The Rifle Story An Illustrated History from 1756 to the Present by John Walter

Published by Greenhill Books, 2006. Hardcover, 304 p. Condition - Good. Slight foxing to page edges. One page with illustration torn on the edge as in production not cut. The Rifle Story tells the fascinating story of the development and use of the rifle, from its advent in central Europe for target shooting through its first hesitant use in war to the precision shooting machines of today. Set against the fascinating anecdotal history of the use and abuse of the rifle, the book tracks not only the impact of technology on the ability to hit targets effectively at ever-increasing range, but also highlights the continual bickering between inventors who felt that novelty was the same as progress, military hierarchies that were often blinkered by out-of-date thinking, and parsimonious governments interested only in keeping the costs of weaponry to the absolute minimum. The need to supply guns and ammunition to remote colonies, pushing back the frontiers of civilization for good or bad, made fortunes for many enterprising gunmakers. Colt, Winchester and Mauser are just three of the many manufacturers to gain (and retain) commercial renown. The story is scattered with flashes of brilliance of designers - some well-known, others now forgotten - and disasters on an international scale that were rarely admitted by their perpetrators. The Rifle Story presents the trials and tribulations of the rifled long-arm in a concise, lucid style pioneered by the author of The Luger Story, Military Rifles of Two World Wars, Military Handguns of Two World Wars, The Greenhill Dictionary of Guns and Gunmakers, and Guns of the Third Reich.