Description: When Chinese alchemists fashioned the first manmade explosion sometime during the tenth century, no one could have foreseen its full revolutionary potential. Invented to frighten evil spirits rather than fuel guns or bombsneither of which had been thought of yettheir simple mixture of saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal went on to make the modern world possible. As word of its explosive properties spread from Asia to Europe, from pyrotechnics to battleships, it paved the way for Western exploration, hastened the end of feudalism and the rise of the nation state, and greased the wheels of the Industrial Revolution. With dramatic immediacy, novelist and journalist Jack Kelly conveys both the distant time in which the devils distillate rose to conquer the world, and brings to rousing life the eclectic cast of characters who played a role in its epic story, including Michelangelo, Edward III, Vasco da Gama, Corts, Guy Fawkes, Alfred Nobel, and E. I. DuPont. A must-read for history fans and military buffs alike, Gunpowder brings together a rich terrain of cultures and technological innovations with authoritative research and swashbuckling style.
Price: 19.43 USD
Location: East Hanover, New Jersey
End Time: 2024-12-06T14:02:40.000Z
Shipping Cost: 0 USD
Product Images
Item Specifics
Return shipping will be paid by: Buyer
All returns accepted: Returns Accepted
Item must be returned within: 60 Days
Refund will be given as: Money Back
Return policy details:
EAN: 9780465037223
UPC: 9780465037223
ISBN: 9780465037223
MPN: N/A
Book Title: Gunpowder : Alchemy, Bombards, and Pyrotechnics: the History of the Explosive That Changed the World
Number of Pages: 272 Pages
Language: English
Publisher: Basic Books
Topic: Military / General, Military / Wars & Conflicts (Other)
Publication Year: 2005
Item Height: 0.9 in
Genre: History
Item Weight: 10.3 Oz
Author: Jack Kelly
Item Length: 8.4 in
Item Width: 5.5 in
Format: Trade Paperback
