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

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: appalling grandeur, villainous saltpetre, devills birds, The Old Article, Conquest's Crimson Wing, Thundring Noyse (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"'Jack Kelly has written the definitive popular history of gunpowder and its military applications in a style reminiscent of Richard Holmes at his best.' Richard Shelton 'A thoughtful and subtle blend of science and technology with political, military, economic and social history, Gunpowder achieves splendidly its purpose of providing a broad and general introduction to the development and impact of gunpowder.' John Childs, Professor of Military History, University of Leeds" --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description

When Chinese alchemists fashioned the first manmade explosion sometime during the tenth century, no one could have foreseen its full revolutionary potential. Invented to frighten evil spirits rather than fuel guns or bombs-neither of which had been thought of yet-their simple mixture of saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal went on to make the modern world possible. As word of its explosive properties spread from Asia to Europe, from pyrotechnics to battleships, it paved the way for Western exploration, hastened the end of feudalism and the rise of the nation state, and greased the wheels of the Industrial Revolution.

With dramatic immediacy, novelist and journalist Jack Kelly conveys both the distant time in which the "devil's distillate" rose to conquer the world, and brings to rousing life the eclectic cast of characters who played a role in its epic story, including Michelangelo, Edward III, Vasco da Gama, CortŽs, Guy Fawkes, Alfred Nobel, and E. I. DuPont. A must-read for history fans and military buffs alike, Gunpowder brings together a rich terrain of cultures and technological innovations with authoritative research and swashbuckling style.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books (April 26, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0465037224
• ISBN-13: 978-0465037223
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #212,420 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A GOOD FLAWED NARRATIVE, June 12, 2006

By	R. J Szasz "Rod Szasz" (Tokyo, Japan Japan) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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...?

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Makes a good case, July 26, 2009

By	Winters - See all my reviews

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.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars moderately interesting, June 12, 2006

By	noman (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

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