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Ak-47, November 2006
Hardcover
The Weapon that Changed the Face of War
Wiley
November 2006
On Sale: October 20, 2006
272 pages
ISBN: 0471726419
EAN: 9780471726418
Hardcover
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Non-Fiction | Historical
The world's most popular and lethal weapon goes by many
names—"The African Credit Card," the "$10 Weapon of Mass
Destruction"—and you see it every day in movies, on TV, in
magazines and newspapers. You see it in the hands of
legitimate armies but more often brandished by insurgents,
terrorists, and even child soldiers. AK-47 tells the story of this most vicious and effective
weapon, and how those who wield it have changed the world.
Known simply as the AK or AK-47 (for the year it was
created), no single weapon—save the atomic bomb—has had as
profound an impact on modern warfare and global stability.
Despite its low price and simple workmanship, this powerful
rifle rarely jams, is almost indestructible—a
well-maintained rifle can last fifty years—and is easy to
fire with no training. It is the quickest, easiest, and
cheapest way to turn a farmer, teacher, peasant, or even a
teenager into an effective killing machine. Overnight, it
can transform ragtag forces into formidable armies. It is
the fuel that keeps alive protracted "small wars" in Africa,
Asia, South America, and the Middle East, and domestic crime
almost everywhere. Each year, some 250,000 people die by it. As many as 100 million AKs have been produced by more than
twenty countries, and it has become a cultural icon. Its
distinctive banana-shape silhouette defines what a deadly
small arm is supposed to look like. Osama bin Laden is
purposely photographed with his custom AK, rappers sing its
praises, vodkas are named after it, and even haute designers
such as Philippe Starck have produced furniture using its
deadly image. No tool has spread so much raw power to so many people in so
little time—or has left such a wide swath of destruction.
This book takes aim at the AK's legacy—which will continue
well into the twenty-first century—from a uniquely
appropriate perspective: the barrel of a gun.
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