U.S. Armed Forces Arsenal: A Guide to Modern Combat Hardware

by Samuel A. Southworth

Book Overview

Today's arsenal of war contains some of the most sophisticated weapons ever seen on the battlefield. The technological revolution has drastically altered how war is fought and brought about the invention of some highly unusual (and effective) weapons. In the recent war with Iraq, we caught a glimpse of the new high-tech weapons in America's arsenal and the wide-ranging array of modern equipment and transportation used by our armed forces. America's...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0306813181
• ISBN13: 9780306813184
• Release Date: March 2004
• Publisher: Da Capo Press
• Length: 229 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.0" x 7.1"

Customer Reviews

Vivid Prose, Laced With Surprising Humor

One wouldn't expect it from a first glance at this compact volume about modern combat hardware, but the prose has a literary quality that is absolutely first-rate. While the subject matter is serious, to say the least, Southworth enlivens this tour of modern weaponry with laugh-out-loud humor, sly turns of phrase, and photograph captions peppered with witticisms that make you look twice. (I actually did laugh out loud numerous times while reading it--which made other subway riders a little nervous when they glanced at the book's cover.) Southworth couples a true aficionado's exuberance for the astounding array of gadgetry, guns, tanks, planes, ships and bombs in America's arsenal with a historian's sober wisdom about what all this stuff really means for our enemies: it ain't pretty, and they's be advised to turn tail and scurry into a nearby cave before messing with us. He has clearly done his homework--the book is rich with facts and details--but it is his thoughtful analysis and commentary that makes this book stand out among others of its kind. Southworth illuminates his subject with a unique and almost poetic sensibility--a rare touch for a subject that if often dry and straightforward. While military technology grows ever-sophisticated, this book will stand the test of time and would be a valuable addition to any military historian's bookshelf. It also fits in the coat pocket quite nicely--a reminder on a lazy afternoon stroll that freedom doesn't come easy, and that the arms and armaments we've developed have been a powerful force in preserving it.