The Trail of the Bullet Author: Andrew Nahum Publisher: Social Sciences Academic Press

Introduction · · · · · ·

Pull the trigger of a Kalashnikov and a bullet is rushed into the barrel by an ancient chemical explosive with which Cromwell or General Custer would be very familiar.

Guns, ancient and modern, remain a major force in the world. Current political and international structures, even consumer culture, have been shaped by research inspired by guns. The new science of Galileo and Newton owed much to the study of ballistics during the Renaissance, the new equipment that allowed antiaircraft guns to predict and hit targets in World War II opened the door to artificial intelligence, and humans gained a new understanding of self-awareness and the power of action. Gun manufacturing has improved the technology used in modern manufacturing and shaped modern production. Guns also affect the world political landscape in intricate ways, not only in the conventional ways we are familiar with, but also in mysterious and surprising ways.

This book traces the extensive connection between guns and the course of human history in a series of fast-paced scenes.