"The Illustrated History of Weaponry: From Flint Axes to Automatic Weapons is a comprehensive look at the often deadly, sometimes surprising tools of battle. More than 600 photographs of an eclectic mix of weapons were specially commissioned from the 8,000-piece collection of the Berman Museum of World History. Spanning the globe and more than 3,500 years, they include an elaborate Persian scimitar owned by both Abbas I and Catherine and Great, a sword presented to Napoleon, the traveling pistols of Confederate president Jefferson Davis, and Heinrich Himmler's rifle. A variety of rare weapons of espionage and combination curiosa makes the collection of special interest to even the most seasoned weaponry connoisseur." "The Illustrated History of Weaponry offers historical perspective of the people, places, and times important to the development of weaponry, with special features that illuminate such topics as The Hundred Years War, The Crusades, Naval Weapons, The Civil War, and Trench Warfare."--Jacket.

Stone weapons -- The Bronze Age -- Weapons of the Americas & Australasia -- Bows & crossbows -- Feature: the Hundred Years War -- Maces & flails --Feature: the crusades -- Pole arms & axes -- Armor -- Daggers & fighting knives -- Feature: the introduction of gunpowder -- The first firearms: from hand cannon to flintlock -- From matchlock to flintlock -- The flintlock pistol -- The European sword -- Swords of Asia & Africa -- Dueling pistols -- The blunderbuss -- Feature: naval weapons -- Weapons of the Napoleonic War -- From flintlock to percussion caps -- The nineteenth-century sword -- Pepperboxes & derringers -- Colt's revolvers -- Colt's competitors -- Feature: the U.S. Civil War -- Union weapons of the Civil War -- Confederate weapons of the Civil War -- Weapons of the American west -- Bolt-action rifles -- The automatic pistol -- Personal defense weapons -- Combination weapons -- Feature: alarm, trap, and special-purpose guns -- Edged weapons -- Pistols -- Infantry rifles -- Machine guns -- Feature: trench warfare -- Guns of the U.S. Roaring twenties -- Edged weapons of World War II -- Axis pistols -- Allied pistols -- Rifles -- Ceremonial weapons -- Machine guns -- Submachine guns -- Specialized weapons -- Weapons of espionage -- Feature: germ warfare -- Weapons after the world wars.