American Rifle: A Biography

As much as this is a history of the development of military small arms, it's also a history of the debate between individual and collective, on the battle field, in government procurement, and in manufacturing research. I expected a sometimes dry history of the evolution of rifle technology. Instead, Alexander Rose provides an always interesting series of stories oriented around the men who developed and used the rifle. The advent of rifling and its use on the American frontier resulted in a new class of soldier. Unlike the traditional use of masses of soldiers with muskets firing together in formation, the riflemen were more effective at longer range through well-placed individual shots. Since then, the dominant strategy has shifted show more back and forth between accuracy and awe. Proponents of the former recognize the importance of individualism, character, and economy. Proponents of the latter cite the effectiveness and sometimes necessity of overwhelming firepower, but many hold an underlying belief that it is the job of most men to be led rather than to think.

American Rifle is well-written, informative, and insightful. It's a thoughtful analysis of much more than the Kentucky rifle or the M1 Carbine. show less

Mr. Rose employs a very entertaining and informative writing style in order to illustrate the storied history of the American rifle. From the earliest iteration of the term in Europe to its on-going evolution in Iraq, the author displays the struggle between the values of accuracy at enormous distances vs. up close rapid fire.

Simply put, this book was fairly amazing.
Who would have thought you could read a whole book about Rifles and find it interesting from beginning to end.

from the origin of the musket, the riffling process where its name comes from, to the historical movements influenced by its use..

this reads like a meandering plotline with no standardized characters.

it was very rare when i felt like i was slogging through a text book, and more often like i was watching a well written history channel segment.. minus the commercials of course :)

Alexander Rose has written an engaging, accessible history of the rifle (and hence military) in America. Perfect for the average reader, as introduction to the broad sweep of firearms and the military in American culture. Rose did a good job on the historical narrative as overview rather than a techincal journal full of stats and jargon.

I ended up enjoying this book so much I passed it off to my kid brother! It's a perfect teaching tool to help people understand that America grew up with and around guns; and that the rifle specifically played a huge role in the formation of this country. The way Rose weaves the tale makes it easily readable for all interest and ability levels; from 13 year old military buff to 27 year old budding American Historian, even Mom is reading and enjoying it now!

Enjoyed this lots! I wish there were more of this style of non-fiction book. The book takes a technology (in this case the Rifle) and creates a wonderful historical narrative illuminating it's associations and causes and affects enshrouded with the social, economic and cultural change of our world and country. Well done for anyone who has any interest in history and/or technology. Easily one my favorite non-fiction books on the subject of technological change. Extremely well written/readable and researched.

This book was a solid, interesting read. My main complaint is that it occasionally became bogged in the minutia of patent disputes when I would have preferred to read more about the science of rifles. Also, a glossary for those of us who are unfamiliar with rifles would have been helpful. The book makes up for this, though, with descriptions of the rifle's effects on the turning-points in history. American Rifle is at its best when describing the roles of riflemen in the Revolutionary War or the effects of rifle-fire in the Spanish American War. Overall, a good book but not necessarily beach reading.