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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Bought this for my son who is in the Para's, thought it would be similar to Jane's guns, but I was totally wrong. It would suit a history buff, but the delivery and quality of the book was excellent.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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4 reviews
9 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Encylopedaic but in need of editing
4 Jun 2009
Format:Paperback
This book covers the basic principles of weapons design and evolution. Some additions have been made to this edition, but you frequently stumble upon outdated descriptions, ie "this grenade is still in use with many warsaw pact countries" or "the assault rifle is expected to reach the armed forces by 1995".
For those interested in basic weapon mechanics or the evolution of weapon systems ranging from bows to Stinger missiles, this book is essential reading.
For those interested in basic weapon mechanics or the evolution of weapon systems ranging from bows to Stinger missiles, this book is essential reading.
Weapons organized by function, but in need of a reorganization
10 May 2011
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is the third edition of "Weapons" from the Diagram Group. Taken on its own it is very good; a rare, possibly unique work among references on arms; it is organized by function rather than era, region, or alphabetically. Accordingly, you'll see a current police baton on the same page as a several thousand year old club. The functions begin with arming the hand (a rock, for example) and proceeds (more or less) by complexity, ending with aircraft, missiles, nukes, etc.
Without a doubt, there are better works on weapons of an individual era, or specific classes of weapons, but there is no better survey or overview of weapons. The omissions that I noticed were extremely rare (and dead-end) technologies that even soi-disant experts might be ignorant of. True, not every rifle ever manufactured is mentioned, but every major operating principle is. On the other hand, it included some little-known and exotic arms that illustrated major principles, for example, the 13mm air rifle that was used by the Austrians during the Napoleonic wars. Exotic, but not included because it is exotic, included to illustrate the principles of projectile weapons that use compressed gas as propellant (rather than a chemical reaction).
But as a "third edition" it leaves much to be desired. The basic work from 1980 is reprinted in its entirety, with two blocks of content added in the two following editions. This wasn't too bad in the second edition, published in the 1990s, but in this one, it creates the appearance that Diagram Group was just coming back to a money maker without applying the same standards of production used in the first one. This could be fixed by revising the small arms section to include rifles, pistols, and machine guns developed in the past ten years, rather than throwing recent developments in the a pile at the end. The practice of merely lumping new material in the sections at the end of the book also defeats the purpose of a reference organized by function rather than time period, detracting from what makes this work most useful and interesting.
For what it is, a survey of tools of violence, "Weapons" is without equal. The organization makes it very accessible and easy to use, despite the editorial decisions in this third edition. Throughout, the authors write in such a was as to educate without a condesending or arrogant tone. I still can't recommend it highly enough.
E.M. Van Court
Without a doubt, there are better works on weapons of an individual era, or specific classes of weapons, but there is no better survey or overview of weapons. The omissions that I noticed were extremely rare (and dead-end) technologies that even soi-disant experts might be ignorant of. True, not every rifle ever manufactured is mentioned, but every major operating principle is. On the other hand, it included some little-known and exotic arms that illustrated major principles, for example, the 13mm air rifle that was used by the Austrians during the Napoleonic wars. Exotic, but not included because it is exotic, included to illustrate the principles of projectile weapons that use compressed gas as propellant (rather than a chemical reaction).
But as a "third edition" it leaves much to be desired. The basic work from 1980 is reprinted in its entirety, with two blocks of content added in the two following editions. This wasn't too bad in the second edition, published in the 1990s, but in this one, it creates the appearance that Diagram Group was just coming back to a money maker without applying the same standards of production used in the first one. This could be fixed by revising the small arms section to include rifles, pistols, and machine guns developed in the past ten years, rather than throwing recent developments in the a pile at the end. The practice of merely lumping new material in the sections at the end of the book also defeats the purpose of a reference organized by function rather than time period, detracting from what makes this work most useful and interesting.
For what it is, a survey of tools of violence, "Weapons" is without equal. The organization makes it very accessible and easy to use, despite the editorial decisions in this third edition. Throughout, the authors write in such a was as to educate without a condesending or arrogant tone. I still can't recommend it highly enough.
E.M. Van Court
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Simple, Laconic but Amazing
24 Sep 2011
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I bought this book knowing some basic principles of war as the weapon lover and collectionist i am. This books is written without fancy details, laconic, it just tells you what you need to know. For people who are starting or that know little about warfare and weapon systems this book is a treasure. I highly recommend it.
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