The Guns of John Moses Browning: The Remarkable Story of the Inventor Whose Firearms Changed the World
Written by Nathan Gorenstein
Narrated by Michael David Axtell
4.5/5
()
About this audiobook
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 sixties.
Now, author Nathan Gorenstein brings firearms inventor John Moses Browning to vivid life in this riveting and revealing biography. Embodying the tradition of self-made, self-educated geniuses (like Lincoln and Edison), Browning was able to think in three dimensions (he never used blueprints) and his gifted mind produced everything from the famous Winchester “30-30” hunting rifle to the awesomely effective machine guns used by every American aircraft and infantry unit in World War II. The British credited Browning’s guns with helping to win the Battle of Britain.
His inventions illustrate both the good and bad of weapons.
Sweeping, lively, and brilliantly told, this fascinating book that “gun collectors and historians of armaments will cherish” (Kirkus Reviews) introduces a little-known legend whose impact on history ranks with that of the Wright Brothers, Thomas Edison, and Henry Ford.
Nathan Gorenstein
Nathan Gorenstein is a former reporter and editor for The Philadelphia Inquirer, where he covered city and state politics and produced a wealth of groundbreaking work. He was previously a reporter for the Wilmington News Journal, where he led coverage of Sen. Joseph Biden’s first presidential campaign. He is also the author of Tommy Gun Winter, the story of a Boston gang from the 1930s that included an MIT graduate, a minister’s daughter, and two of Gorenstein’s own relatives. He currently lives in Philadelphia.
Related to The Guns of John Moses Browning
Related audiobooks
Revolver: Sam Colt and the Six-Shooter that Changed America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Oliver Winchester: The Life and Legacy of America’s Famous Rifle Manufacturer Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5First Freedom: A Ride Through America's Enduring History with the Gun Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Pegasus Bridge Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Wild Bill Donovan: The Spymaster Who Created the OSS and Modern American Espionage Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Public Enemies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wild Bill: The True Story of the American Frontier's First Gunfighter Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The American Home Front: 1941-1942 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Battle of the Somme: The History and Legacy of World War I’s Biggest Battle Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Ball, a Dog, and a Monkey: 1957---The Space Race Begins Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5V Is For Victory Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Patriotic Fire: Andrew Jackson and Jean Laffite at the Battle of New Orleans Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Freedom's Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Operation Chastise: The RAF's Most Brilliant Attack of World War II Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5American Gun: A History of the U.S. in Ten Firearms Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Swamp Fox: How Francis Marion Saved the American Revolution Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Rough Riders Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5West Like Lightning: The Brief, Legendary Ride of the Pony Express Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Butch Cassidy: The True Story of an American Outlaw Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5War on the Run: The Epic Story of Robert Rogers and the Conquest of America's First Frontier Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Gun Barons: The Weapons That Transformed America and the Men Who Invented Them Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSamuel Colt and Oliver Winchester: The Lives and Careers of America’s Most Influential Gunsmiths Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5The Polar Bear Expedition: The Heroes of America's Forgotten Invasion of Russia, 1918-1919 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rough Riders Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5With Their Bare Hands: General Pershing, the 79th Division, and the Battle for Montfaucon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sherman's Military Lessons Of The American Civil War, From His Memoirs Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5War on the Border: Villa, Pershing, the Texas Rangers, and an American Invasion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Texas Ranger: The Epic Life of Frank Hamer, the Man Who Killed Bonnie and Clyde Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Historical Biographies For You
The Devil and Harper Lee Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Book of Charlie Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel: Genius, Power, and Deception on the Eve of World War I Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Lincoln Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Lives of the Wives: Five Literary Marriages Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Shakespeare Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Up From Slavery Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Moveable Feast: The Restored Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Diary of Anne Frank Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Leonardo da Vinci Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rebel Yell: The Violence, Passion and Redemption of Stonewall Jackson Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Professor and The Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Benjamin Franklin: Autobiography Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My Bondage and My Freedom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Benjamin Franklin: An American Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Moveable Feast Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Eliza Hamilton: The Extraordinary Life and Times of the Wife of Alexander Hamilton Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Bonhoeffer Abridged: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Anne Frank Remembered: The Story of the Woman Who Helped to Hide the Frank Family Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Benjamin Franklin Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Light of Days: The Untold Story of Women Resistance Fighters in Hitler's Ghettos Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Live: Or a Life of Montaigne in One Question and Twenty Attempts at an Answer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for The Guns of John Moses Browning
17 ratings0 reviews