The gun

Stalin's tools of war

Origins. The birth of machine guns ; Machine guns in action ; Hiram Maxim changes war ; Slaughter made industrial: the Great War

Invention and Distribution. Stalin's contest: the invention of the AK-47 ; The breakout: the mass production, distribution, and early use of the AK-47

Consequences of the AK-47's Global Spread. The accidental rifle ; Everyman's gun ; The twenty-first century's rifle

A note about the M-16 series of rifles in 2010.