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50 Guns That Changed the World: Iconic Firearms That Altered the Course of History
Discover how fifty great firearms influenced and helped shape our world.
World history has always been interwoven with developments in firearms technology and so is peppered with legendary guns. Since the invention of gunpowder, nations have raced to create more useful and powerful firearms with which to protect, conquer, and hunt. 50 Guns That Changed the World explores the most significant firearms from the past two hundred years, from deadly weapons of war to quaint plinking guns. Included
Winchester Model 1873
Colt 1911
Mauser Model 98
M1 Garand
Ruger 10/22
AK-47
AR-15
Benelli M2
Glock G17
Barrett 82A1
Discover the history, design details, operation, variants, and users of each firearm, illustrated with archival photography from the manufacturers and of the guns in action. Firearms enthusiasts, history buffs, hunters, and shooters will all find something to marvel at in this gorgeous full-color book.
Skyhorse Publishing is proud to publish a broad range of books for hunters and firearms enthusiasts. We publish books about shotguns, rifles, handguns, target shooting, gun collecting, self-defense, archery, ammunition, knives, gunsmithing, gun repair, and wilderness survival. We publish books on deer hunting, big game hunting, small game hunting, wing shooting, turkey hunting, deer stands, duck blinds, bowhunting, wing shooting, hunting dogs, and more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.
World history has always been interwoven with developments in firearms technology and so is peppered with legendary guns. Since the invention of gunpowder, nations have raced to create more useful and powerful firearms with which to protect, conquer, and hunt. 50 Guns That Changed the World explores the most significant firearms from the past two hundred years, from deadly weapons of war to quaint plinking guns. Included
Winchester Model 1873
Colt 1911
Mauser Model 98
M1 Garand
Ruger 10/22
AK-47
AR-15
Benelli M2
Glock G17
Barrett 82A1
Discover the history, design details, operation, variants, and users of each firearm, illustrated with archival photography from the manufacturers and of the guns in action. Firearms enthusiasts, history buffs, hunters, and shooters will all find something to marvel at in this gorgeous full-color book.
Skyhorse Publishing is proud to publish a broad range of books for hunters and firearms enthusiasts. We publish books about shotguns, rifles, handguns, target shooting, gun collecting, self-defense, archery, ammunition, knives, gunsmithing, gun repair, and wilderness survival. We publish books on deer hunting, big game hunting, small game hunting, wing shooting, turkey hunting, deer stands, duck blinds, bowhunting, wing shooting, hunting dogs, and more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.
- GenresHistory
200 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2015
65 people are currently reading
40 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 30, 2024
Some Strange Choices
5/10
These aren’t 50 guns that changed the world. Its a few guns that changed the world and a bunch of guns that the author likes. Unless you believe sporting guns and revolvers from the 50s-90s deserve inordinate credit for changing the world.
Some examples - there are no bolt action rifles or break-open rifles included until the Kar98 from 1935. Before that he preferences sporting shotguns and lever rifles over choices like the Martini-Henry, the Dreyse needle gun, or the Sharps. He also skips out on the SMLE which was the world’s AK47 of bolt action rifles - i.e. found everywhere. The oddest miss is the Sharps rifle - the sporting rifle that devastated America’s bison herds, a hugely important weapon. Even more bizarre is that he includes it later as a comparison with Ruger No. 1 - as if a throwback hunting rifle made in the 60s and 70s changed the world so much that the insanely important Sharps only serves as a footnote for it.
Further, he doesn’t give a good reasoning for why these weapons changed the world. Mostly it boils down to “it was a good weapon that was popular.”
A better title would be 50 Guns That The Author Finds Interesting.
That being said, there are a few good choices that make sense - the single action army, the 1911, the Garand, the AK47, the Glock, etc. And he does give a good explanation of why these weapons are important. But the vast majority are just random popular guns that the author likes.
This isn’t a bad read if you enjoy guns and their history. It's worth getting on sale - I got it for free but it is worth a dollar or two. For the normal price of 16.99, avoid it. The information isn’t detailed enough and can be found elsewhere for free and it isn’t a good historical reference for those with an interest in gun history.
5/10
These aren’t 50 guns that changed the world. Its a few guns that changed the world and a bunch of guns that the author likes. Unless you believe sporting guns and revolvers from the 50s-90s deserve inordinate credit for changing the world.
Some examples - there are no bolt action rifles or break-open rifles included until the Kar98 from 1935. Before that he preferences sporting shotguns and lever rifles over choices like the Martini-Henry, the Dreyse needle gun, or the Sharps. He also skips out on the SMLE which was the world’s AK47 of bolt action rifles - i.e. found everywhere. The oddest miss is the Sharps rifle - the sporting rifle that devastated America’s bison herds, a hugely important weapon. Even more bizarre is that he includes it later as a comparison with Ruger No. 1 - as if a throwback hunting rifle made in the 60s and 70s changed the world so much that the insanely important Sharps only serves as a footnote for it.
Further, he doesn’t give a good reasoning for why these weapons changed the world. Mostly it boils down to “it was a good weapon that was popular.”
A better title would be 50 Guns That The Author Finds Interesting.
That being said, there are a few good choices that make sense - the single action army, the 1911, the Garand, the AK47, the Glock, etc. And he does give a good explanation of why these weapons are important. But the vast majority are just random popular guns that the author likes.
This isn’t a bad read if you enjoy guns and their history. It's worth getting on sale - I got it for free but it is worth a dollar or two. For the normal price of 16.99, avoid it. The information isn’t detailed enough and can be found elsewhere for free and it isn’t a good historical reference for those with an interest in gun history.
September 4, 2020
Hope you like Shotguns
Having read this book, the extremely heavy emphasis on shotguns over any other type of gun might be shocking. In total, about 2/5 guns are shotguns. There are even more shotguns in this book than all rifles combined; single shot, lever action, pump action, bolt action, semi-automatic, and fully automatic. 17 rifles. 18 shotguns.
This leaves 6 revolvers and 9 semi-automatic pistols in all.
This wouldn't be so perturbing if, say, as the book is split into time periods, the heavy concentration of smooth-bore guns came early on, before the advent of rifling, but no. All throughout the era's, 1 out of every 3 guns is a shotgun. Absurd and clearly biased. And, for all the emphasis on shotguns, the Saiga 12 is a glaring omission.
Don't buy this book or recommend it to anyone unless you hate them or think shotguns are the only type of guns. As far as changing the world goes, I don't think improvements on the ability to pop off grouse more effectively, accurately, or efficiently really counts as having changed the world 18 times.
Having read this book, the extremely heavy emphasis on shotguns over any other type of gun might be shocking. In total, about 2/5 guns are shotguns. There are even more shotguns in this book than all rifles combined; single shot, lever action, pump action, bolt action, semi-automatic, and fully automatic. 17 rifles. 18 shotguns.
This leaves 6 revolvers and 9 semi-automatic pistols in all.
This wouldn't be so perturbing if, say, as the book is split into time periods, the heavy concentration of smooth-bore guns came early on, before the advent of rifling, but no. All throughout the era's, 1 out of every 3 guns is a shotgun. Absurd and clearly biased. And, for all the emphasis on shotguns, the Saiga 12 is a glaring omission.
Don't buy this book or recommend it to anyone unless you hate them or think shotguns are the only type of guns. As far as changing the world goes, I don't think improvements on the ability to pop off grouse more effectively, accurately, or efficiently really counts as having changed the world 18 times.
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May 24, 2025Unusual perspective of history.
Guns that were used to advance the conquests - and we hope the civilising ( eg agriculture and metallurgy ) advances .
Guns do still change the course of history.
Am not an expert but should Oerlikon guns deserve a mention?
Guns that were used to advance the conquests - and we hope the civilising ( eg agriculture and metallurgy ) advances .
Guns do still change the course of history.
Am not an expert but should Oerlikon guns deserve a mention?
August 13, 2023
This book covers only firearms of the cartridge period. The selections certainly reflect the authors' personal preferences, which appears to be shotguns. It is not an in depth technical treatise, but more a coffee table book with some excellent data. The information presented is accurate and interesting. The photos and contemporary advertisements are numerous and excellent.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews