The Gun that Changed the World

By: Mikhail Kalashnikov, Elena Joly (As told to), Andrew Brown (Translator)

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Paperback | 21 August 2006 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Paperback
224 Pages

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21.0 x 15.0 x 1.0

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The Russian word that is most frequently spoken throughout the world isn't Lenin, gulag or perestroika, it’s ‘Kalashnikov’. The reason for this is simple: there are 80 million Kalashnikovs in circulation on five continents. Once invented, the AK-47 assault rifle became the most widely used weapon in the world: from Vietnam to Palestine, from Cuba to Iraq, it was at the heart of conflicts and struggles everywhere. It is the only firearm that has ever been depicted on a national flag – that of Mozambique, where it symbolizes liberation.<br><p>Mikhail Kalashnikov himself, who was born in 1919, here tells his life story, with the help of Elena Joly, for the first time: his deportation to Siberia with his family while still a child; his time as a soldier in a tank regiment; his invention of the world’s most famous weapon and his turbulent life under Stalin, Khrushchev, Brezhnev, Gorbachev and Yeltsin. This is a remarkable portrait of a man of ingenuity and vitality in the context of the often frightening and terribly unforgiving Russia of the twentieth century.

Industry Reviews

"This intruiging autobiography opens doors on life in the once closed military town of Izhevsk, and provides revealing insights into the not-so-closed mind of a Soviet gunmaker."
Times Literary Supplement

"A commanding portrait of a man who lived through the best and worst treatment at the hands of the Soviet regime."
Tribune

"Mikhail Kalashnikov's autobiography is an intriguing look into the life and mind of a self-taught weapons designer who believed in what he did and for whom he did it. In plain language, this simple man straightforwardly tells of the adversity he surmounted as a youth to achieve the pinnacle of success as an adult. Though he ascribes the success in his life to fate, his innate vision and talent for the mechanics of weapon design show through unmistakably. A Stalinist, communist and patriot to the end, his life story is a valuable lens through with to view the history of the USSR and Russia from revolution to the present."
Roger Reese, Texas A&M University

"Mikhail Kalashnikov?s 'assault rifle' bridged the gap between the slow but accurate rifle and the fast but inaccurate sub-machine gun, and thus brought us ? in the 1940s ? to the point where armies still stand today. Readers of this delightful book will wonder why he ever bothered. Purged by Stalin and exiled to Siberia as a boy, Kalashnikov later accepted the Stalin Prize for his work on the AK-47. This fascinating book is an enthralling journey into the Soviet arsenal and mind."
Geoffrey Wawro, University of North Texas

"This book has pace, passion and a number of unusual insights into the weird mindset of at least one section of the Soviet ruling classes. It is a human story: a 'rags to riches' or 'poor boy makes good' story ? and occasionally even a tear-jerker. It also contains some pretty good jokes."
Paddy Griffith, freelance military historian and publisher

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