Chivers tells of the 19thcentury inventor in indianapolis who designs a civil war killing machine, insisting that moreefficient slaughter will save lives. The tale traces tyrays troubled home life, his desire to rebuild his reputation, and his quest to get revenge on darrell, the only boy who ever stood up to him. The gun is the name of this blog, the purpose of which is explained in the column to your right. Not only does chivers deliver the goods on the ak47 and kalashnikov. Christopher john chivers born 1964 is an american journalist and author best known for his work with the new york times and esquire magazine. In 2009 he was part of a team that won the pulitzer prize for international reporting for coverage from afghanistan and pakistan. It is also the name of the book, the gun the reason this blog began in late 2010. In the summer of 2007, he was named the newspapers moscow bureau chief. Former marine officer and new york times moscow bureau chief chivers hardly mentions his subject in the books first third as he recounts the history of automatic weapons from the american civil war to world war i with familiar eponyms. Chivers served as an infantry officer in the united states marine corps. Yet cj chivers book does more than retrace the story of the weapons development and deployment.
The gun is a nonfiction book written by journalist c. The ak47 and the evolution of war, by cj chivers the. The book focuses on the utility of gun policy, and its discussion of policy impact is grounded in realworld politics. Chivers traces the invention of the assault rifle, following the miniaturization of rapidfire arms from the american civil war, through wwi, vietnam, to present day afghanistan when kalashnikovs and their knockoffs number as. He was sound asleep, his long legs stretched out in front of him, the blessed fire blazing, an empty bottle of wine by his side.
It covers the origins of the design, its invention and distribution, and the consequences of the patterns spread around the world. As understood, achievement does not recommend that you have extraordinary points. An eyeopening, often grim history of automatic weapons, emphasizing the soviet unions murderous, wildly successful legacy. And yet, it is clear that chivers hopes not to report on observable fact, but instead to tell a story. Chivers explains in the gun, westerners were used to making guns with precision tools that. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the gun. Neither progun nor antigun, the gun builds to a terrifying sequence, in which a young man who confronts a trio of assassins is shattered by 23 bullets at close range. Pdf on jan 1, 20, michelle jones and others published edit. Chivers traces the invention of the assault rifle, following the miniaturization of. The narrative is a critical and intelligent interrogation of a story shrouded in soviet. Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle.
With this tome, arguments were started and settled, prices set and haggled over, bluing and rust and rifling conditions discussed ad nauseum, and deal after deal after deal made. The ak47 remains one of the most significant inventions of the 20th century and will no doubt remain an influential weapon for decades to come. The ak47, or kalashnikov, is the most abundant and efficient firearm on earth. Oct 31, 2010 as the new york times correspondent and former marine c. In spite of this, most people remain ignorant of its significance. At gun shows i always noticed that many shoppers and booth keepers alike kept the gun digest standard catalog of firearms close at hand. Author of the fighters, an unvarnished account of the rankandfile experience of modern combat in afghanistan and iraq, called a a classic by the new york times, a memorial in pages by the washington post, and an honest reckoning by the wall street journal. The gun is a wellorganized and fastmoving narrative that operates at several levels. He traces them back to their origins in the early experiments of gatling and maxim, and examines the first appearance of the machinegun. Author of the fighters, an unvarnished account of the rankandfile experience of modern combat in afghanistan and iraq, called a a classic by the new york times, a memorial in pages by the washington post, and an honest reckoning by the wall. Chivers an excerpt from the book the gun, published in esquire, november 1 st, 2010. As the new york times correspondent and former marine c. The sequel to the bully, this book is about bluford freshman tyray hobbs, the tormentor of darrell mercer.
Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search. Well, there were certainly many factors, but an important new book forces us to consider this. Chivers explains in the gun, westerners were used to making guns with precision tools that allowed assembly lines to work. Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel. The author highlights the importance of gun control in the presidential elections of 2000 and 2004 as well as in some u. Chiverss extraordinary new book tells an alternative history of the world as seen through these terrible weapons. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Chivers has written a superb history lesson wrapped around the story of the russian ak47 assault rifle and its namesake. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read the fighters. Before i go on, however, it should be pointed out that the gun by c. He contributes to the foreign and investigative desks and frequently posts on the at war blog, writing on war, tactics, human rights, politics, crime and the arms trade from afghanistan, iraq, russia, georgia, chechnya and elsewhere on a wide range of assignments. His magazine story the fighter won the 2017 pulitzer prize in feature writing. The story of the ak47 kindle edition by chivers, c.
Without denying the familiar contributions of mikhail kalashnikov, chivers describes the ak47 as a product of the soviet system. He is currently assigned to the new york times magazine and the newspapers investigations desk as a longform writer and investigative reporter. Chivers about the ak47 rifle and its variants, and the impact they have had on the world. A battle at the crossroads of gun control and mass torts timothy d.
This is just one of the solutions for you to be successful. Chivers is a correspondent for the new york times and a writeratlarge for the new york times magazine. Chivers s extraordinary new book tells an alternative history of the world as seen through these terrible weapons. Please take a possible time lag into account when contacting us. At a secret armsdesign contest in stalins soviet union, army technicians submitted a stubby rifle with a curved magazine. Dubbed the ak47, it was selected as the eastern blocs standard arm. Throughout, the gun animates unforgettable charactersinventors, salesmen, heroes, megalomaniacs, racists, dictators, gunrunners, terrorists, child soldiers, government careerists, and fools. Available on kindle ebook and can be read on any device with the free kindle app. The book deals with a historical topic, and as such might generally be expected to stay away from the fictional.
Chivers traces the invention of the assault rifle, following the miniaturization of rapidfire arms from the american civil war, through world war i and vietnam, to presentday afghanistan, when kalashnikovs and their knockoffs number as many as 100 million, one for every seventy. The man survives to ask questions that chivers examines with rigor and flair. Chivers examines the sixdecade history of the ak47, the worlds most ubiquitous automatic rifle. Chivers traces the invention of the assault rifle, following the miniaturization of rapidfire arms from the american civil war, through wwi, vietnam, to present day. The quest for an individual weapon with the firepower of a light machine gun and the portability of a machine pistol dated from the first world war, but stalin gave it top priority with.
Chivers traces the invention of the assault rifle, following the. Chivers begins by explaining the origins of mobile firepower during the first. Drawing from years of research, interviews, and from declassified records revealed for the first time, he presents a richly human account of an evolution in the very experience of war. J download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. At the most basic level, chivers focuses on the original ak47 and its many.
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