Weapon: A Visual History of Arms and Armor

For 4,000 years weapons, and the warriors who used them,have acted as the cutting edge of history, using ax, spear, bow, sword, gun, and cannon to determine the rise of kingdoms and the fall of empires. From the stone axes of the earliest warfare to the heavy artillery of today''s modern armies,this awe-inspiring book portrays for the first time the entire spectrum of weaponry. Illustrations explain key features and working mechanisms of important weapons Beautifully photographed and richly cataloged-often in actual size Details weapons that changed the face of warfare, from the sword to the Gatling gun.

Roger Ford is the author of dozens of books in the field of military history and weapons technology and systems, including the bestselling The World's Great Machine Guns: From 1860 to the Present Day. R.G. Grant is a history writer who has published more than 20 books, many of them dealing with aspects of military conflict. He has written on the American Revolution, World War I, and World War II, and is the author of DK’s Battle, Warrior, and Flight: 100 Years of Aviation.