The Gun: The AK-47 and the Evolution of War

'WITH IMPELLING FORCE, C.J. CHIVERS TELLS A REMARKABLE STORY OF HOW THIS ONE, SUPERBLY RELIABLE FIREARM BECAME THE MOST ABUNDANT EVER PRODUCES'
ALISTAIR HORNE, AUTHOR OF THE PRICE OF GLORYAND A SAVAGE WAR OF PEACE

The AK-47, or 'Kalashnikov', is the most 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.

Drawing on fascinating original research, C. J. Chivers's extraordinary new book tells an alternative history of the world as seen through these terrible weapons- from their origins in early experiments, through the first appearance of the machine-gun, to the perfection of the AK-47 at the beginning of the Cold War; a weapon so remarkable that, over sixty years after its invention, it is now central to civil wars all over the world.

'THE GUN IS FOR THOSE WHO WONDER HOW WE FIGHT TODAY AND WHY WE FIGHT THAT WAY. C.J. CHIVERS HAS GIVEN US A SEMINAL WORK'
JAMES BRADLEY, AUTHOR OF FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS