Arms and the Man

by Lowther and William Lowther

He was the brilliant scientist who revolutionized modern artillery with his supergun. But Dr. Gerald Bull soon found himself in the sights of those willing to do anything to keep missiles out of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0804109508
• ISBN13: 9780804109505
• Release Date: August 1993
• Publisher: Ballantine Books
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.

Customer Reviews

An engaging story of the life of Gerry Bull

This is a great read, even for those who know nothing about the exploits of Dr Gerry Bull. Dr Bull was a flawed genius - a passionate and driven ballistics visionary responsible for the design of many of the worlds deadliest artillery cannons, and yet he was politically naive, inspirational to his colleagues, and a practical joker. He provoked both deep loyalty in his friends and deep hatred in his enemies. The latter would lead to his assassination. He died during his work on Project Babylon - a cannon several hundred metres long! This book delivers on many fronts: it is well researched and provides in depth information about the superguns that Dr Bull hoped could send small satelites into space, it also delves into his personal life, and takes the reader into the shady and nervous underworld of illegal arms dealings that Gerald Bull wound up in by circumstance. William Lowther has written with great passion and produced a book that will captivate you and make you want to tell Dr Bull's story to everyone you meet.

An excellent book!

This is a fascinating look at the life of a true genius whose path took him, inevitably, to Saddam's door. His dream of producing a gun capable of putting a satellite into orbit was twisted into a weapon for the Iraqi regime. Reads like an espionage novel, although it slows down a bit when talking about the businesses and fronts used to get the weapon's parts into Iraq. Otherwise, a really good read!