When I was first given the 'assignment' to read and review this book,  I was more than pleased to do so as it is a subject that interests me.  Thumbing through the book before actually reading it, I came to a preliminary conclusion that it was going to be another 'facts and figures' book on weaponry: i.e.; 'the bullet leaves the barrel of the M16A2 at the velocity of 1 billion miles per second...' etc., and so on.

  Boy, how wrong I was once I got wrapped up in the book.  It took me a little over six-2 hour evenings to read, which, for me is a very good pace and indicates how well the book is written. Needless to say, it was a real page turner.  The book itself is broken down into different categories, such as, small arms, explosives, and even different information about ships of the fleet, and their jobs. The subject matter of the book runs the gamut from pistols to atomic weapons and everything in between. If it goes 'bang' it is in here.

  There were a few of those so-called 'facts and figures'  tables dotted throughout, but, they weren't 'in your face' type that can put a insomniac into a coma.  The chapters centered on the different subjects, that way, if you didn't want to read about WMD's, which, in my opinion, has pretty much has been talked into the ground the last few years, you could move on to 'greener pastures', as it were.

  I had served in the U.S. Army for a number of years, so, I have either witnessed the destructive power of some of the weapons, or did the operating myself.  I had realized that, there is always room to learn much more, as I have discovered by reading this book.

  I think that this book is a perfect read for the military enthusiast such as I, or just someone who wants to learn about a subject they never knew about before.  I highly recommend you set up a place on your shelf for this one.

Kevin Powers

April 2008

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