"The history of warfare cannot be fully understood without considering the technology of killing. In Firepower, acclaimed historian Paul Lockhart tells the story of the evolution of weaponry and how it transformed the art, science, and practice of war, from the Renaissance to the dawn of the atomic era. He also traces the impact of weapons technology beyond the battlefield, revealing how it remade the very structure of power in the West. For centuries following the invention of gunpowder weapons at the close of the Middle Ages, firearms dominated every aspect of war, from strategy and tactics to logistics and military organization. States entered conflicts with one deceptively simple goal: the overwhelming deployment of firepower against enemy forces. Rivalries between nations spurred innovation in weapons, but even as weaponry became more effective, it remained simple enough that any state could equip a respectable army. That all changed around 1870, Lockhart reveals, when the cost of investing in increasingly complicated technology soon meant that only a handful of great powers could afford to manufacture advanced weaponry while other countries fell behind. Military power came to equal industrial capacity, and intensive, high-stakes arms races broke out among wealthy nations as they vied to develop the world's most efficient weaponry-leading to devastating consequences during the First and Second World Wars."-- Provided by publisher.

IN PROCESS RECORD. Release date supplied by publisher. Issued on Playaway, a dedicated audio media player. One set of earphones and one AAA battery required for listening.