American Rifle: A Biography

by Alexander Rose (Goodreads author)

book data

27 ratings, 3.67 average rating, 19 reviews (more data...)

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published

October 21st 2008 by Delacorte Press

binding

Hardcover, 528 pages

isbn

0553805177 (isbn13: 9780553805178)

description

George Washington insisted that his portrait be painted with one. Daniel Boone created a legend with one. Abraham Lincoln shot them on the White House...more

[close] George Washington insisted that his portrait be painted with one. Daniel Boone created a legend with one. Abraham Lincoln shot them on the White House lawn. And Teddy Roosevelt had his specially customized.

Now, in this first-of-its-kind book, historian Alexander Rose delivers a colorful, engrossing biography of an American icon: the rifle. Drawing on the words of soldiers, inventors, and presidents, based on extensive new research, and encompassing the Revolution to the present day, American Rifle is a balanced, wonderfully entertaining history of this most essential firearm and its place in American culture.

In the eighteenth century American soldiers discovered that they no longer had to fight in Europe’s time-honored way. With the evolution of the famed “Kentucky” Rifle—a weapon slow to load but devastatingly accurate in the hands of a master—a new era of warfare dawned, heralding the birth of the American individualist in battle.

In this spirited narrative, Alexander Rose reveals the hidden connections between the rifle’s development and our nation’s history. We witness the high-stakes international competition to produce the most potent gunpowder . . . how the mysterious arts of metallurgy, gunsmithing, and mass production played vital roles in the creation of American economic supremacy . . . and the ways in which bitter infighting between rival arms makers shaped diplomacy and influenced the most momentous decisions in American history. And we learn why advances in rifle technology and ammunition triggered revolutions in military tactics, how ballistics tests—frequently bizarre—were secretly conducted, and which firearms determined the course of entire wars.

From physics to geopolitics, from frontiersmen to the birth of the National Rifle Association, from the battles of the Revolution to the war in Iraq, American Rifle is a must read for history buffs, gun collectors, soldiers—and anyone who seeks to understand the dynamic relationship between the rifle and this nation’s history. [close]

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10/15/08

Luke rated it:

Read in December, 2008

recommends it for: gun lovers, fans of American History

"American Rifle" is a fascinating biography of an authentic American artifact: the American rifle. Although Rose is quick to point out that the 'American' rifle has multicultural influences (the process of rifling a gun barrel to increase a musketball's spin and accuracy was established by the German gunsmiths of Pennsylvania), he does a wonderful job of describing how the history of the United States steered the development of the American rifle.

I found "American R...more

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03/19/09

Andy rated it:

Read in March, 2009

Firearms and warfare, an obvious complement to the Emily Dickinson biography I finished earlier this month.

I am convinced. It is impossible to write a book about firearms without outraging either the peaceniks or the “gun enthusiasts” and I’ll admit right up-front that my sympathies lie with the doves. I approached American Rifle with serious reservations, further compounded by the book’s dubious subtitle: A Biography. Clearly, this book is not a biography, a history of a per...more Firearms and warfare, an obvious complement to the Emily Dickinson biography I finished earlier this month.

I am convinced. It is impossible to write a book about firearms without outraging either the peaceniks or the “gun enthusiasts” and I’ll admit right up-front that my sympathies lie with the doves. I approached American Rifle with serious reservations, further compounded by the book’s dubious subtitle: A Biography. Clearly, this book is not a biography, a history of a person’s life. This is the history of an object explicitly designed to extinguish life.

With the title, I sensed that there was an agenda afoot, and that was confirmed by the contents of the book. Throughout, Rose focusses on the guns. He treads very lightly on the subject of the human cost of the rifle, which includes the horrible gore of the Civil War (due in part to the introduction of the Minie ball), the decimation of Native American culture in the West (directly through conflict and indirectly through the extermination of the buffalo), along with much, much else. The rifle is not such an innocuous invention as, say, the television and its history should not be presented as such.

Much of the research contained here is drawn from military and ballistics sources, and in assessing the impact of rifle design changes on the battlefield, Rose often retreats to similarly impassive language and numbing statistics. At points, the narrative even appears to revel in the gore, as when Rose describes the tendency of an early prototype of the M16 to inflict massive, gaping wounds when it was first tested in Vietnam.

At the very least, this is a conflicted work, attempting to appeal to the general populace while not offending the gun enthusiasts, who no doubt eagerly devour histories like Rose's. Incidentally, the National Rifle Association—which has traditionally supported the marksmanship school of rifle design over automatic and semiautomatic models—actually comes out looking like a very progressive organization. (Surely, after publishing this book, Rose will never again have to pay membership dues.)

Now don’t get me wrong, with all of its faults, this book is still worth reading. In their long history, firearms have redefined warfare and shaped the development of modern civilization. A modern rifle is the embodiment of over 700 years of invention and refinement, and as this book illustrates, the rifle’s evolutionary path in America—from Revolutionary War-era muskets to today’s M16—has not been a straight-forward one. There have been numerous starts, stops, and dead-ends in the design process, unholy technical compromises expedited by external politicking, and no end to the debate about design philosophy. One of the key questions is, should a rifle be designed for accuracy and marksmanship or should it be designed to overwhelm enemies with a flurry of bullets? This debate continues today with the development of the successor (possibly, successors) to the forty-five-year-old M16.

Containing detailed discussion of advances in firing mechanisms, barrel design, caliber, propellants, cartridges—really a huge variety of topics—the history presented here is technical, but I found it very readable and actually quite engaging. American Rifle is clearly not for everyone, but if like me you’re willing to hold your judgment about presentation and authorly agenda in reserve, you might find that you actually enjoy this history. For me, this book fits squarely in the category of “Know Thy Enemy”.
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09/22/08

Tranylle is currently reading it

bookshelves: currently-reading, first-reads

recommends it for: my Dad

I just won a free copy of this book from "First Reads"! I'm really excited to read it, and I'll let everyone know what I think of it once I get it. :) I just got this in the mail yesterday. I've only read the first few pages, but it's very interesting, with quotes from George Washington and facts about the people and history of that time. I know my Dad would love this book too, so I plan on letter him borrow it once I'm done.

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11/16/08

fbuser15502133 rated it:

Read in November, 2008

It is interesting (if a bit irrelevant) to note that the author seems to have a penchant for the word "ignominious." Being a fun word, I have no problem with this.

A biography of the American rifle it most certainly is, but it's also in many ways a history of America as seen from the rifle's perspective. Especially as relates to military history, there's no way to avoid telling both stories simultaneously as the rifle is that intricately linked with America's history.
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06/03/09

Robert rated it:

Read in May, 2009

I think American Rifle should have been subtitled: A History Of The US Army Standard Infantry Rifle, or A History Of Springfield Armory. Great read, but I would like to read more about the history and impact of the rifle on the average American. I wanted more information about Winchester, Remington, John M. Browning, or John T. Thompson. Most of the book was spent explaining the history of the Ordnance Department. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed the book, I guess I just wish it was double the s...more

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10/22/08

Tripp rated it:

Read in November, 2008

Alexander Rose's American Rifle is subtitled A Biography. While this is a bit odd, it makes sense as he focuses on a centuries long tension in the development of the rifle in the United States. In it and the country's youth, the focus was on long range accuracy. The idea was that a single well trained marksman would be most effective against the hordes of, generally poorly trained, enemies the young nation would likely face.

As time and experience wore on, the idea of mass firepower, ...more Alexander Rose's American Rifle is subtitled A Biography. While this is a bit odd, it makes sense as he focuses on a centuries long tension in the development of the rifle in the United States. In it and the country's youth, the focus was on long range accuracy. The idea was that a single well trained marksman would be most effective against the hordes of, generally poorly trained, enemies the young nation would likely face.

As time and experience wore on, the idea of mass firepower, expressed in less accurate automatic fire came into conflict with this approach. Some, including the National Rifle Association thought the move towards shorter range, semi-automatic weapons was an attack on the individualistic ideal that the marksmen represented. This idea carried as far as World War 2 with the Marines who kept a nearly 50 year old rifle rather than adopt the less accurate M1 Garand that the Army was using. They changed this approach once they started fighting in jungles, where firepower was of much greater import than single shot sharpshooting.

That the debate was often focused on philosophy rather than purpose is not terribly surprising. As Antulio Echevarria argues here, American thinking on the use of force has tended to focus on capabilities rather than political/strategic outcomes. Debates about military power have tended to be disconnected from what we want to achieve from their use. Debates about Iraq still tend to avoid the basic question about the strategic gains and losses from continuing the war. American politicians have tended to be squeamish about this. In the past it was considered European and now the utilitarian viewpoint is associated with the Nixon-Kissinger approach to foreign policy, which doesn't have too many adherents.

Rose targets his story for the interested generalist. There a fair amount of technical detail about the development of rifling technology, but his focus is more on the personalities and forces that drove the technology. This is appropriate, as technology rarely drives itself, but is instead the result of a mix of political, social and economic factors. Rose does well in presenting this story.(less)

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10/15/08

Pamela rated it:

bookshelves: first-reads

I should clarify something: this book was read but not by me. From the beginning it was clear that this book was going to be much more technical regarding the rifle than I had expected. I was looking for more of a cultural piece myself, and I knew from the first 20 pages or so that I wouldn't be able to get into it. Still, I felt since it was an Advanced Reader's Copy given by Goodreads I should follow up with the agreement to review it so I decided to lend it to a friend (who is a non-fiction n...more

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11/14/08

Sarah rated it:

bookshelves: read-in-2009, released, review-copy

Read in February, 2009

I've been having bad luck with some of the review copies I've been sent recently. First there were the scrambled pages in Emily Waits for Her Family and now there is the toner bomb in the first third of American Rifle. Both were books I had been looking forward to reading. Unfortunately in the early history of the rifle, about one page in every eight was nearly completely black.

Despite the black pages, I enjoyed Alexander Rose's history of America as seen through the development of t...more

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02/14/09

Douglas rated it:

A fascinating history of the development of the American military rifle, with a focus on the history of the Springfield arsenal, the United States' experiment in socialist weapons production.

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02/23/09

Jackivers rated it:

Great history, I'm not a gun nut but nonetheless really enjoyable.

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03/31/09

Denise marked it as to-read

bookshelves: to-read

for Phil or Luke?

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03/11/09

fbuser1294715148 rated it:

bookshelves: history

Read in January, 2009

Interesting read.

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09/29/08

Nikki rated it:

Read in December, 2008

If you have ever wasted a perfectly good weekend glued to a marathon of "Modern Marvels" on The History Channel this is a book for you.

It has a good mix of interesting anecdotes and personal accounts laced with historical facts.

Rose has obviously done extensive research and knows his stuff. You don't have to be a card-carrying member of the NRA to appreciate the importance of the American rifle and it's role in the shaping our fledgling country.

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10/18/08

Carrie Jo rated it:

Read in October, 2008

recommends it for: gun enthusiasts, history buffs, American history lovers

'American Rifle' was like reading a text version of the History Channel. It was interesting to learn about the evolution of the rifle in America and about the colorful characters that championed the rifle's use and development. Although the book is certainly lengthy and some chapters were better executed than others, it was an enjoyable volume overall. Certainly worth a read!

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10/08/08

Jenni rated it:

bookshelves: first-reads

Read in October, 2008

recommended to Jenni by: Goodreads First Reads
recommends it for: Anyone looking for an interesting non-fiction book or a change of pace

I won a copy of this book as a First Reads book. I'm very happy with that win! Alexander Rose made the subject so interesting - and gives such great detail! Reading this book enabled me to gain new insight into our history as a country that I had never even though to think about before. I'm looking forward to reading other books by Rose. :)

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11/02/08

Diane rated it:

Read in April, 2009

I totally enjoyed reading about 3/4 of this book but then, like so many nonfiction it became redundant - actually the history subject itself seems to be repetitive. However, it is well worth starting and then doing the quick read at the end. Particularly for those who enjoy the history of technology or military history

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01/22/09

Rae rated it:

bookshelves: history-american-west

Read in March, 2009

I'm reading this outloud to my husband. Finished it...finally. It's a really good book but it was more interesting to him at times than to me. Rose looks at American history and weaves in the various transitions and transformations of the rifle. A cool idea.

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