Reviews for AK-47 : the weapon that changed the face of war
Choice
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Independent scholar Kahaner's AK-47 is perhaps best described as the biography of a weapon design. It is a journalistic account of the "life and times of the Kalashnikov AK-47," written not from a narrowly technical perspective, but in terms of the weapon's impact on revolutionary movements, military strategy/tactics, global politics, the arms trade, and the social order in numerous national contexts. Perhaps the greatest impact has been the capacity of this weapon, due to its low price, durability, and killing power, to fuel various kinds of asymmetric conflicts, "small wars," insurrections, and even gang violence. Another thread in Kahaner's account is the offstage presence of the "grey eminence" of the story, Mikhail Kalashnikov, the designer of the AK-47. Kalashnikov turns out to have been prescient about the important features of his weapon and the impact of its design, but he failed to capitalize on its success either in terms of influence or, after the fall of the Soviet Union, financial reward. Though not an academic study, this volume presents subject matter and a range of settings that will make it a worthwhile addition for research collections. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-level undergraduates through faculty/researchers; general readers. H. Lowood Stanford University
Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Journalist Kahaner (The Quotations of Chairman Greenspan: Words from the Man Who Can Shake the World) presents a detailed study of the AK-47, the single most deadly weapon ever produced, and its designer. Mikhail Kalashnikov, a mechanically inclined Russian soldier, came up with this simple submachine gun to counter superior German weaponry during World War II. Brought into mass production in 1947 (this date formed the final part of the weapon's name, Avtomat Kalashnikov 1947), the AK-47 was shipped by the Soviet Union to Eastern Europe, Africa, Asia, South America, and the Middle East during the Cold War. In part because they are so easy to make, 80 to 100 million AKs have been manufactured and distributed during the last 59 years. Moreover, the AK has proven a superior weapon to the American M-16. Kahaner provides an interesting discussion of how internal politics in the U.S. Army led it to adopt, instead, an inferior, lightweight machine gun. Kalashnikov, who lives in Russia today, never became rich from his design, but he did receive recognition outside his homeland for the impact of his weapon. A fascinating examination; recommended for all libraries. Stephen L. Hupp, West Virginia Univ. Lib., Parkersburg (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
