From sticks and stones to H-bombs and Star Wars, it's all here in this fascinating and exhaustive catalog of the technologies humans have developed to destroy each other at increasing distances, in increasing numbers. The Diagram Group illustrate and discuss thousands of weapons here, looking at how they affected and altered the nature of war.

As a gun owner, I'm particularly impressed at the book's graphic history of the development of combat firearms. The book shows how the early matchlocks evolved over the centuries into the autoloading wonders of today, and the various strange forms they sometimes took along the way (e.g., the "Apache pistol" -- a bizarre pistol/knife/brass-knuckle three-in-one weapon.)

A must-own for anyone interested in military history, weapons studies, or the technology of human conflict. ( )