Encyclopedia of Modern U.S. Military Weapons

by Timothy M. Laur

An accessible encyclopedia of military weapons represents a collaboration with The Army, Navy, and Air Force Times, and covers each weapon system, its evolution, development, and combat experience.

Genres: Reference, War

496 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 1995

Reviews

[Igor Ljubuncic · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book because it promised a lot of cool info on the US military equipment, and I like that kind of thing. Unfortunately, the book turned out to be good, but not great as I hoped.

There's a lot of technical detail on included weapon systems and vehicles, but it's actually too technical, with little to no operational information and no commentary. So you don't get any actual combat stories, real-life examples or such. Just dry lists of data. Moreover, the book strongly focuses on the 1991 Gulf War era, and tells you all about the number of sorties and hours flown and bushels of desert dirt dug, which is nice if you're an accountant, less so if you want an experience.

Not bad, but it's really an encyclopedia per se, and there are much better works out there telling you the "story" behind the mechanics of things. Still, recommended for those who like to brag with military jargon in front of the ladies.

Cheers,
Igor

[Sylvester · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love reading encyclopedia of anything really. I expected this to be about firearms but it's actually about aircrafts, submarines, ships, artillery and combat vehicles. It's got really detailed summary of each item listed in the book, but it is quite tedious to read about the specifications of all the tanks and jets.

It's a specialist book for those with special interests in the subject.