Wexler, Bruce

"American history has always been interwoven with developments in firearms technology and so is peppered with legendary guns. At the birth of the nation, Americans armed themselves with state-of-the-art long guns to fight their colonial oppressors. Once independent, the young country was drawn into a succession of conflicts, which caused firearms technology to keep pace with weapon design and production demand. The needs of many military campaigns ensured that the nation's gunmakers have remained at the cutting edge of innovation. 50 Guns That Changed America will explore the most significant American weapons from the early days of firepower to the amazing modern guns in use today, including: Simeon North/Hall pistol; Dimick plains rifle; Spencer carbine rifle; Winchester Model 1866; Smith & Wesson Army revolver; Colt Peacemaker; M60 machine gun; ArmaLite AR-18 machine gun. Each firearm is illustrated in full color with archive photography of the manufacturers and the guns in action where possible"--.

Presents maps, memorabilia, archival photos, summaries of Western television shows, movie reviews, and historical information covering one hundred years of U.S. history, with twelve cowboy recipes and depictions of towns, lawmen, outlaws, women, Native Americans, weapons, forts, and more.

"Bad blood between the Hatfield and McCoy families spiraled into the most infamous feud in American folklore. Their animosity simmered for over forty years and often flared into murderous violence. It led to over a dozen deaths, the destruction of property, orphaned children, and childless parents. Although it is estimated that there were only around thirty combatants on each side, this legendary vendetta cast a dark stain across the whole of Appalachia"--Provided by OCLC.