(Hardback)

This vivid volume describes the fascinating history of aircraft carriers, first deployed successfully in World War I by the Imperial Russian Navy, and indispensable to the Allied victory in World War II, now the strategic centerpiece of the world's most powerful navies.

(Hardback)

Addressing its technical evolution as well as its military and social impact, this comprehensive reference shows how historic leaders such as Dionysus of Syracuse, the Ottoman sultan Mohammad II, Oliver Cromwell, and Napoleon Bonaparte were successful in battle because of their innovative use of artillery.

(Hardback)

On July 4, 1991, the Arleigh Burke class of destroyers, the most powerful surface combatants in naval history, was commissioned. It was the culmination of a century-and-a-half evolution of the destroyer-an evolution captured in this vivid and timely history of the world's most popular warship.

(Hardback)

First envisioned by Leonardo da Vinci and first deployed in World War II, the helicopter is now a universal icon of modern warfare, a key component of combat planning around the world, and one of the military's most versatile and effective tools.

(Hardback)

This fascinating reference covers the weapons and armor used by warriors from the 4th to the 15th century and discusses how and why they changed over time.

(Hardback)

An in-depth history of the time when airpower became the great equalizer, changing military strategy forever and bringing once-safe targets in reach.

(Hardback)

An expert examination of the evolution of military aviation and its profound impact on warfare-from the employment of balloons during the French Revolutionary wars to the use of aircraft in World War I.

(Hardback)

The development of the pistol helped bring the age of the armored knight to an end, provided the elite with a status symbol of dangerous glamour, and inspired both artisans and industrialists to reach new heights of invention.

(Hardback)

Ranging primarily from the late 18th century to the present, this volume tells the history of rifled weapons and ammunition for military use. Author David Westwood has handled every weapon he describes, from muskets to breechloaders, from repeaters and bolt- action rifles to semiautomatics and self-loaders.

(Hardback)

From the steam-powered models introduced in World War I to today's nuclear-powered, multiweaponed technological wonders, submarines have revolutionized warfare on the world's seas. This volume follows the extraordinary development of this key component of the world's navies.

(Hardback)

Fast cruisers, the eyes of the fleet, were the standard-bearers of empire, the ultimate warships of gunboat diplomacy-no other vessel class was so well equipped to serve as both a working war machine and a projection of national might.

(Hardback)

From ancient times to World War II and the postwar period, Battleships charts the evolution of the vessel that ruled the seas-a vessel that, until the arrival of the aircraft carrier, would be the most expensive and complex human-made moving object in history.

(Hardback)

The machine gun-often called the killing machine-revolutionized modern ground combat, brought an end to the traditional infantry and cavalry charge, and changed the battlefields of war forever.