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Firearms: An Illustrated History
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 calibre. 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 spiralled 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.
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 calibre. 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 spiralled 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.
320 pages, Hardcover
Published March 17, 2014
18 people are currently reading
252 people want to read
About the author
D.K. Publishing
9,068 books2,083 followersDorling Kindersley (DK) is a British multinational publishing company specializing in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 62 languages. It is part of Penguin Random House, a consumer publishing company jointly owned by Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA and Pearson PLC. Bertelsmann owns 53% of the company and Pearson owns 47%.
Established in 1974, DK publishes a range of titles in genres including travel (including Eyewitness Travel Guides), arts and crafts, business, history, cooking, gaming, gardening, health and fitness, natural history, parenting, science and reference. They also publish books for children, toddlers and babies, covering such topics as history, the human body, animals and activities, as well as licensed properties such as LEGO, Disney and DeLiSo, licensor of the toy Sophie la Girafe. DK has offices in New York, London, Munich, New Delhi, Toronto and Melbourne.
Source: Wikipedia.
Established in 1974, DK publishes a range of titles in genres including travel (including Eyewitness Travel Guides), arts and crafts, business, history, cooking, gaming, gardening, health and fitness, natural history, parenting, science and reference. They also publish books for children, toddlers and babies, covering such topics as history, the human body, animals and activities, as well as licensed properties such as LEGO, Disney and DeLiSo, licensor of the toy Sophie la Girafe. DK has offices in New York, London, Munich, New Delhi, Toronto and Melbourne.
Source: Wikipedia.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
April 7, 2018
A very lavish illustrated guide that will inevitably trample over the toes of inner pedants with an occasional factual mistake (some specific variants are misidentified, some years are wrong occasionally, but only in the details).
х в а л а т и б р а н и с л а в а !!!
х в а л а т и б р а н и с л а в а !!!
May 5, 2014
I picked this book up for my Dad because he is really the gun enthusiast. However when the book arrived I could not help but pick it up and look through it myself.
This is an excellent coffee table book. It is full of very useful and informative information. The pictures in this book are vivid, colorful, detailed, and wonderful to look at. I caught myself several times just looking at the pictures. The information about the different guns from past to present was cool. I learned a lot about how the first guns were made to how far we have come today. We are more advanced from then. However I cannot imagine what it was like back than to load the gunpowder and light a match to ignite it. Now a days we have machine guns that just fire off continuous rounds of ammunition within seconds. That is another thing this book talked about is the different ammunition. This book is a keeper. It also would make the perfect gift for anyone who loves guns.
This is an excellent coffee table book. It is full of very useful and informative information. The pictures in this book are vivid, colorful, detailed, and wonderful to look at. I caught myself several times just looking at the pictures. The information about the different guns from past to present was cool. I learned a lot about how the first guns were made to how far we have come today. We are more advanced from then. However I cannot imagine what it was like back than to load the gunpowder and light a match to ignite it. Now a days we have machine guns that just fire off continuous rounds of ammunition within seconds. That is another thing this book talked about is the different ammunition. This book is a keeper. It also would make the perfect gift for anyone who loves guns.
July 8, 2023
I like guns. Guns are a great conversation starter and, as it turns out, a great conversation ender.
If you like guns too, you’ll probably appreciate this book of illustrated gun evolution. My only complaint – a very minor one – is that they could have gone for a much larger format. I like albums, which I have to heave off the coffee table.
If you like guns too, you’ll probably appreciate this book of illustrated gun evolution. My only complaint – a very minor one – is that they could have gone for a much larger format. I like albums, which I have to heave off the coffee table.
July 27, 2014
this book is really cool and it explains how guns work really well.
November 19, 2020
I've really enjoyed this book a lot, I have read this book a total of 6 times and it never fails to bore me, I think that this book really expanded my knowledge on firearms I mean I never even knew that the Sterling Light Automatic Rifle existed?! This book goes into a lot of detail about some of the most famous gun manufacturers and not only that it also has a complete section talking about ammo and how certain guns work for example Gas Blowback and Recoil Operated, this book is filled to the brim with detailed images and lots of obscure guns as well. This is my most favourite encyclopedia currently.
January 16, 2022
There are some very minor errors, but don't let that put you off. The illustrations are excellent. However, the best feature of this book is that it gives a very good representation of the evolution of firearms with some very good examples throughout.
March 16, 2021
Weird pistols models inside here.
October 2, 2022
Outstanding book goes over the whole history of firearms with great photos.
February 29, 2024
Much guns such firepower
April 23, 2024
I’d wish they’d add some extra stats to the weapons in the book such as weight and effective range. Otherwise a great resource for learning the history of firearms.
November 22, 2024
I bought this book as a Christmas present for my husband. Very insightful and detailed with stunning pictures.
April 25, 2014
A Must-have for any Gun Enthusiast …
This book was reviewed as part of Amazon's Vine program which included a free advance copy of the book.
I’ll admit up-front, I love all DK books. In fact, if there is any subject matter that sparks a particular interest in me, I usually check to see if DK has published a book on it. Our household holds many volumes covering subjects that range from animals to World War II. The reason for my affinity of “all things DK” boils down to one simple factor: presentation. DK books always offer a massive amount of information in an extremely organized, graphically-rich manner. FIREARMS: AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY certainly upholds those standards.
Holding 300+ glossy pages, this coffee-table sized book is chock full of eye-candy. Organized chronologically, it covers several hundred firearms from the inception of gun-powder to present-day using color photos of the actual weapons. Each firearm presented has a highly-detailed photo with an accompanying informational paragraph that provides such information as year produced, caliber, country of origin and other historical factoids. Some of the guns are looked at more thoroughly with an additional “zoom in” photo with specific mechanisms/parts being pointed out (a DK trademark). In addition to the firearms themselves, there are fully illustrated sidebars/insets that focus on important moments in firearm history, profiles of iconic gun makers/manufacturers and other interesting particulars. The information presented is well-organized and aesthetically pleasing … this is the type of book that beckons the reader to cozy up to one corner of the couch with a full cup of coffee and slowly flip through the pages.
It is important to understand that FIREARMS: AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY is not an encyclopedia that documents every firearm made, but it certainly comes close. The “kitchen sink” inventory of weapons covered in the book is most-appealing: 17th century ship cannons, muskets, revolvers, rifles, sub-machine guns, machine guns, anti-tank weapons and high-tech artillery … everything is covered. I particularly enjoyed the chapters covering unique firearms (guns disguised as pens, pipes, umbrellas, etc.).
The book also includes photo prints of two iconic firearms tucked in a pocket inside the back cover.
FIREARMS: AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY is much more than a simple picture book of guns. The magnificently detailed photos vividly bring to life the evolution of gun-making ingenuity and delicate craftsmanship … not to mention the ironic beauty of these deadly tools.
This book was reviewed as part of Amazon's Vine program which included a free advance copy of the book.
I’ll admit up-front, I love all DK books. In fact, if there is any subject matter that sparks a particular interest in me, I usually check to see if DK has published a book on it. Our household holds many volumes covering subjects that range from animals to World War II. The reason for my affinity of “all things DK” boils down to one simple factor: presentation. DK books always offer a massive amount of information in an extremely organized, graphically-rich manner. FIREARMS: AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY certainly upholds those standards.
Holding 300+ glossy pages, this coffee-table sized book is chock full of eye-candy. Organized chronologically, it covers several hundred firearms from the inception of gun-powder to present-day using color photos of the actual weapons. Each firearm presented has a highly-detailed photo with an accompanying informational paragraph that provides such information as year produced, caliber, country of origin and other historical factoids. Some of the guns are looked at more thoroughly with an additional “zoom in” photo with specific mechanisms/parts being pointed out (a DK trademark). In addition to the firearms themselves, there are fully illustrated sidebars/insets that focus on important moments in firearm history, profiles of iconic gun makers/manufacturers and other interesting particulars. The information presented is well-organized and aesthetically pleasing … this is the type of book that beckons the reader to cozy up to one corner of the couch with a full cup of coffee and slowly flip through the pages.
It is important to understand that FIREARMS: AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY is not an encyclopedia that documents every firearm made, but it certainly comes close. The “kitchen sink” inventory of weapons covered in the book is most-appealing: 17th century ship cannons, muskets, revolvers, rifles, sub-machine guns, machine guns, anti-tank weapons and high-tech artillery … everything is covered. I particularly enjoyed the chapters covering unique firearms (guns disguised as pens, pipes, umbrellas, etc.).
The book also includes photo prints of two iconic firearms tucked in a pocket inside the back cover.
FIREARMS: AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY is much more than a simple picture book of guns. The magnificently detailed photos vividly bring to life the evolution of gun-making ingenuity and delicate craftsmanship … not to mention the ironic beauty of these deadly tools.
April 16, 2019
Fantastic book that provides a "30,000 ft view" of the development of firearms throughout history. The photography is amazing and the information is fascinating. There are some small details that keep this from a perfect 5 star. Many firearms are listed with caliber but not cartridge e.g. the Ithaca and AR-7 survival rifles are both listed as caliber .22in without specifying that the Ithaca is 22 hornet while the AR-7 is 22LR. Several modern shotguns are listed as 13 gauge and a few other typos poke through. Criticisms aside, this reference book is great for beginners to firearms as well as seasoned shooters looking to broaden their understanding.
January 13, 2016
Firearms: An Illustrated History by Smithsonian (DK Publishing 2014)(683.4). This volume exhaustively documents the development of firearms over the last 600 years. From blunderbusses through modern revolvers,this book catalogs the iconic firearms of history. My rating: 7/10, finished 8/12/14.
August 20, 2015
Superb photographs and details. A must for history buffs.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews