Название: The Rifle Story: An Illustrated History from 1756 to the Present Day
Автор: John Walter
Издательство: Greenhill Books/MBI Publishing
ISBN: 185367690X
Год издания: 2006
Язык: English
Cтраниц: 312
Формат: PDF
Размер: 156,1 MB
The Rifle Story tells the fascinating story of the development and use of the rifle, from its advent in central Europe for target shooting through its first hesitant use in war to the precision shooting machines of today. Set against the fascinating anecdotal history of the use and abuse of the rifle, the book tracks not only the impact of technology on the ability to hit targets effectively at ever-increasing range, but also highlights the continual bickering between inventors who felt that novelty was the same as progress, military hierarchies that were often blinkered by out-of-date thinking, and parsimonious governments interested only in keeping the costs of weaponry to the absolute minimum. The need to supply guns and ammunition to remote colonies, pushing back the frontiers of civilization for good or bad, made fortunes for many enterprising gunmakers. Colt, Winchester and Mauser are just three of the many manufacturers to gain (and retain) commercial renown. The story is scattered with flashes of brilliance of designers - some well-known, others now forgotten - and disasters on an international scale that were rarely admitted by their perpetrators.