The Gun that Changed the World
1. Edition August 2006
224 Pages, Softcover
Wiley & Sons Ltd
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.
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.
Foreword to English edition: The history and workings of the
AK-47.
Preface - The Terror and the Glory.
1. Treading a path of pain and sorrow.
Son of a kulak.
Farewell to Siberia.
2. 'Arise, great country! Arise to mortal
fight!'
The last but one.
My university - the hospital.
'You must help Sergeant Kalashnikov!'
3. The birth of the AK.
The 'Mikhim' dossier.
'Up until 2025, and even beyond....'
4. A unique weapon.
The standardization of firearms.
One more step.
5. 'He was a god, he might rise again.'
Daily life of a deputy in the Supreme Soviet.
Behind the walls of the Kremlin.
6. 'At home and abroad.'
Izhevsk.
Better late than never.
7. Odds and ends.
Notes.
Glossary.
Biographical details.
Select bibliography and filmography.
Index.
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
