An encyclopedic look at firearms.

Profiles more than one thousand gun models, including antiques, military weapons, and others, providing color photos, technical specifications, and details on their origins, performance, and use.

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 caliber. 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 spiraled 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.

Traces the history and development of firearms and provides detailed information and numerous illustrations of some of the most significant rifles, handguns, and smoothbores.

The first of a three-volume series, this book is aimed at young readers interested in guns and shooting but who have no background in firearms and don’t know where to begin. Thoroughly illustrated with drawings and photos, it defines firearms terms, provides hands-on advice about using and maintaining guns, and explains aspects of shooting ranging from historic target matches to military sniping. Through example and anecdote, the book emphasizes safety and proper usage, and everything is presented in easily managed portions that can be read in series or singly—backed up with an index and suggestions for further reading.

Far from always having been an isolated nation and a pariah state in the international community, North Korea exercised significant influence among Third World nations during the Cold War era. With one foot in the socialist Second World and the other in the anticolonial Third World, North Korea occupied a unique position as both a postcolonial nation and a Soviet client state, and sent advisors to assist African liberation movements, trained anti-imperialist guerilla fighters, and completed building projects in developing countries. State-run media coverage of events in the Third World shaped the worldview of many North Koreans and helped them imagine a unified anti-imperialist front that stretched from the boulevards of Pyongyang to the streets of the Gaza Strip and the beaches of Cuba. This book tells the story of North Korea's transformation in the Third World from model developmental state to reckless terrorist nation, and how Pyongyang's actions, both in the Third World and on the Korean peninsula, ultimately backfired against the Kim family regime's foreign policy goals. Based on multinational and multi-archival research, this book examines the intersection of North Korea's domestic and foreign policies and the ways in which North Korea's developmental model appealed to the decolonizing world.

The "bible" of the firearms industry for accurate value information and descriptions of rifles, pistols, and shotguns. The industry standard for over 25 years!