American Rifle
A Biography
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Narrated by:
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Joe Barrett
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By:
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Alexander Rose
About this listen
George Washington insisted that his portrait be painted with one. Daniel Boone created a legend with one. Abraham Lincoln shot them on the White House lawn. And Teddy Roosevelt had his specially customized. Now, in this first-of-its-kind audiobook, historian Alexander Rose delivers a colorful, engrossing biography of an American icon: the rifle.
Drawing on the words of soldiers, inventors, and presidents, based on extensive new research, and encompassing the Revolution to the present day, American Rifle is a balanced, wonderfully entertaining history of this most essential firearm and its place in American culture. In the eighteenth century American soldiers discovered that they no longer had to fight in Europe's time-honored way. With the evolution of the famed "Kentucky" Rifle - a weapon slow to load but devastatingly accurate in the hands of a master - a new era of warfare dawned, heralding the birth of the American individualist in battle.
In this spirited narrative, Alexander Rose reveals the hidden connections between the rifle's development and our nation's history. We witness the high-stakes international competition to produce the most potent gunpowder…how the mysterious arts of metallurgy, gunsmithing, and mass production played vital roles in the creation of American economic supremacy…and the ways in which bitter infighting between rival arms makers shaped diplomacy and influenced the most momentous decisions in American history. And we learn why advances in rifle technology and ammunition triggered revolutions in military tactics, how ballistics tests - frequently bizarre - were secretly conducted, and which firearms determined the course of entire wars. From physics to geopolitics, from frontiersmen to the birth of the National Rifle Association, from the battles of the Revolution to the war in Iraq, American Rifle is a must listen for history buffs, gun collectors, soldiers - and anyone who seeks to understand the dynamic relationship between the rifle and this nation's history.
©2008 Rosewriter Inc. (P)2013 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Performance
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Overall
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Performance
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Love them or hate them, guns are woven deeply into the American soul. Names like Colt, Smith & Wesson, Winchester, and Remington are legendary. Yet few people are aware of the roles these men played at a crucial time in United States history, from westward expansion in the 1840s, through the Civil War, and into the dawn of the Gilded Age. Through personal drive and fueled by bloodshed, they helped propel the young country into the forefront of the world's industrial powers. Their creations helped save a nation divided, while planting seeds that would divide the country again later.
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- Narrated by: John Pruden
- Length: 6 hrs and 56 mins
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Performance
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Story
At the time of his tragic death in February 2013, former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, the most accomplished sniper in U.S. military history, was finishing a remarkable book that retold American history through the lens of a hand-selected list of firearms. Kyle masterfully argues that guns have played a fascinating, indispensable, and often under-appreciated role in our national story. He carefully chose ten guns to help tell his story, ranging from the American long rifle to the modern M-16, and uses these guns as a platform for exploring American history.
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Performance
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-
Story
In this major and wholly original contribution to military history, John Keegan reverses the usual convention of writing about war in terms of generals and nations in conflict, which tends to leave the common soldier as cipher. Instead, he focuses on what a set battle is like for the man in the thick of it.
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Amazing! But probably better in print.
- By D. Martin on 04-20-13
By: John Keegan
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The Harlem Hellfighters
- When Pride Met Courage
- By: Walter Dean Myers, Bill Miles
- Narrated by: Corey Allen
- Length: 2 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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New York Times best-selling author Walter Dean Myers and renowned filmmaker Bill Miles deftly tell the true story of the unsung American heroes of the 369th Infantry Regiment of World War I in The Harlem Hellfighters: When Pride Met Courage. At a time of widespread bigotry and racism, the African American soldiers of the 369th Infantry Regiment put their lives on the line in the name of democracy.
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Great Accessible History
- By Christopher on 02-21-21
By: Walter Dean Myers, and others
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The 21st-Century Sniper
- A Complete Practical Guide
- By: Brandon Webb, Glen Doherty
- Narrated by: Allen O'Reilly
- Length: 4 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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The 21st century sniper is a mature, intelligent shooter who leverages technology to his deadly advantage. He has spent thousands of hours honing his skills. He is a master of concealment in all environments, from the mountains of Afghanistan to the crowded streets of Iraq. He is trained in science and left alone to create the unique art of the kill. To the sniper, the battlefield is like a painter’s blank canvas. It is his job to simultaneously utilize tools, training, and creativity to deliver devastating psychological impact upon the battlefield. And it is he alone who is left with the intimacy of the kill.
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READ it, Don't Listen
- By Nathan on 02-28-13
By: Brandon Webb, and others
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After the Civil War
- The Heroes, Villains, Soldiers, and Civilians Who Changed America
- By: James Robertson
- Narrated by: Barry Press
- Length: 11 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Returning to the turbulent days of a nation divided, best-selling author and acclaimed historian James Robertson explores 70 fascinating figures who shaped America during Reconstruction and beyond. Relentless politicians, intrepid fighters, cunning innovators - the times called for bold moves, and this resilient generation would not disappoint.
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Just a southern lost cause book
- By Russell Hansen on 03-24-21
By: James Robertson
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The Yanks Are Coming!
- A Military History of the United States in World War I
- By: H. W. Crocker
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Best-selling military historian H. W. Crocker III turns his guns on the epic story of America's involvement in the First World War with TheYanks Are Coming!. The year 2014 marks the centenary of the beginning of the Great War, and in Crocker's sweeping, American-focused account, listeners will learn: How George S. Patton, Douglas MacArthur, George C. Marshall, "Wild Bill" Donovan, Harry S. Truman, and many other American heroes earned their military spurs in during World War I.
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Great book, all but forgotten part of US history
- By RMF5630 on 12-10-14
By: H. W. Crocker
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Verdun
- The Lost History of the Most Important Battle of World War I, 1914-1918
- By: John Mosier
- Narrated by: Wes Talbot
- Length: 11 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Alongside Waterloo and Gettysburg, the Battle of Verdun during World War I stands as one of history’s greatest clashes. Yet it is also one of the most complex and misunderstood. Conventional wisdom holds that the battle began in February 1916 and lasted until December, when the victorious French wrested all the territory they had lost back from the Germans. In fact, says historian John Mosier, from the very beginning of the war until the armistice in 1918, no fewer than eight distinct battles were waged for the possession of Verdun.
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A good book ruined by its reader
- By E. Keenan on 01-12-14
By: John Mosier
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Patton
- By: Alan Axelrod
- Narrated by: Brian Emerson
- Length: 7 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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George S. Patton was a general who achieved greatness in his field by contradicting his own nature. A cavalryman steeped in romantic military tradition, he nevertheless pulled a reluctant American military into the most advanced realms of highly mobile armored warfare. An autocratic snob, Patton created unparalleled rapport and loyalty with the lowliest private in his command.
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Odd Reading, Great Book
- By Chris Reich on 01-23-09
By: Alan Axelrod
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Fierce Patriot
- The Tangled Lives of William Tecumseh Sherman
- By: Robert O'Connell
- Narrated by: Andrew Garman
- Length: 15 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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With a unique, witty, and conversational voice historian Robert O'Connell breaks down the often paradoxical, easily caricatured character of General William T. Sherman for the most well-rounded portrait of the man yet written. There were many Shermans, according to O'Connell. Most prominently was Sherman the military strategist (indeed, one of the greatest strategists of all time), who gained an appreciation of geography from early campaigns out west and applied it to his famed Civil War march.
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An interesting biography
- By Jean on 07-19-14
By: Robert O'Connell
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Braddock's Defeat
- The Battle of the Monongahela and the Road to Revolution
- By: David L. Preston
- Narrated by: Michael Quinlan
- Length: 13 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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On July 9, 1755, British and colonial troops under the command of General Edward Braddock suffered a crushing defeat to French and Native American enemy forces in Ohio Country. Known as the Battle of the Monongahela, the loss altered the trajectory of the Seven Years' War in America, escalating the fighting and shifting the balance of power. An unprecedented rout of a modern and powerful British army by a predominantly Indian force, Monongahela shocked the colonial world.
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great history book
- By D. Littman on 01-09-16
By: David L. Preston
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The Guns of John Moses Browning
- The Remarkable Story of the Inventor Whose Firearms Changed the World
- By: Nathan Gorenstein
- Narrated by: Michael David Axtell
- Length: 9 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Few people are aware that John Moses Browning - a tall, humble, cerebral man born in 1855 and raised as a Mormon in the American West - was the mind behind many of the world-changing firearms that dominated more than a century of conflict. He invented the design used in virtually all modern pistols, created the most popular hunting rifles and shotguns, and conceived the machine guns that proved decisive not just in World Wars I and II but nearly every major military action since. Yet few in America knew his name until he was into his 60s.
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Fascinating Story
- By tb on 07-02-21
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The Quartermaster
- Montgomery C. Meigs, Lincoln's General, Master Builder of the Union Army
- By: Robert O'Harrow Jr.
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 8 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Born to a well-to-do, connected family in 1816, Montgomery C. Meigs graduated from West Point as an engineer. He helped build America's forts and served under Lt. Robert E. Lee to make navigation improvements on the Mississippi River. As a young man, he designed the Washington aqueducts in a city where people were dying from contaminated water. He built the spectacular wings and the massive dome of the brand-new US Capitol.
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Engaging Biography
- By Jean on 03-09-18
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Chesty
- The Story of Lieutenant General Lewis B. Puller, USMC
- By: Colonel Jon T. Hoffman USMCR
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 23 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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The Marine Corps is known for its heroes, and Lieutenant General Lewis B. Puller has long been considered the greatest of them all. His assignments and activities covered an extraordinary spectrum of warfare. With his bulldog face, barrel chest (which earned him the nickname Chesty), gruff voice, and common touch, Puller became - and has remained - the epitome of the marine combat officer. Author Jon Hoffman has been given special access to Puller's personal papers as well as his personnel record. The result will unquestionably stand as the last word about Chesty Puller.
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Great book great man good read
- By Just_Shoppin on 07-10-18
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General Lee's Army
- From Victory to Collapse
- By: Joseph T. Glatthaar
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 25 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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This sweeping history of the Civil War and the Confederacy is told through the lens of its most crucial army: the Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by Robert E. Lee. General Lee's Army takes listeners across the Rebel landscape, from campfires to battlefields to their homes, as it portrays a world of life, death, healing, and hardship.
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Bad history, worse statistic
- By Lorin Radtke on 08-08-08
What listeners say about American Rifle
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Nick
- 08-04-14
Sighting in American history through its firearms.
Would you listen to American Rifle again? Why?
From the Kentucky rifle to the M-16, one gets a clearer picture of how firearms development helped America gain its independence, grow as a nation and become a world power. For much of United States history, civilians were better armed than our government's forces. Until the early 20th century, civilian development of firearms lead to innovations we now take for granted. Innovators like Sharps, Henry, Winchester, Browning, Gatling, and Maxim are presented as to their historical and business relevance during both peace and war. There has always been money to be made selling guns.
What about Joe Barrett’s performance did you like?
Joe Barrett's voice made me feel like I was listening to a wise gunsmith and historian. He added character to the narration.
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- Weston Probst
- 06-29-19
Great Read!
Great history of the American infantry rifle. I'll buy the hard copy for my library.
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- wbiro
- 09-02-17
A Lot of History that You Haven't Heard Yet
The good aspect of books that go several levels deeper than cursory introductory histories of the usual events and people is that they are guaranteed to present a lot of history and detail that the average person will not have known about (which is a good thing).
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- T. Patterson
- 12-17-13
A Nation of Riflemen
What did you love best about American Rifle?
Completeness of information, especially some of the political manuvering between factions in the military and civilian government in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Who was your favorite character and why?
The 1903 Springfield!
What about Joe Barrett’s performance did you like?
Easy to listen to.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
It just made me smile.
Any additional comments?
Overall, a thorough presentation of the rifle and especially its significance in the development of America. I have been an amateur scholar of American military firearms for decades. The information presented here added to my knowledge.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 01-20-23
outstanding book, perfectly narrated
I am incredibly surprised to have found this book as compelling as any historical work I have read in the past decade. I postponed reading it, but now wish I hadn't done so. The author perfectly weaves together an understanding of the arms themselves and the historical environment in which those arms were produced and used. most fascinating to me is the continual thread the author weaves throughout it, from the musket versus rifle debates of the late 1700s all the way to the model M4 rifles of this century. outstanding scholarship, and deft craftsmanship.
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- mike
- 04-27-18
for those with a deep love of firearms history
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
By far, the best start for anyone wanting to take a deep dive into the history and performance of American military infantry rifles. It is a great primer for anyone wanting to learn more about the subject.
What was one of the most memorable moments of American Rifle?
There are many but to sum it up, Mr. Rose does not mind dispelling long held dogma about how great this rifle was or how because G.Is had such and such rifle they were able to win this battle, yet he does so without being iconoclast about it and inserting his own opinions about it.
Have you listened to any of Joe Barrett’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
The narrator was fine and well suited to the subject matter
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
No, it's not a behemoth but it is long and is a biography after all
Any additional comments?
One of the best resources for information I have read in a long time.
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- Blake
- 05-22-21
Well done!
Very good read for any patriot, historian, and/or service men and women! Mr. Barrett is a wonderful tour guide on this journey.
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- Cian A Hourihane
- 10-22-22
Detailed history of US rifle.
This book takes readers through the history of US army rifles. Goes into details from early days of muskets to the modern M-4, the technical details of how they work, the trails of development and how they were produced.
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- George
- 12-21-13
AR15 Changes to create M16
If you could sum up American Rifle in three words, what would they be?
Excellent Book, almost
What other book might you compare American Rifle to and why?
A Bright Shining Lie: John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam. Both illustrate how politics, career advancement and Not Invented Here philosophy have adversely impacted military decisions.
Which character – as performed by Joe Barrett – was your favorite?
Abraham Lincoln.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
The moment when Ordnance changed the number of rifle twists and powder in AR15, apparently without consulting the designer, Eugene Stoner.
Any additional comments?
The author discusses the changes made by Ordnance to Stoner's original design and powder. These changes resulted in rifle fouling and subsequent deaths of American soldiers. The author then dismisses the incident as a normal consequence of introducing new technology. This subject is also discussed in the book National Defense by James Fallows. Unfortunately National Defense is not available in audio format.
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- Mikey
- 01-02-20
Love it!!
Outstanding book! Very interesting to listen to! It's not just facts and statistics. It tells a great amount of history about America!
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