Assault Rifle [Hardcover]

Maxim Popenker (Author), Anthony G. Williams (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 28, 2005

Assault Rifle provides a comprehensive account of the development of the military assault rifle and its ammunition from WW2 to the present day.

The book is in two parts. The first part includes: Brief historical summary of the assault rifle, its origins and development; Gun design including operating mechanisms and weapon configuration; Ammunition design and performance; Ballistics, especially the balance between recoil and effectiveness; History of assault rifle cartridge.

The second part includes: National military rifle programs since the end of WW2; History of developments in each country including experimental programs; Detailed descriptions of the principal service and experimental weapons.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Gun Week

"For concise coverage of assault rifles right up tot he 2004 date of publication, this is an excellent book. It would be difficult to better it. Students of small arms, military historians, arms designers, and others desiring information on the latest in assault rifle design should find this a valuable reference volume."

About the Author

Maxim Popenker was born in Leningrad, graduated from St Petersburg State Technical University and is a lieutenant [reserve] in the Russian Armed Forces. He is an established author of books and magazines and online articles on the subject of firearms. He is the owner and author of a leading Internet resource on small arms, the 'Modern Firearms and Ammunition' website at www.worldguns.ru. Maxim has a long-term interest in the history and technical aspects of firearms, especially those of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Crowood; 1st edition (March 28, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1861267002
• ISBN-13: 978-1861267009
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 7.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #889,861 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Assault Rifle, February 20, 2006

By 

Joseph L. Zabinski - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Assault Rifle (Hardcover)

This is a very informative book hitting all the necessary systems of an assault rifle, Ie: the bullet and cartridge choosen, accuation, placement of controls, and layout. It also has a wonderful history of the assault rifle and individual listings of the most important. It would easily get 5 stars if it had nice color pictures and approached the currency and breadth of the website (which obviously is easier to update). Overall great job though.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Book After All..., June 16, 2006

By 

Lucas Ony (Indonesia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Assault Rifle (Hardcover)

The part one of this book is completely awesome. We can learn about the assault rifle history which very good in describing. Still in the part one, we also can learn the technical background of assault rifle from the weapon itself as well as the ammuniation design and ballistic. The last section of the part one is my favourite as the develompment of the assault rifle cartridge is very up to date and i believe I can find this kind of information from another resources.

The part two of this book is more like brief list of all assault rifle in the world from Argentina to USA (alphabetically).

Don't expect we could get a complete description for each assault rifle from one to another, but yet the story was well written and well observed.

All pictures are black and white with very nice colour pictures on the cover. Thanks to Maxim Popenker and Anthony G. Williams for writing this book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good overview and history of assault rifles., February 10, 2010

By 

P. Kraut (North Idaho) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Assault Rifle (Hardcover)

The first part of the book covers the evolution of the assault rifle and it's ammunition. The second part covers current and past assault rifles. A well balanced and well written book. There is a lot of detail given in a format which is easy to read and understand. This is one of the best books on firearms that I have read.