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 enlarge | Author: Alexander Rose
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Category: Book
List Price: $30.00
Buy New: $16.50
You Save: $13.50 (45%)
New (33) Used (7) from $16.50
Avg. Customer Rating:  14 reviews
Sales Rank: 5949
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 512
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.8
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.5
ISBN: 0553805177
Dewey Decimal Number: 683.422
EAN: 9780553805178
ASIN: 0553805177
Publication Date: October 21, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand new item. Over 4 million customers served. Order now. Selling online since 1995. Order with confidence. Code: A20090106200731W
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| Customer Reviews:
 What a wonderful history November 30, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
This is a terrific work, well researched and engaging. One of the best parts of this format is that the references are hotlinked within the text. In other words, when a passage in the book refers to a research work the author used, the superscript is a hotlink to the references section, where the reader may get more information on the passage. There is a handy link in the references page which then returns the reader to the passage. Very nice, especially in a work like this.
As for the book itself, it did suffer from some formatting issues, mainly hyphenated words which, in the original, were obviously at the end of a line. However, this only distracted me a little. The content is informative and engaging, the conclusions drawn are apt, and the history given was, at least for me, something not commonly taught or learned.
I appreciated Mr. Rose's efforts with this book and look forward to reading more of his works.
 history revealed November 26, 2008
2 out of 5 found this review helpful
This is a Kindle version, and my husband is enjoying it now. He really loves history, and reads it to me all the time. He's learning alot of things he didn't know about rifles.
American Rifle November 23, 2008
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
American Rifle: A Biography
I started shooting in 1934 and was active for many years with reloading and amateur gunsmithing, I was also deeply involved with the procurement of the M14 rifle and all the problems involved. This is the best book on the subject, comparable only to Julian Hatcher's Rifle in America which has long been unavailable. Phil Sharpe's is more like a catalog. It doesn't take a shooting fan to appreciate this very readable history of Americana.
An excellent biography November 16, 2008
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
I have collected, read and shot for the last 70 years but this is the best book on the subject of the American rifle I have encountered. It goes into the history of the long arm in general but concentrates on the American military experience. It shows the influence of the development of arms production on all areas of manufacturing. It also gives an excellent description of the influence of politics and personalities on the operations of the arsenals and of the military theories behind the arguments for the choice of single-shot versus magazine rifles as standard for the armed forces. I must admit that I did find one example of what must have been a typo on page 197 . The caliber chosen for the American team in the first Creedmoor match is described as .45-550-90 (bore diameter-weight of black powder charge-weight of bullet). 550 grains weight of black powder would have been quite spectacular! Obviously the powder charge weight and that of the bullet have been transposed.
Delightful dollop of American history ... November 13, 2008
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
The transformation of the American rifle literally changed the course of history. Not all change comes easily nor intentionally. Men were continually tinkering with their weapons to make them more efficient. Christian Friedrich Schoeenbein had been toying with the idea that treating cotton with nitric and sulfuric acids might give the bang needed to replace gunpowder with less bulk. When the wife was away, he apparently worked his experiment in their kitchen. After spilling some nitric acid, he mopped it up with the wife's apron and hid it near the stove to dry. Well, the resulting explosion a while later may not have thrilled her much or did much for her apron, but guncotton was a new and much welcomed propellant. It was not noted whether or not he purchased her a new apron.
Producing a rifle in early American was a lengthy and arduous task. Even the apprenticeship of eight years insured that what weapons were produced would end up in the hands of the wealthy. George Washington was so proud of his that it was painted into one of his portraits. Martha's money, he may have figured, was being well spent. The fascination with the rifle was and is continuous. The American Rifle Association is 125 years old, growing strong and a much feared political force to be reckoned with in this day and age. Dismayed that their troops couldn't hit the broad side of a barn, the association decided rather late in the game they had just better get a group together to "promote and encourage rifle shooting on a scientific basis." Alexander Rose, military historian and journalist, has written an absolutely amazing and comprehensive history of the AMERICAN RIFLE: A Biography. If there is anything at all to be known about the rifle, it's in this volume.
As someone who was unfamiliar with anything Alexander Rose had written prior to the American Rifle, I was unprepared, yet very pleasantly surprised, at the depth and delightful dollop of American history I found in its pages. The book was extremely well written and, as a huge fan of a decent index, was certainly not disappointed with his reference material (the complete bibliography is listed on the author's site). For one who is not very interested in weaponry at all, I found this to be a popcorn page turner. I popped a lot of popcorn and spent many evenings avidly reading some very interesting tidbits of American lore. The hardcover is a tad pricey, but then again if you want quality you simply have to pay for it
Deb Fowler (Roundtable Reviews)
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