The โfascinatingโ (Wall Street Journal) story of how military technology has transformed the world
The history of warfare cannot be fully understood without considering the technology of killing. InโฏFirepower, acclaimed historian Paul Lockhart tells the story of the evolution of weaponryย and how itย transformedย not onlyย the conduct of warfareย but also the very structure of powerย in the West,ย from the Renaissance to the dawn of the atomic era.
Across this period, improvementsย inย firepowerย shapedย theย evolving art of war.ย Forย centuries, weaponryย hadย remained simple enough that any state could equip a respectable army.ย That all changed around 1870,ย whenย the cost of investing in increasingly complicated technologyย soonย meantย thatย only a handful of great powers could afford to manufactureย advancedย weaponry,ย while other countries fell behind.โฏGoing beyond the battlefield,ย Firepowerย ultimatelyย revealsย howย changes inย weapons technologyย reshapedย human history.