Weapons: A Pictorial History

by Edwin Tunis

Book Overview

Weapons is the rich and exciting story of arms through the ages--from the first tied stone thrown by prehistoric hunters to the super bombs of today. Illustrated with the unusually detailed and astonishingly realistic drawings of Edwin Tunis, it is a weapon-by-weapon account of human ingenuity in the invention and improvement of arms for defense and offense. The detailed and engaging text is filled with useful information and anecdotes that...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0801862299
• ISBN13: 9780801862298
• Release Date: September 1999
• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Length: 152 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 8.5" x 11.0"

Customer Reviews

Wonderful for boys developing an interest in war, weapons and history

Whatever your feelings toward war, it is indisputable that young boys spend some part of their early years fascinated by war and weapons. "Weapons: A Pictorial History" is a marvelous book because it describes in detail and meticulously drawn ink sketches weapons from the tied stone to the nuclear bomb. Accompanying the illustrations is a history of the development and use of the particular weapon along with a surprising amount of general history as well. Thus, the young man gains not only an understanding of the weapon, but its development, deployment and place in history. This is a remarkable and wonderful book suitable for ages 6 and up. It is also the kind of book that a boy can grow with: beginning with the images alone and then moving to reading the text as well. I am a proponent of young people learning history, which unfortunately appears not to be taught in public schools any more. Rather kids are fed politically correct nonsense. One of the benefits of a book like this is that it may the spark which develops a child's interest in history. Jerry

it is what it says it is

This is a very well written, easy to follow book. It begins with a simple stone tied to a string and thrown by cave men and goes to the latest weapons used in 1984. There are line drawings showing each weapon, how it was made and used. The drawings of a wheellock and a flintlock pistol are so clear a cave man could understand how they operated. This is not a book about the logistics, tactics and strategy of war. It is a very good book. The only fault I could find with it is that it did not show the insides of a tank or two. Read it. I am reading it twice. So it gets five stars.

Terrific, beautifully drawn book is a great introduction to the history of weaponry for all ages

I probably first picked this book up in the library at the age of 10 or so; like a lot of boys, I was fascinated with guns, war, weapons of all kinds in adolescence. In my case the fascination never led to wanting to hunt or go into the military, but I have maintained a certain interest in the "manly arts" in fiction, at any rate. Tunis' book was first published in 1954 - my copy is the first edition but later issues of the book are essentially unchanged. He was a Maryland writer and artist who wrote and drew a dozen or so books on historical and mechanical subjects for young readers in the third quarter of the last century. All are characterized by beautiful draughstmanship -- all black and white line drawings -- and pretty solid scholarship, at least for kid's books. I haven't gotten completely through his volume on "Indians" but it looks to be much less prejudiced than most American texts of the time; I have in fact in the last decade collected nearly all of his books. Many are out of print but few are difficult to find or expensive. "Weapons" will always be my favorite though, a solid chronological essay on the development of destructive devices from the sling through the hydrogen bomb. The sections on the middle ages through the 18th century or so are probably my favorites; Tunis' accuracy in this subject as with most was on a pretty high level according to the prevailing knowledge of his time.

A short history of warfare

This is the first book I ever picked out for myself at a book fair 46 years ago. I still look at it for a quick refresher on where certain technologies came into play and how weapons technology influenced the battles that shaped Western civilization. A great book for 4th grade and up for a youngster with a curiosity about weapons. My edition starts with the stone and ends with the atom bomb.

A good book

An excellent book for middle school level reports.