Small Arms From the Civil War to the Present Day

From classic US Civil War-period rifles such as the Springfield M1855 to the latest in personal defense weapons and hand-held rocket launchers, Small Arms covers all of the most significant and successful small arms produced during the past 150 years. Each category of small arms-handguns, rifles, submachine guns, automatic support weapons, grenades, and launchers-is explored in turn and all the most famous examples of each type of weapon are featured, such as the M16, Colt .44 Magnum, and Maxim machine gun. Informative and accessible text places each weapon within military, political, and technological context and includes a complete design and development history. Full-color photographs and artworks of the weapons accompany the text, and specification tables provide key technical data. Stunning photographs and paintings show the weapons in action in conflicts ranging from the Crimean War to the recent war in Iraq. Special double-page features also provide a more detailed comparison of key weapons within specific categories including combat magnums, precision rifles and submachine guns for VIP protection. With over 200 weapons and more than 300 color and black-and-white photographs and illustration, Small Arms - Compared and Contrasted is an authoritative and accessible reference work.