AK-47: The Story of a Gun by Michael Hodges

The Barnes & Noble Review

The global age demands a global weapon. And as journalist Michael Hodges makes all too clear in this dispiriting account, the weapon of choice from South Central Los Angeles to Baghdad is the AK-47. Light, easy to handle, with only eight movable parts, the AK-47 can survive the worst environments, as it's proven in the tropical jungles of Vietnam, the sand dunes of the Middle East, and the muddy terrain of numerous African hot spots. Invented by amateur Russian designer Mikhail Kalashnikov -- the "K" of AK -- in 1947, the gun is automatic, a word that in Russian also begins with an "A." He hoped his dependable assault rifle would contribute to the war against fascism and instead lived to see his creation turned against the Soviet Union by the mujahedeen in Afghanistan. The years in between witnessed the proliferation of his invention across the globe, updated and modified by factories in China, Hungary, and other countries capable of replicating its inexpensive design. Hodges brings life (and plenty of death) to his tale with chapters on a legendary Vietcong soldier who downed a U.S. plane with his AK; a French photographer who becomes obsessed with photographing the weapon in Palestine; and a Sudanese boy soldier turned rapper who records his story in song. A symbol of Third World revolution in the '60s and among Sandinista supporters in the '80s, this handy automatic weapon, which should be outmoded in our high-tech times, nowadays surfaces in gangsta drive-bys and bin Laden videos. And worst of all, it's the preferred weapon for insurrectionists in Iraq, where Hodges experiences this all-purpose killing machine up close and personal. An explosive account of the ubiquitous gun. --Thomas DePietro

Synopsis

In the 60 years since General Kalashnikov created the AK47’s distinctive silhouette, the gun has been at the center of conflicts across the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and Latin America. The weapon that made Kalashnikov “The Hero of the Soviet Union” has also appeared on T-shirts and vodka bottles, starred in videos and song lyrics, and been re-fashioned in crystal — a gift from Vladimir Putin to George W. Bush.
Focusing on the testimonies of the men and women who have experienced the weapon firsthand — including a Sudanese child soldier, a Vietcong veteran, and a French photographer who has documented the carnage in the West Bank — Michael Hodges’s AK47: The Story of a Gun tells the fascinating story of the world’s most ubiquitous gun, from its origins in the Soviet Union, through its rebirth in the hands of third world revolutionaries, to its current status as the brand leader in international terrorism.

Antonio S. Thompson - Library Journal

Military histories typically cover leaders, major wars, or important battles, seldom the development and history of the weapons used to wage war. These two brief books manage to fill that gap. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Keller (Chicago Tribune) describes the immediate impact of the Gatling gun when its "breathless whirl" was first used in the Civil War. Created in 1861, it was the prototype for the modern machine gun. When the operator turned the gun's hand crank, the rotating barrels turned and fired rapidly. It used multiple barrels and needed little time to cool off. Keller's book is both a biography of Dr. Richard J. Gatling and an analysis of how his invention permanently changed the face of warfare. The gun produced carnage on a scale never seen before. It created a blueprint for future rapid-fire weapons and contributed to American military success for years to come.

If the Gatling gun was a transforming invention of the 19th century, the AK47 represents the kind of weapon that has transformed the 20th and 21st. It was created by Soviet Lt. Gen. Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov in 1947. Hodges discusses the widespread use of this portable rapid-fire weapon, explaining that the AK47 was "not even the first semi-automatic weapon on the battlefield" nor "the most sophisticated." Its simple design was its greatest advantage; with fewer parts that might break, it was a reliable, cost-effective weapon that was easy to learn how to use. Like Keller, Hodges is an established journalist; both authors have a reporter's skill in driving their stories. Students and academics may find these books useful as secondary sources, although neither has footnotes and Hodges'sadditionally lacks a bibliography. Both are easy and enjoyable reads and will be accessible to general history buffs. Recommended for public and some undergraduate libraries.