The Gun

By: C. J. Chivers

Narrated by: Michael Prichard

Length: 18 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's Summary

It is the world's most widely recognized weapon, the most profuse tool for killing ever made. More than 50 national armies carry the automatic Kalashnikov, as do an array of police, intelligence, and security agencies all over the world. In this tour de force, prizewinning New York Times reporter C. J. Chivers traces the invention of the assault rifle, following the miniaturization of rapid-fire arms from the American Civil War, through World War I and Vietnam, to present-day Afghanistan, when Kalashnikovs and their knockoffs number as many as 100 million, one for every 70 persons on earth.

It is the weapon of state repression, as well as revolution, civil war, genocide, drug wars, and religious wars; and it is the arms of terrorists, guerrillas, boy soldiers, and thugs. It was the weapon used to crush the uprising in Hungary in 1956. American Marines discovered in Vietnam that the weapon in the hands of the enemy was superior to their M16s. Fidel Castro amassed them. Yasir Arafat procured them for the P.L.O. A Kalashnikov was used to assassinate Anwar Sadat. As Osama bin Laden told the world that "the winds of faith and change have blown," a Kalashnikov was by his side. Pulled from a hole, Saddam Hussein had two Kalashnikovs.

It is the world's most widely recognized weapon - cheap, easy to conceal, durable, deadly. But where did it come from? And what does it mean? Chivers, using a host of exclusive sources and declassified documents in the east and west, as well as interviews with and the personal accounts of insurgents, terrorists, child soldiers, and conventional grunts, reconstructs through the Kalashnikov the evolution of modern war. Along the way, he documents the experience and folly of war and challenges both the enduring Soviet propaganda surrounding the AK-47 and many of its myths.

©2010 C.J. Chivers (P)2010 Tantor

Critic Reviews

"Eye-opening.... An entertaining work that combines technical details, biographies, political maneuvering and insightful military history." ( Kirkus)

A compelling book about much more than guns!

This book is a compelling review of how man's technology for killing each other has shaped history over the last 140 years, and how entrenched thinking has been far more deadly than the weapons of war. As a hardcore firearms enthusiast, I hoped the book would be a history of the most influential gun of all time, the AK-47 family of shoulder-fired military arms. What I found was much, much more, including a commentary on how the development and deployment of the weapons of war reflect the best and worst of human nature and our institutions of government. Has there ever been anything so deadly as short-term thinking, greed, and manipulative self-interest? Not according to this book, which weaves history, biography, political commentary, and philosophy into a single retrospective on political history over the last 140 years. Always thought-provoking and even-handed, the author neither glorifies nor villifies the guns in question. Rather, he examines the development, use and deployment of guns as the tangible extension of political and economic influences that shape the course of history.

This book was certainly not what I expected. It was much, much more. I was unable to put it down. Having come of age in the Viet Nam era, I was horrified to learn of how the badly-flawed M-16 was developed, marketed, foisted upon the US military by Robert McNamara and his chronies, even though it was wholy unsuited to the work at hand. It was chilling to read how many lives were lost because our troops had been equipped with guns that would jam and fail with terrifying predictability. I was outraged to read of the political cover-up that blamed the problems with the guns on the troops in the field, whose lives depended on them.

While the legend of the AK 47 is shown to be at least as much PR as history, it nonetheless showed that the smug, self-congratulatory attitude of superiority we cultivate in the West, is not so well-deserved. A great read; highly recommended!

Should Be Three Books

The title of this book should be pluralized. It is really a textbook on the development of automatic weapons in general rather than a history of the AK 47/74. Only about 1/3 of the book is specifically about the AK 47. Very interesting but strays a little far afield at times. The narrator, Michael Prichard takes some getting used to, but is ok. That said, The Gun is interesting and worth the time investment.

Guns, Technology, and Intrigue

I have bought about ten books from Audibile, all dealing with history, and this may be my favorite.

On the surface, The Gun appears to be a book about the AK-47. But it's really the story of the evolution of military weapons and strategies, advances in technology from the 19th to the 20th century, and the history of this time period...through the sights of various arms designers and governments that shaped the world stage.

I like Chivers thesis that the AK-47 may have been more important in the long-run than the Soviets developing nuclear weapons.

The narration by Prichard is spot on.

If you are a fan of reading about history or current events, or...say, the film "Lord of War"...buy this audiobook right away.

Good but not great

The material is awesome but the length and the dryness of the narration had my mind wandering around a bit. Still a decent read and great history of the guns that helped shape the modern world.

Entertaining history of the AK47 series

Thoroughly enjoyed it but the fake accents were annoying and it could have been edited down a bit. Still very good and worthwhile.

CJ Chivers will have much to reveal to us...

I am very grateful to CJ Chivers for recently removing himself from the blind hazard of war. Although almost no one is better equipped to deal with hazard, he has seen fit to return from "the ranks of death" to focus his prodigious skills on we know not what. This is a rare talent which has been gifted us. I wonder what this surprising man will have in store for us. Whatever it is, I an certain that, like "The Gun", it will be a great deal more than the sum of its parts.

2 guns & 2 worlds

can a gun possibly have a personality ?
can you write the biography of a weapon ?
it is a paradoxical and at times counterintuitive task

the story constantly moves between two worlds
the brass VERSUS the grunts
the AK 47 VERSUS the M 16
the politicians VERSUS the warriors
the soviets VERSUS the americans
political nation states VERSUS insurgent splinter groups

c.j. chivers life has given him the tools to see both sides
cornell / columbia / n.y. times pulitzer prize winner
military family / binghampton ny / marine officer x 7 years

conventional media paint a false technical view of war
laser guided missiles / supersonic jets / nuclear bombs
remote computer controlled drones / images on a screen

the truth is messier and meaner and more brutal
jungles and deserts / illiterate 110 lb. boy soldiers
civilian targets / third world tribal street fights

chivers first tells the story of the soviet AK 47
it began life in the hard lessons of the nazi invasion of russia
its' features are all borrowed from what worked in other guns

this is then contrasted with the american M 16
born of defense contractor greed and political ineptitude
it's "field tested" by G.I.s for the first four years of vietnam

chivers lays out a hard story full of hard truths
plenty of greed / ignorance / fear / betrayal / bravery
it adds up to a flinty reminder of how the world really is

A thorough work

Alot of material, but well organized & referenced. A useful overview of machine guns.

Good Historical Account of AK-47

I couldn't stop listening to this book. The Gun is about the AK-47 but it covers much more, starting with the first machine guns and how they were used and/or misused by the world's armies when first introduced on the battlefield. All this leads up to the development and deployment of the AK-47. Of particular interest is the section on the Vietnam war, how the North Vietnamese with the AK-47 outgunned the US with their new M16 and the politics that followed. An absolutely fascinating history, I plan to listen to this again in the near future.

The Gun

Other reviewers have summerized the book well. Although I have some military experience with the Soviet Union and the present countries of Russia, the Stans, etc., the book gave me better insight into the culture of the USSR and the cultural traits which carry forward to today. My only grump is with Mr. Prichards attempt at a Russian accent during his readings. He sounds like a Scottish low-lander when he reads from the quotes.