Of Arms and Men

In this provocative book, Robert O'Connell examines the role and significance of weapons from the dawn of human history to the present, and the attempts of western civilization to come to terms with the grim results of its own inventiveness. This is not simply a history of the technology of weapons. It integrates the evolution of human society with the development of weapons and strategy into a single, coherent story. While primarily historical in his approach,O'Connell also draws upon anthropology, sociology, biology, and literature in his effort to explain certain recurring phenomena of warfare: the human need to dehumanize the enemy; arms races involvingweapons which have developed beyond the point of utility; or the ideal of heroism rendered obsolete by deadly new technologies.

“"This book will read with pleasure by specialists and military history buffs alike....No one can accuse O'Connell of ever boring his reader....O'Connell's comments are always stimulating....[A] most interesting and thoughtful book."--L.H. Gann, The International History Review "O'Connell, a man with impressive credentials as a defense analyst, disarmament negotiator, and historian, has produced a challenging, interdisciplinary study of the historical relationship between culture, weapons technology, and warfare."--Booklist "Full of fresh and sometimes provocative interpretations, couched in a stimulating writing style which laypersons as well as scholars will appreciate."--Library Journal "Brilliant general history, focusing on man as a tool-making social predator. Particularly good on intelligence, communications, and decision-making in the electronic and nuclear age."--Theodore Ropp, Duke University "O'Connell's judicious study of the evolution of arms from sticks and stones to death-dealing rifles, machine guns, and cannons, and, finally, to nuclear weapons demonstrates that weaponry, however destructive, has neither prevented wars nor encouraged restraint in its employment."--Norman A. Graebner, University of Virginia "Stimulating....A lucid and well-written account of how weapons and warfare have changed over the millennia."--Richard Eder, Los Angeles Times Book Review "[A] welcome addition...The particular insight which distinguishes Mr. O'Connell's work from others is his examination of human belligerence from a perspective normally reserved for anthropologists and biologists."--Naval War College Review "Most readable. Adaptable to either a history of a Western culture class."--R.T. Paytan, West Washington University”

"This book will read with pleasure by specialists and military history buffs alike....No one can accuse O'Connell of ever boring his reader....O'Connell's comments are always stimulating....[A] most interesting and thoughtful book."--L.H. Gann, The International History Review"O'Connell, a man with impressive credentials as a defense analyst, disarmament negotiator, and historian, has produced a challenging, interdisciplinary study of the historical relationship between culture, weapons technology, and warfare."--Booklist"Full of fresh and sometimes provocative interpretations, couched in a stimulating writing style which laypersons as well as scholars will appreciate."--Library Journal"Brilliant general history, focusing on man as a tool-making social predator. Particularly good on intelligence, communications, and decision-making in the electronic and nuclear age."--Theodore Ropp, Duke University"O'Connell's judicious study of the evolution of arms from sticks and stones to death-dealing rifles, machine guns, and cannons, and, finally, to nuclear weapons demonstrates that weaponry, however destructive, has neither prevented wars nor encouraged restraint in its employment."--Norman A. Graebner, University of Virginia"Stimulating....A lucid and well-written account of how weapons and warfare have changed over the millennia."--Richard Eder, Los Angeles Times Book Review"[A] welcome addition...The particular insight which distinguishes Mr. O'Connell's work from others is his examination of human belligerence from a perspective normally reserved for anthropologists and biologists."--Naval War College Review"Most readable. Adaptable to either a history of a Western culture class."--R.T. Paytan, West Washington University

Ph. D. in Military History, University of Virginia

At the battle of Agincourt, over six thousand noblemen--the flower of French knighthood--died in a day-long series of futile charges against a small band of English archers. They charged not simply because they failed to recognize the power of the longbow, but because their whole ethos revolved round an idealized figure of the knight that dated back to Homer: the man of great physical strength and valor, who excelled at hand-to-hand combat with men of equal worth. The bow was an affront to this ideal. As Robert L. O'Connell points out in this vividly written history of weapons in Western culture, the battle of Agincourt typifies the complex and often paradoxical relationship between men and arms. In a sweeping narrative that ranges from prehistorc times to the Nuclear Age, O'Connell demonstrates how social and economic conditions determine the types of weapons and the tactics employed in warfare and how in turn innovations in weapons technology often undercut social values. He reveals, for instance, how the Church outlawed the use of crossbows--except against muslims--to preserve the status quo of the medieval world; how the invention of the gun required a redefinition of courage from aggressive ferocity to calmness under fire; and how the machine gun in World War I so overthrew traditional notions of combat that Lord Kitchener exclaimed, "This isn't war!" Indeed, as O'Connell points out, the technology unleashed in the Great War radically changed our perception of ourselves: weapons had made human qualities almost irrelevant in combat. And with the invention of the atomic bomb, humanity itself became subservient to the weapons they had produced. While its emphasis is historical, Of Arms and Men also draws on such disciplines as biology, psychology, anthropology, sociology, and literature to illuminate the course of arms. O'Connell integrates the evolution of politics, weapons, strategy, and tactics into a coherent narrative, one spiced with striking portraits of men in combat and brilliant insight into why men go to war.

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