50 Weapons That Changed Warfare

by William Weir

William Weir, author of New Page Book's 50 Battles That Changed the World, takes another look at the history of warfare, focusing on the hardware that served those famous battles, as well as others not as glorious. Included * Individual weapons-from spears to the submachine gun. * Crew-served weapons-from battering rams to "Big Bertha". * Unmanned weapons-from punji stakes to "Bouncing Betty" landmines and trap guns. 50 Weapons That Changed Warfare even includes devices that, strictly speaking, are weapons carriers, such as tanks and bombers, but which have had enormous effects on the conduct of war. This book describes the effects of these weapons and how and why they changed warfare-from the bloody carnage produced by hand weapons throughout history to the never used but universally feared fusion bomb, whose sole purpose is to destroy millions of people while leaving buildings intact. Each weapon is not only described, but also illustrated to give a clearer picture of its usage and effects.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Military Fiction, War, Reference

261 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 2005

Reviews

[Tintin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buku ini membahas perkembangan senjata-senjata yang digunakan dalam peperangan. Disusun secara sistematis mulai dari senjata paling awal, yaitu tombak, sampai dengan senjata yang saat ini masih dalam pengembangan.
Memang terdapat beberapa kekeliruan yang muncul di buku ini, seperti terlihat dalam pembahasan glider. Di situ disebutkan bahwa penerjunan pasukan lintas udara di Normandia pada Juni 1944 adalah yang terbesar dalam sejarah karena dilaksanakan oleh empat divisi lintas udara, dua Inggris dan dua Amerika. Padahal kita tahu bahwa yang terlibat dalam penerjunan di Normandia hanya tiga divisi, dan itu pun tidak full. Sesungguhnya penerjunan lintas udara terbesar itu terjadi di Belanda, di tahun yang sama namun bulan yang berbeda, yaitu September, dan dilaksanakan oleh tiga divisi lintas udara, dua Amerika dan satu Inggris.
Penulis buku juga menyertakan daftar senjata-senjata yang tidak termasuk dalam limapuluh senjata yang mengubah jalannya peperangan, salah satunya adalah battleship.
Untuk para penggemar senjata...mmm, maksud saya penggemar kemiliteran, buku ini cukup baik sebagai penambah wawasan. Isinya mudah dimengerti dengan bahasa yang populer, jarang menggunakan istilah-istilah resmi militer, meskipun beberapa di antaranya diperkenalkan juga.

[Xan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nada en particular que lo haga sobresalir sobre otros libros de la misma temática. Me gustó el capítulo sobre el arco largo inglés y las ballestas, muy interesante.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Minus one star because I would have liked to see some diagrams. Otherwise it was interesting. Dip in and out.

[Dale Pearl · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this book, sadly it is all over the place and I for one question the selection of weapons.
I think what would have made for a more delightful book would have been a sequential order and how the newer weapon/technology advanced the previous causing a military advantage.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was so interesting i really hated that I couldn't love it more! It was all over the place -- I wish the author had set up a systematic way to compose this work whether it be a chronological order or perhaps categorized them better

[Roberta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice and neat summary of weapons that impacted the history of the World. Generally written in chronological order.

[Nanto]

Seru neh kayaknya!

[Nrtashi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would have been better with pictures. I had to google a lot of stuff, just to visualize what the author was writing about. But don't get the wrong impression-it's not a bad book.