Firepower
How Weapons Shaped Warfare
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Firepower
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Narrated by:
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Brian Nishii
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By:
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Paul Lockhart
About this listen
How military technology has transformed the world.
The history of warfare cannot be fully understood without considering the technology of killing. In Firepower, acclaimed historian Paul Lockhart tells the story of the evolution of weaponry and how it transformed not only the conduct of warfare, but also the very structure of power in the West, from the Renaissance to the dawn of the atomic era.
Across this period, improvements in firepower shaped the evolving art of war. For centuries, weaponry had remained simple enough that any state could equip a respectable army. That all changed around 1870, when the cost of investing in increasingly complicated technology soon meant that only a handful of great powers could afford to manufacture advanced weaponry, while other countries fell behind. Going beyond the battlefield, Firepower ultimately reveals how changes in weapons technology reshaped human history.
©2021 Paul Lockhart (P)2021 Basic BooksListeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
“Do new weapons create novel tactics and strategy or simply enhance unchanging doctrines? Paul Lockhart’s exhaustive study of the origins, role, and evolution of gunpowder weapons answers that neither war nor the world itself has ever been the same after the introduction of guns. His tour of the spread of gunpowder weaponry from the fifteenth century to the present is itself a tour de force of facts, analysis, and engaging prose. A riveting history of how five hundred years of gunpowder have changed the way hundreds of millions have lived - and died.” (Victor Davis Hanson, author of The Second World Wars)
“Firepower makes the essential connection between technology and power, from the pike and the arquebus to the dreadnought, tanks, modern artillery, and airpower. The book's great strength is the author's ability to explain even the most complex technologies in simple, graspable terms - before tying them to the evolution of warfare and the global struggle for mastery.” (Geoffrey Wawro, author of Sons of Freedom, A Mad Catastrophe, and The Franco-Prussian War)
"Firepower is a fascinating, rip-roaring ride through the development of modern weapons technology and its impact upon war. Lockhart carefully dispels decades of myths and shows why we need to understand how firearms and war machines, from muskets and machine-guns to battleships and bombs, actually worked." (Nick Lloyd, King's College London)
What listeners say about Firepower
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Boachey McBoachface
- 21-02-22
History of WWW (weapons, warfare and the world)
This is a big book packed with detail. It is well researched and written. I did find it a little dry though.
The narrator is has a very listenable voice and accent. To me, it sounds like he has a mild Spanish accent but speaks English perfectly.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- BlahBlah66
- 02-04-22
Comprehensive and direct.
One of the things I loved most about this book is how the author manages to distil 500-odd years of firearms development into concise, meaningful chapters. There is no waffle or lack of substance to any part of the book and you'll find the hours slip by while listening to the Narrators smooth toned voice. For any lover of history, firearms or both I recommend thoroughly.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kindle Customer
- 20-05-22
Highly impressed
So we'll researched and insightful and all contextualised in a encompassing narrative. Very comprehensive. I didn't want it to end.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Toby Badham
- 21-03-22
Good but not great
Enjoyed the early chapters but thought the ww2 description a bit superficial. probably tried to squeeze too much into one book. would be interesting if whole book devoted to weapons development in ww1, ww2 etc...
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2 people found this helpful