The Gun

By: C. J. Chivers

Narrated by: Michael Prichard

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)

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.

Great history

While this is a book about the AK line of rifles, it’s really a book about the history of war and of the Soviet Union. If you like guns, you’ll like this book. If you like history, you’ll like this book. I’d you like warfare, you’ll like this book.

Great book!

great book on the story of the AK! I liked the little stories mixed in about most of the prolific guns back to the civil war essentially. had to speed up the reading speed. The narrorator was I little dry and straight forward.

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.

A fascinating primer on the AK

This book provides unique insight into historical context surrounding the world's most prolific firearm, and an indispensable overview of the introduction of repeating arms to modernizing warfare.