Mr. Gatling's Terrible Marvel
The Gun That Changed Everything and the Misunderstood Genius Who Invented It
Nonfiction, History, Military, Weapons, Science & Nature, Technology, Engineering, Americas, United States, 19th Century
| Author: | Julia Keller | ISBN: | 9781440633591 |
| Publisher: | Penguin Publishing Group | Publication: | May 29, 2008 |
| Imprint: | Penguin Books | Language: | English |
| Author: | Julia Keller |
| ISBN: | 9781440633591 |
| Publisher: | Penguin Publishing Group |
| Publication: | May 29, 2008 |
| Imprint: | Penguin Books |
| Language: | English |
A provocative look at the life and times of the man who created the original weapon of mass destruction
Drawing on her investigative and literary talents, Julia Keller offers a riveting account of the invention of the world's first working machine gun. Through her portrait of its misunderstood creator, Richard Jordan Gatling-who naively hoped that the overwhelming effectiveness of a multiple-firing weapon would save lives by decreasing the size of armies and reducing the number of soldiers needed to fight-Keller draws profound parallels to the scientists who would unleash America's atomic arsenal half a century later. The Gatling gun, in its combination of ingenuity, idealism, and destructive power, perfectly exemplifies the paradox of America's rise in the nineteenth century to a world superpower.
A provocative look at the life and times of the man who created the original weapon of mass destruction
Drawing on her investigative and literary talents, Julia Keller offers a riveting account of the invention of the world's first working machine gun. Through her portrait of its misunderstood creator, Richard Jordan Gatling-who naively hoped that the overwhelming effectiveness of a multiple-firing weapon would save lives by decreasing the size of armies and reducing the number of soldiers needed to fight-Keller draws profound parallels to the scientists who would unleash America's atomic arsenal half a century later. The Gatling gun, in its combination of ingenuity, idealism, and destructive power, perfectly exemplifies the paradox of America's rise in the nineteenth century to a world superpower.
