The Gun Makers of Birmingham, 1660-1960
The Gun Makers of Birmingham, 1660-1960

Author: Joseph McKenna

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2021-03-05

Total Pages: 259

ISBN-13: 1476683786

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Tracing the history and development of gun-making in Birmingham, England--for many years a center of the world's firearms industry--this book covers innovations in design and manufacture of both military and sporting arms from 1660 through 1960. The city is perhaps best known for mass-producing some of the most battle-tested weapons in history, including the Brown Bess musket, the Webley revolver and the Lee-Enfield rifle. Yet Birmingham's gun-makers have carried on a centuries-long tradition of crafting high quality hand-made sporting guns.

The Weapon Makers
The Weapon Makers

Author: Alfred Elton Van Vogt

Publisher: New York : Pocket Books ; Markham, Ont. : Distributed in Canada by PaperJacks, 1979. c1952.

Published: 1979

Total Pages: 200

ISBN-13:

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"Earth was divided between two powers - the Empress Innelda's Imperial Isher Dynasty and the technologically superior Weapon Shops. But the precarious balance of power was upset when the Dynasty discovered interstellar travel - and interplanetary war seemed inevitable. Now the fate of the entire galaxy was in the hands of Captain Robert Hedrock, the Weapon Shops' peacemaker to the Imperial Court. But Hedrock had dangerous secrets of his own. He was a spy for the Weapon Shops - and an informant for the Dynasty - and he was hunted as a traitor by both sides!"--Back cover

The Shadow World
The Shadow World

Author: Andrew Feinstein

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Published: 2011-11-08

Total Pages: 738

ISBN-13: 1429932716

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The Shadow World presents the behind-the-scenes tale of the global arms trade, exposing in forensic detail the deadly collusion that too often exists among senior politicians, weapons manufacturers, felonious arms dealers, and the military--a situation that compromises our security and undermines our democracy. Now a major PBS documentary "An authoritative guide to the business of war. Chilling, heartbreaking, and enraging."--Arundhati Roy Andrew Feinstein reveals the cover-ups behind a range of weapons deals, from the largest in history--between the British and Saudi governments---to the guns-for-diamonds deals in Africa and the current $60 billion U.S. weapons contract with Saudi Arabia. Based on pathbreaking reporting and unprecedented access to top-secret information, The Shadow World takes us into a clandestine realm that is as vitally important as it is shocking.

Civil War Weapons
Civil War Weapons

Author: Graham Smith

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2022-06-14

Total Pages: 390

ISBN-13: 1510756728

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Learn about the evolution of weapons by studying the design of the Civil War weapons cataloged in this attractive, full-color reference book. More than three million Americans fought in the Civil War and over six hundred thousand men, or two percent of the population, died in this dreadful conflict. Its impact is still felt today, for the war shaped our nation, and our national character. Studying the weapons used by both the Union army and Confederate forces tells an intriguing story of its own. The well-equipped Union army had access to the best of the industrial North's manufacturing output. By contrast, the South had to get by with imported arms and locally made copies of patented weapons. But the pressure of war quickly led to improvements in both sides' firearms. A War that began with single-shot horse pistols ended with multi-shot revolvers. Poignant archive photography is used throughout the book, showing the weapons in contemporary action, and placing them in their Civil War context. Evocative paintings by renowned Civil War artist Don Troiani bring the battlefield action to life.

Gunfight
Gunfight

Author: Ryan Busse

Publisher: PublicAffairs

Published: 2021-10-19

Total Pages: 332

ISBN-13: 1541768728

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A former firearms executive pulls back the curtain on America's multibillion-dollar gun industry, exposing how it fostered extremism and racism, radicalizing the nation and bringing cultural division to a boiling point. As an avid hunter, outdoorsman, and conservationist–all things that the firearms industry was built on–Ryan Busse chased a childhood dream and built a successful career selling millions of firearms for one of America’s most popular gun companies. But blinded by the promise of massive profits, the gun industry abandoned its self-imposed decency in favor of hardline conservatism and McCarthyesque internal policing, sowing irreparable division in our politics and society. That drove Busse to do something few other gun executives have done: he's ending his 30-year career in the industry to show us how and why we got here. Gunfight is an insider’s call-out of a wild, secretive, and critically important industry. It shows us how America's gun industry shifted from prioritizing safety and ethics to one that is addicted to fear, conspiracy, intolerance, and secrecy. It recounts Busse's personal transformation and shows how authoritarianism spreads in the guise of freedom, how voicing one's conscience becomes an act of treason in a culture that demands sameness and loyalty. Gunfight offers a valuable perspective as the nation struggles to choose between armed violence or healing.