sdm@tellab3.UUCP (Steve Magerkurth) (05/31/84)
Anybody out there know where I can get a book that lists the different weapons of the world? The kind that lists the manufacturer, capabilities and perhaps gives comparisons. It would be nice to have all major weapon types listed, but subset suggestion's would suffice! How about it? (Any Rand types out there with the info?) steve (312) 739-5118 [after 5:00 CST]
david@rand-unix.UUCP (David Shlapak) (06/06/84)
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[Sorry to inflict this on the net, but our mailer has the willies and
I don't have the time to try and figure out how to fool it...]
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> How about it? (Any Rand types out there with the
> info?)
Sorry, nothing you're cleared to read...
Actually, there are a number of good "buff books" on weapons available,
far too many to mention them all.
For US/Western systems two books come to mind. One, entitled
"The US War Machine" is quite accurate and includes essays on strategy,
tactics, and doctrine. It also has lots of nifty color pictures (yay!).
Another, called "The Arsenal of Democracy," has more nitty-gritty
(descriptions of different grenades, bombs, etc.), but unfortunately
cannot always be trusted in what it says.
There are a whole series of books out of Britain called "Illustrated
Guides to..." followed your favorite weapons system (missiles, fighters,
tanks, submarines, you name it) that are pretty good for providing specs
and history, and (at least the ones I've seen) are pretty accurate.
A decent book on how modern warfare works is called, appropriately
enough, "How to Make War."
No book that I've yet seen really does the kind of side-by-side judgmental
comparisons you seem to be looking for; the "Illustated Guides" do
contain hardware from around the world, which for a reasonably-informed
reader, might be useful for "comparison shopping."
The key to that sentence, though, is "reasonably informed..." It's easy
to draw really bad conclusions from technical information (a good example
is Andrew Cockburn's exercise in irresponibility, "The Threat"); it's
important to understand the context in which these weapons were developed
and are intended to be used. No one book can cover all that ground for
any particular type of system, let alone weapons in general.
However, there is an excellent book that goes a long way towards this goal
for contemporary tactical aircraft, anyway...it's called "Modern Air
Combat," and includes scads of stuff on tactics, technology, and what
is commonly known as the "air combat maneuvering arena (a hash of
aerodynamics, engineering, and Clausewitz)." It's the best "buff book"
I've ever seen, and I've seen 'em most...
Here's the vitals on the books I've mentioned, all of which can generally
be found at a B. Dalton's-type place:
Ray Bonds, ed. "The US War Machine," A Salamander book, published by
Crown Publishers, NY, NY....paperback $10.95 (be sure you get the
revised 1983 edition...also, I've seen the hardback edition on
Dalton's sale tables).
James Dunnigan, "How to Make War," Wm. Morrow, NY, NY, 1982, $7.95.
Tom Gervasi, "Arsenal of Democracy II," Grove Press, NY,NY, paperback,
1981, $10.95.
Bill Gunston & Mike Spick, "Modern Air Combat," A Salamander book,
published by Crown, see above, 1983, Dalton's sale table price,
$14.95.
"Illustrated Guide to (you name it)", A Salamander book, published by
Arco Publishing, NY, NY, various dates, ~$8.95-9.95.
NEAT BUT LIMITED IN SCOPE:
C. Chant and I. Hogg, "Nuclear War in the 1980s?," Harper & Row, 1983,
$9.95--- doesn't answer the question (or even explain it), but it
does provide a neat glimpse of the technology of deterrence...a
little comic-bookish for my tastes, but still informative.
TWO TO AVOID:
"Winding Down the Price of Defense"--- Inaccurate and unschooled...
an early product of the "Anyone can make defense policy!" school
of thought.
"The People's Guide to National Defense," previously published as
"What Kind of Guns Are They Buying for Your Butter?" --- so
embarassingly bad even I won't buy it (and I'll buy anything)...
Have fun...happy hunting.
--- dasharrison@orstcs.UUCP (06/11/84)
Steve:
There are lots of sources that are
available for this. Probably the
most respected source is:
Jane's Weapons Systems, 1979-1980
Mcdonald & Jane's, London, 1979
R.T. Pretty, ed.
I suppose that more recent editions
are available (this is an annual thing)
Jane's also does something called
Jane's Fighting Ships which pretty
much catalogs all warships in various
countries.
I hope this is of some help to you.
Warren Harrison
(CSNet) harrison@oregon-state
(UUCP) orstcs!harrison