Gun Barons by John Bainbridge Jr
It's the nineteenth century. As America prepares for civil war, five men living within ninety miles of one another will change the course of history. The invention and refinement of the repeating firearm-the precursor to today's automatic weapons-means life in America and beyond will never be the same again. In this riveting work of narrative history, veteran reporter John Bainbridge, Jr. vividly brings to life the five charismatic and idiosyncratic men at the heart of the story: the huckster and hard-living Samuel Colt; the cunning former shirt-maker Oliver Winchester; the constant tinkerer Horace Smith; the resilient and innovative businessman Daniel Wesson; and the skinny abolitionist Christopher Spencer. As the men competed ferociously, each trying to corner the market for repeating weapons, invention and necessity collided in a perfect storm: America was crashing violently towards furious sectarianism, irrevocable tensions, and, of course, bloodthirsty war. Though capable of firing many times without reloading, astonishingly, the new guns faced a government backlash for using too much ammunition. Sold directly to soldiers, sometimes just as they were walking into battle, they quickly became coveted possessions, both during the Civil War and in the conquering of the West-and thus America's romance with personal firearms was born. Wide-ranging and vividly told, this is a gripping story of tenacity, conviction, innovation, and pure heartless greed.
John Bainbridge, Jr. is an attorney, freelance writer, and former newspaper reporter and editor. With bestselling novelist and Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic Stephen Hunter, he co-authored American Gunfight: The Plot to Kill President Truman-and The Shoot-out That Stopped It.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781785906411 |
| ISBN 10 | 1785906410 |
| Title | Gun Barons |
| Author | John Bainbridge Jr |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Biteback Publishing |
| Year published | 2022-05-24 |
| Number of pages | 352 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |