Customer Reviews

Gunpowder: Alchemy, Bombards, and Pyrotechnics : The History of the Explosive That Changed the World

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Reading the other reviews here one would get the impression that Kelly is guilty of some serious flaws in his work. I would think that people like Noman OOOO (reviewer below) is actually guilty of some seriously flawed expectations. (I shall not deal with his expectations of history being amoral -- anyone who writes some rubbish like that has clearly not read any history -- as a quick glance of his book reviews proves: he seems adept on reviews of fantasy books! His moral observations are equally fantastic).

So let's deal with Kelly. He is not a serious student of Gunpowder. He is a narrative historian writing something that should be interesting and enlightening. This he accomplishes admirably. His style and the events he decides to focus upon are very largely wholely subjective. Obviously events like Crecy and the Fall of Constanstinople are pivotal, but other events he describes -- especially his rather American perspective on the importance of the American War of Independence and Civil War -- are wholly his own preference. However he held my interest very well during the whole narrative and I wholly enjoyed his very literate writing style.

It is also of note what Kelly leaves out: there is no description for the British Arms industry; Armstrong-Vickers almost certainly had a greater influence on the development of arms and gunpowder. And that also highlights another "flaw" of this book -- there is a confusion between it being a history of arms and a history of gunpowder.

But all in all what Kelly does write about his writes with flair, heightened tension and he is a very good stylist. I bought it for the airplane and I blitzed through it in about 6 hours. A good read. Is there any higher recommendation...?

This book turned out to be far more interesting that what I expected. It makes a very good case for the argument that gunpowder is one of the most important inventions in history - and you may in fact walk away with the conclusion that it is in fact THE most important. Concise, eloquent, and engaging. Highly recommended.

A pleasent bit of fluff. seriously marred by the authors 'moral' interjections about those nasty old soldiers or duelists. Note to author: real historians know better (or they should) than to overlay their perjudices, bigotry and moralistic values on another age. :)
a pleasant read, but don't pay full price.


Try:
The Gun and its Development: Ninth Edition
by W. W. Greener

The Spanish Bride
by Georgette Heyer (fiction, based on diaries of the period. gives a nice overview of the Napoleonic wars)

Bow Versus Gun
by John Smythe

Gunpowder and Galleys: Changing Technology and Mediterranean Warfare at Sea in the 16th Century, Revised Edition
by John Francis Guilmartin

Weapons and Warfare in Renaissance Europe : Gunpowder, Technology, and Tactics (Johns Hopkins Studies in the History of Technology)
by Bert S. Hall

I read 'Gunpowder' some time ago which, in some cases, is the best way to review a book. Smooth writing and catchy phrases usually disappear from the mind after a day or two, more important concepts last longer. Kelly's book is more informational than a page-turner. His basic premise that the invention of gunpowder--no matter who actually invented it--was one of those pivotal discoveries that changed history inexorably and for all time, stands as a certain truth.

Perhaps like other pivotal discoveries--fire, the chipped stone handaxe, the atlatl, the bow and arrow, the shovel, the wheel, the screw and many, many others, the discoveror [s] have disappeared in history. Still, it was discovered, probably quite by accident, and we are all both its beneficiaries and victims. Kelly did a good job of emphasizing something that all of us should have known anyway...but didn't.

Ron Braithwaite, author of novels, "Skull Rack" and "Hummingbird God", on the Spanish Conquest of Mexico

A gripping historical narrative from the perspective of gunpowder's impact on our history. Kelly's style is great, and it reads like a thriller!

Gunpowder by Jack Kelly is surprisingly entertaining reading. I had picked up this book rather reluctantly, fearing a dry dissertation on the chemistry of gunpowder. Instead I was treated to a dance through history of interesting events connected by this main theme. Kelly intertwines gradual improvements in gunpowder with historical events that illustrate its use at the time. This is done in such a way that the reader is given a prelude in terms of a gunpowder advance followed by a historical event, usually a battle. While none of the historical events will come as any surprise to a person even basically familiar with history, it is interesting to see it through the lens of this one particular chemical.
Kelly does a good job detailing how much development work the Chinese undertook after "discovering" gunpowder around 800 A.D. He also debunks the mythology that the Chinese failed to take advantage of military applications of gunpowder and illustrates that the Chinese were avidly pursuing this as a weapon of war.
He does take some liberties, at times possibly overemphasizing the affects of gunpowder, such as Agincourt. Additionally some of the historical events described seem to be included more for their spectacular nature (The crater at Petersburg). But it all makes a very good read. Highly recommended.

This is an excellent publication and highlights how gunpowder changed world history and is also a fascinating insight into how gunpowder was developed and why no-one knew quite why it worked for 500 years after it was invented.

Okay, I'm a nerd. No question. Do you have to be a nerd to love this book: probably. But, if you are a nerd... oooohhh.. you're in for a treat! The history of gunpowder is several thousand years of unlikely,gradual and fascinating improvements.

Jack Kelly is a weak on the origins of gunpowder. While the book is well documented with more `recent' history, Kelly's use of medieval sources is somewhat lacking.
It is now accepted that gunpowder was invented at around 850AD during the Tang Dynasty in China, and about a hundred years later, it was applied to Chinese flamethrowers and rocket arrows. At the same time, grenades, bombs and rockets with explosive warhead (ancestor of the modern missile) were developed, and their large-scale use was recorded when the Song Dynasty Chinese fought the Mongols. Chinese sources indicate a steel tube device that shot out a metal ball, first example of a gun, was invented around 1250, while a larger version (the cannon) appeared at around 1288. While it is known that much of the knowledge on gunpowder and firearms were transferred to Europe in the subsequent centuries, details on how it was transferred and technologies that were invented independently in the west certainly make very interesting reading, and areas that deserve further research and assessment.

This is a quick and engaging read and should be regarded as being more for entertainment than education. Anyone who has any prior knowledge on the subject will likely not get a whole lot out of it.
My main issue with this book is the condescending nature with which the author regards previous eras. The author's bias serves only to perpetuate the degrading stereotypes that shape the many misconceptions of bygone centuries.
I would say it's worth reading, has a sound structure, and quick pace, but lacks the detail and point of view that the subject matter demands.