, role, and evolution of gunpowder weapons answers that neither war nor the world itself has ever been the same after the introduction of guns. His tour of the spread of gunpowder weaponry from the fifteenth century to the present is itself a tour de force of facts, analysis, and engaging prose. A riveting history of how five hundred years of gunpowder have changed the way hundreds of millions have lived—and died.”—Victor Davis Hanson, author of The Second World Wars

“Firepower makes the essential connection between technology and power, from the pike and the arquebus to the dreadnought, tanks, modern artillery, and airpower. The book's great strength is the author's ability to explain even the most complex technologies in simple, graspable terms—before tying them to the evolution of warfare and the global struggle for mastery.”—Geoffrey Wawro, author of Sons of Freedom, A Mad Catastrophe, and The Franco-Prussian War

"Firepower is a fascinating, rip-roaring ride through the development of modern weapons technology and its impact upon war. Lockhart carefully dispels decades of myths and shows why we need to understand how firearms and war machines, from muskets and machine-guns to battleships and bombs, actually worked."—Nick Lloyd, King's College London

Library Journal

08/27/2021

In this wide-ranging review of the history and impact of gunpowder weaponry on modern society from the late Renaissance to the Atomic Age, Lockhart (military and European history, Wright State Univ.; The Drillmaster of Valley Forge) argues that gunpowder weaponry technology had wide ranging effects on warfare and upon the nations and societies that prepared for and engaged in warfare. Lockhart traces the history of the applications of gunpowder in land, sea, and air warfare over this 500-year period, arguing that this military technology not only changed warfare dramatically but had very significant effects on the societies of its practitioners. His exploration of the history of firearms and warfare is detailed and broad, ranging from infantry rifles, artillery, tanks, airplanes, and warships. Firearms, in his view, transformed warfare dramatically, and those changes significantly contributed to other great transformations such as improvement of transportation systems, more advanced technology, industrialization of national economies, the organization of government, creation of professional standing armies and navies, government financing, broader participation of citizenry in national militaries, and a changed international world order. VERDICT Readers of military history (particularly about military technology, warfare, and the effects of these on society as a whole) will find this book interesting. It includes extensive histories of many of the most important military technologies of the 16th through 20th centuries.—Mark Jones, Mercantile Lib., Cincinnati

Product Details

BN ID:	2940172844171
Publisher:	Hachette Audio
Publication date:	10/19/2021
Edition description:	Unabridged

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