Of Arms and Men: History of War, Weapons and Aggression by Robert L. O'Connell.

Of Arms and Men: History of War, Weapons and Aggression by Robert L. O'Connell. I'm rather conflicted about this book. This is a discussion of weapons throughout human history. O'Connell has clearly done quite a bit of research. I certainly learned some new things there is definitely some obscure material here. The question of why armed forces want to have comparable weapons is answered by pointing out this is one way to take away possible weapons advantages. Unfortunately the analysis is very much based on the idea of climactic battle. There are also some truly bizarre blanket statements along the way. My favorite being that Sir John Fisher is barely remembered today. He concludes with a discussion of nuclear weapons suggesting this has totally changed warfare. As has been pointed out since 1945 nukes haven't killed anybody. If anything the last 60 years has been the era of the AK-47. The book contains occasional illustrations, notes and a bibliography.

Recommended with the above mentioned caveats.

Is available through Abebooks.