AK-47: The Weapon that Changed the Face of War

As someone who has no pro-gun or anti-gun ax to grind but simply wanted to read and enjoy an historical perspective of this weapon, the book is fascinating. All of the negative reviews say the book is anti-gun which it is not. They think everything except their own narrow viewpoint is anti-gun and they do this book a disservice by keeping other readers away. To be sure, the book is not pro-gun either, although some may argue... Read Full Review

The book "AK-47: The Weapon That Changed The Face Of War" is a great reading experience even if you do not care a wit about guns or weapons. I thought this was going to be a book about a gun--which it is--but it is so much more than that. Author Larry Kahaner has put together a history book that puts into focus the impact and the importance of this single invention of destruction. The Ak-47 has killed more people than the... Read Full Review

Because of my regular job as a book reviewer (usually fiction rather than non-fiction) I got an early look at this book and found it extremely interesting. I prefer thrillers for my general reading, and this book had many aspects of that genre. The image of the AK-47 is ubiquitous, as the author points out, but who knew that the CIA was largely responsible for spreading it around the world? Or that US soldiers preferred it... Read Full Review

Kahaner has done a great job of weaving history with current events and showing how the AK-47 has become the world's most popular weapon. I was amazed to learn that there are as many as 100 million AK-47s in the world and even though it was first produced about 60 years ago (hence the name AK-47 for "Automatic Kalashnikov - 1947") many of the originals are still around and working, getting recycled from conflict to conflict... Read Full Review