AK47: The Story of the People’s Gun

ebook / ISBN-13: 9781848947696

Price: £7.99

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In the sixty years since General Kalashnikov created the AK’s distinctive silhouette, the gun has been at the centre of conflicts across the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. The weapon that made him a ‘Hero of the Soviet Union’ has also appeared on t-shirts and vodka bottles, featured in videos and song lyrics and been re-fashioned in crystal – a gift from Putin to George W. Bush. Power, politics and passion combine in the story of a weapon that has shaped the modern world. Using testimonies of people who have experienced the gun at first-hand – including a Sudanese child soldier, a Vietcong veteran and a Yorkshire teenager – Michael Hodges provides a compelling account of how the AK47 became an icon that ranks alongside Coca-Cola as one of the most recognisable brands in the world.

Reviews

'Gripping and often terrifying'
<i>Sunday Herald</i>
'Hodges never fetishises, preferring to reveal, as he takes you on a journey from origin to ascendancy on a war-torn planet. Excellent.'
<i>Herald</i>
'Gripping and often terrifying'
<i>Sunday Herald</i>
'Chilling'
<i>Sunday Times</I>
'Grisly and fascinating'
<i>Metro</i>
'Short, sharp, shocking'
<i>GQ</I>
'Chilling'
<i>Sunday Times</I>
'Grisly and fascinating'
<i>Metro</i>
'Short, sharp, shocking'
<i>GQ</I>
'This nicely paced journalistic narrative doubles as a brief history of modern warfare from Vietnam to Iraq.'
<i>Guardian</i>
'Astounding'
<i>The List</i>
'This nicely paced journalistic narrative doubles as a brief history of modern warfare from Vietnam to Iraq.'
<i>Guardian</i>
'Astounding'
<i>The List</i>
'Comprehensive and interesting'
<i>Sunday Express</i>
'Hodges never fetishises, preferring to reveal, as he takes you on a journey from origin to ascendancy on a war-torn planet. Excellent.'
<i>Herald</i>
'Comprehensive and interesting'
<i>Sunday Express</i>