Military Collection: Armaments & Weaponry

Travel back in time with this visual guide to the history of human conflict, tracing the evolution of technology and tactics from the ancient world to the American Civil War! Combining beautiful nineteenth century engravings, artwork, and diagrams with an engaging and informative modern text, The History of Warfare narrates humankind's timeless capacity for devising new ways of waging war on land and at sea. Follow your intrigue with this chronological and cultural review of tactics and technology, supplemented by thumbnail studies of individual items of arms and armor-from swords to siege engines, from helmets to handguns. The lavish visual approach parades the evolving profiles of army and individual warrior; interjected with annotated anatomies of key technologies and diagrams of famous battles and tactical innovations. With contextual introductions, authoritative captions, and a glossary of terms, you will recieve a complete and comprehensive history for the school of war.

Military defense monuments of the past are explained along with how they were overtaken by weapons development and the changing nature of war. - From Google Books.

"Camouflage at War" explores military uniforms, vehicles, and buildings from World War I to the present day, and how they've evolved to hide troops from the enemy. From a dummy tank in North Africa in World War II to the different uniforms of Waffen-SS on the Eastern Front soldiers to zebra-striped dazzle ships in the North Atlantic, to today's digital pixelated pattern uniforms used by US soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, Camouflage at War is a wide-reaching examination of the developments and wrong turns in military camouflage around the world. From uniforms to tanks, from ships to aircraft, and even camouflage for buildings, Camouflage at War is an expert account of how different countries have sought to hide their forces in plain view for the past century. Packed with 200 color and black and white photographs and color artworks, this collection is a fascinating exploration of how warfare has changed over the last hundred years.

This is a compilation of three manuals issued during the Great War on the subject of Field Fortifications; French, German & American. All are in English. Part 1: NOTES ON FIELD FORTIFICATIONS - The French Manual, shows that the French concentrated primarily on large earthen redoubts which accompanied their highly aggressive tactical doctrine. ( this has 274 pages with hundreds of line drgs & plans ). Part 2: THE CONSTRUCTION OF FIELD POSITIONS ( STELLINGSBAU ). Issued by the German Army in 1916. This manual shows the German penchant for fixed, permanent defenses, using concrete rather than earthen works. ( this has 68 pages and numerous line drgs & plans). Part 3: NOTES ON THE CONSTRUCTION AND EQUIPMENT OF TRENCHES, April 1917, as issued by the U.S. War Dept. This shows that the Americans favored relatively light, hasty defenses, which fitted their aggressive philosophy of attack. - Amazon.com.

During the American Civil War (1861-65), small arms consisted of an incredible variety of muskets, rifles, carbines, revolvers, and even shotguns. Small arms, in the hands of both Union and Confederate soldiers, accounted for most of the war's 633,000 killed and wounded. It is the intention of this volume to provide the reader with an accurate overview of this fascinating segment of military history.

Cannons introduce the reader to the varied weapons, ammunition, and equipment of Civil War artillery, from 6-pounder field guns to 13-inch coastal mortars.

"A detailed, photographically illustrated examination of the production and use of firearms in the North and the South during the years of the Civil War." - Amazon.com

A detailed book on the Whitworth rifle used by the Confederate sharpshooters, and on the history of the soldiers who fired it. Many accounts of the rifle are given, with emphasis on the man behind the rifle. These men were able to make accurate hits beyond 1000 yards. The Whitworth rifle characteristics are .45 caliber (.451, rifled, six-sided, or hexagonal) with a bore of .450 inches with a 1:20 twist. The total rifle length was 49 inches. Weight was just under 9 pounds without the scope. They used a Davidson telescopic sight patented in 1862 and specially shaped bullets. --AbeBooks.com

A very interesting book of a personal experience of aviation during the Great War of 1914 - 18. This covers the subject of Kite Balloon artillery observation work that has rarely been covered in aviation books about this period. Although a much less glamorous branch of the Royal Flying Corps compared to the work in the scout, (fighter), squadrons, there were still real dangers with Kite Ballooning.
The main danger was German "balloon busting" scout aircraft, and occasionally German artillery would range in on the Kite Balloons. The Kite Balloon observers were the only members of the Royal Flying Corps to be issued parachutes. They would expect to make at least one emergency use of this during their career. The record was 6 jumps. The balloon observers had telephone contact with the ground, and with a switchboard system could communicate directly with their commanding officer(s), artillery batteries, as well as other kite balloon observers. - John Barker, Amazon.com

A classic account of the development and employment of British Tank Corps forces in World War I. Written by one of the most important British military historians of the 20th century who himself was a Tank Corps officer.

Christopher F Foss is the editor of "Jane's Arms & Armour," "Jane's Military Vehicles and Logistics" volumes and many other volumes on military vehicles.

"This is a study of the development of Air Power and of its strategic implications based on written statements, abstracted from many sources, of the leading authorities on the subject in every country. Some idea of the scope of this work of more than 900 pages can be gathered from the chapter headings: The Evolution of Air Power, The New Mobility, Classical Theories of Air Warfare, World War II, Lessons of World War II, Small Wars and Limited Military Operations, Soviet Air Policy, American Air Policy, Air Power in Europe and Asia, Problems of Defense and Diplomacy, and Astronauts and the Future." - Peter Brooks, "The Aeronautical Journal." Vol. 64, Issue 597.

A Squadron Leader of the Royal Canadian Air Force has done a collection of paintings of twenty-five of the latest fighting aircraft.

Did the arms race of the 1930s cause the Second World War? In "Cry Havoc," historian Joseph Maiolo shows, in rich and fascinating detail, how the deadly game of the arms race was played out in the decade prior to the outbreak of the Second World War. In this exhaustively researched account, he explores how nations reacted to the moves of their rivals, revealing the thinking of those making the key decisions--Hitler, Mussolini, Chamberlain, Stalin, Roosevelt--and the dilemmas of democratic leaders who seemed to be faced with a choice between defending their nations and preserving their democratic way of life. An unparalleled account of an era of extreme political tension, "Cry Havoc" shows how the interwar arms race shaped the outcome of World War II before the shooting even began.

A comprehensive survey of the Soviet's military aviation from the last Czar, the era of ballistic missiles, and space satellites.

Airpower, more than any other factor, has shaped war in the twentieth century. In this fascinating narrative history, Martin van Creveld vividly portrays the rise of the plane as a tool of war and the evolution of both technology and strategy. He documents seminal battles and turning points, and relates stories of individual daring and collective mastery of the skies.However, the end of airpower's glorious age is drawing near. The conventional wisdom to the contrary, modern precision-guided munitions has not made fighter bombers more effective against many kinds of targets than their predecessors in World War II. U.S. ground troops calling for air support in Iraq in 2003 did not receive it any faster than Allied forces did in France in 1944. And from its origins on, airpower has never been very effective against terrorists, guerrillas, and insurgents. As the warfare waged by these kinds of people grows in importance, and as ballistic missiles, satellites, cruise missiles, and drones increasingly take the place of quarter-billion-dollar manned combat aircraft and their multi-million-dollar pilots, airpower is losing utility almost day by day.

"The jet fighter is one of the great icons of the second half of the twentieth century, a symbol of achievement, of technical excellence, of ultimate modernity, of latent military power." So begins Ivan Rendall, a former Royal Air Force pilot, in this thrilling first-ever history of the most seductive and deadly of all of man's weapons of war. From its birth in battle during the last days of World War II to its current aeronautical peak, the jet fighter has always been the king of the sky. Rendall's "Rolling Thunder" is the celebration of a machine, and culture, for which "winning is about accepting that there is no such thing as second-best." Rendall's scrupulous history is driven by a strong thesis: jets may depend upon technological advances, but the human edge supplied by their pilots has determined their success or failure in all times and places. In this respect, the West has triumphed over its enemies. Beginning with the dangerously fast but hopelessly outnumbered German Me 262, jets and the men who flew them quickly became potent physical and psychological weapons.

The authors provide students with a documentary case study of a critical episode in modern American history. The authors allow students to learn history by doing history--or at least by asking them to read and analyze the most original sources that could be assembled. In effect, The Manhattan Project is a form of interactive narrative history that tells its story through the words of the men who lived it. No other such documentary study of the Manhattan Project exists. -- Amazon.com

The definitive collection of writings on the Manhattan Project by the pre-eminent scientists, historians, and everyday observers who bore witness to the birth of the modern nuclear age. Begun in 1939, the Manhattan Project eventually employed more than 130,000 people, including our foremost scientists and thinkers, and cost nearly $2 billion, while operating under a shroud of absolute secrecy. This groundbreaking collection of documents, essays, articles, and excerpts from histories, biographies, plays, novels, letters, and the oral histories of key eyewitnesses provides unique perspectives for the historian and student of history all compiled by experts at the Atomic Heritage Foundation. Photographs throughout depict key moments and pivotal figures. The Manhattan Project gives actual voice to a significant period in history.

"The Long Shadow" is the first comprehensive, systematic examination of the roles and implications of nuclear weapons in the dramatically different post-Cold War security environment. Leading experts investigate the roles and salience of nuclear weapons in the national security strategies of twelve countries and the ASEAN states, and their implications for security and stability in a broadly defined Asian security region that includes the Middle East. The study also investigates the prospects for nuclear terrorism in Asia. A chief conclusion of the study is that nuclear weapons influence national security strategies in fundamental ways and that deterrence continues to be the dominant role and strategy for the employment of nuclear weapons. Offensive and defensive strategies may increase in salience but will not surpass the deterrence function. Another major conclusion is that although there could be destabilizing situations, on balance, nuclear weapons have reinforced security and stability in the Asian security region by assuaging national security concerns, strengthening deterrence and the status quo, and preventing the outbreak and escalation of major hostilities. As nuclear weapons will persist and cast a long shadow on security in Asia and the world, it is important to reexamine and redefine "old" ideas, concepts, and strategies as well as develop "new" ones relevant to the contemporary era. In line with this, the global nuclear order should be constructed anew based on present realities.

Words and illustrations describe the modern-day weaponry in use by the world's leading powers.

Between 1961 and 1967 the United States Air Force buried 1,000 Minuteman Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles in pastures across the Great Plains. The Missile Next Door tells the story of how rural Americans of all political stripes were drafted to fight the Cold War by living with nuclear missiles in their backyards-and what that story tells us about enduring political divides and the persistence of defense spending. By scattering the missiles in out-of-the-way places, the Defense Department kept the chilling calculus of Cold War nuclear strategy out of view. This subterfuge was necessary, Gretchen Heefner argues, in order for Americans to accept a costly nuclear buildup and the resulting threat of Armageddon. As for the ranchers, farmers, and other civilians in the Plains states who were first seduced by the economics of war and then forced to live in the Soviet crosshairs, their sense of citizenship was forever changed. Some were stirred to dissent. Others consented but found their proud Plains individualism giving way to a growing dependence on the military-industrial complex. Even today, some communities express reluctance to let the Minutemen go, though the Air Force no longer wants them buried in the heartland. Complicating a red state/blue state reading of American politics, Heefner's account helps to explain the deep distrust of government found in many western regions, and also an addiction to defense spending which, for many local economies, seems inescapable.

Choice Outstanding Academic Title for 2015 One of the most significant and controversial developments in contemporary warfare is the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, commonly referred to as drones. In the last decade, US drone strikes have more than doubled and their deployment is transforming the way wars are fought across the globe. But how did drones claim such an important role in modern military planning? And how are they changing military strategy and the ethics of war and peace? What standards might effectively limit their use? Should there even be a limit? Drone warfare is the first book to engage fully with the political, legal, and ethical dimensions of UAVs. In it, political scientist Sarah Kreps and philosopher John Kaag discuss the extraordinary expansion of drone programs from the Cold War to the present day and their so-called Âeffectiveness in conflict zones. Analysing the political implications of drone technology for foreign and domestic policy as well as public opinion, the authors go on to examine the strategic position of the United States - by far the worldÂs most prolific employer of drones - to argue that US military supremacy could be used to enshrine a new set of international agreements and treaties aimed at controlling the use of UAVs in the future.

Disinformation is as old as humanity. When Satan told Eve nothing would happen if she bit the apple, that was disinformation. But the rise of social media has made disinformation even more pervasive and pernicious in our current era. In a disturbing turn of events, governments are increasingly using disinformation to create their own false narratives, and democracies are proving not to be very good at fighting it. During the final three years of the Obama administration, Richard Stengel, the former editor of Time and an Under Secretary of State, was on the front lines of this new global information war. At the time, he was the single person in government tasked with unpacking, disproving, and combating both ISIS's messaging and Russian disinformation. Then, in 2016, as the presidential election unfolded, Stengel watched as Donald Trump used disinformation himself, weaponizing the grievances of Americans who felt left out by modernism. In fact, Stengel quickly came to see how all three players had used the same playbook: ISIS sought to make Islam great again; Putin tried to make Russia great again; and we all know about Trump. In a narrative that is by turns dramatic and eye-opening, Information Wars walks readers through of this often frustrating battle. Stengel moves through Russia and Ukraine, Saudi Arabia and Iraq, and introduces characters from Putin to Hillary Clinton, John Kerry and Mohamed bin Salman to show how disinformation is impacting our global society. He illustrates how ISIS terrorized the world using social media, and how the Russians launched a tsunami of disinformation around the annexation of Crimea - a scheme that became the model for their interference with the 2016 presidential election. An urgent book for our times, Information Wars stresses that we must find a way to combat this ever growing threat to democracy.