A dramatic narrative of machine guns since the 19th century, with detailed observations of their influence on warfare and continuing role as a force-multiplier with today's elite units.
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
"Battle accounts from a variety of wars and fronts to describe the difficulties of fighting both in front of and behind such weapons. . . . The result is an illuminating view of the history of modern warfare." -- Midwest Book Review
"Explores the ways the machine gun has shaped modern warfare." -- Stars and Stripes
In The Grim Reaper: Machine Guns and Machine-Gunners in Action the invention of the machine gun is described and the important models of different nations are examined, along with battle accounts from a variety of wars and fronts to describe the difficulties of fighting both in front of and behind such weapons. Roger Ford's The Grim Reaper is an account of this difficult subject in a manner that conveys the human experience foremost and beyond the simple technical facts of the weapons themselves. The result is an illuminating view of the history of modern warfare. No military studies reference book collection can be considered complete without The Grim Reaper. -- Midwest Book Review
"Explores the ways the machine gun has shaped modern warfare." -- Stars and Stripes
In The Grim Reaper: Machine Guns and Machine-Gunners in Action the invention of the machine gun is described and the important models of different nations are examined, along with battle accounts from a variety of wars and fronts to describe the difficulties of fighting both in front of and behind such weapons. Roger Ford's The Grim Reaper is an account of this difficult subject in a manner that conveys the human experience foremost and beyond the simple technical facts of the weapons themselves. The result is an illuminating view of the history of modern warfare. No military studies reference book collection can be considered complete without The Grim Reaper. -- Midwest Book Review
About the Author
Roger Ford is a noted authority on modern weapons.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Authors
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Insiteful and Astounding and Objective review,
By Paul H. (Michigan) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Grim Reaper : Machine-Guns and Machine-Gunners in Action (Hardcover)
The development of the machinegun and its effects on world politics, colonialization and warfare are incredibly well reviewed by Ford. This is not a field manual about how to service these weapons, but rather a look at how this (relatively) simple machine has changed warfare and politics and the world. I learned a tremendous amount about how this machine is used in combat and how those uses changed from WWI to Desert Storm. The technical review is adequate and the discussion of applications and deployment is phenomenal. The accounts of soldiers further illustrate the importance of this weapon to the modern battlefield. I read this book cover to cover in less than 5 days and plan to reread it soon. It is truly a must have for any serious military science or 20th century history library. Five stars don't rate high enough for this thoughtful review of Maxim's machine and its many children.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
One of the Best MG books.,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Grim Reaper : Machine-Guns and Machine-Gunners in Action (Hardcover)
The Grim Reaper is an excellent machine gun book, and like some other people, I read it cover-to-cover in about four days. There are 22 pictures in all, and yes, there could have been more. Other than that, the text is easy to understand and it is very informative. The book starts with the beginning of the machine gun and ends with modern machine guns. The book described several military engagements with detail. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in machine guns or firearms in general.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A very good account of this war winning weapon,
By Aussie Reader ""Rick"" (Canberra, Australia) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Grim Reaper : Machine-Guns and Machine-Gunners in Action (Hardcover)
I would agree with the earlier review that this is not a technical manual, its about machine-guns and machine-gunners in action and as such it offers a easy to read account of this weapon and its place in military history. The author offers enought technical detail about the various weapons so you obtain a firm understanding of how they work. He then places the weapons, their inventors and the people who had to use the weapons into their place in history. This was a very easy and enjoyable book to read and some of the accounts of the 'machine-gunners' were excellent. Overall this is a well researched and well presented book with over 300 pages of text and numerous black & white photographs which provides the reader with an overview of the machine-gun in history.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
