Slightly longer version:
Chivers ostensibly sets out to trace the history and development of the AK-47 and it's family of assault rifles/machine guns. In the process, he examines the entire history of automatic arms, beginning with Gatling and Maxim, through the Sturmgewehr and Kalashnikov, and including (in a brief epilogue that I wish was a bit longer and more informative) the latest developments in the M16/M4 family.
He describes in depth the historical background of Maxim and Gatling trying to get their inventions off the ground, as well as dispelling the myth that the AK-47 was solely the work of tank driver-turned-hero Kalashnikov. He pulls no punches when relating the US military's deaf ear to the turning tide of infantry arms from a heavy, high power semi-auto to a light full-auto gun chambered in a medium-power cartridge.
I learned much about the failed introduction of the rushed M16 that I didn't know, as well as some of the ridiculous testing done to show that the 5.56mm round would be lethal. LaGarde's caliber tests were covered earlier in the book, and their repetition in the 1960's just seemed almost comical. Seriously, did the U.S. Army really need to import severed heads and limbs from India for ballistics tests?
This is a truly unbiased work from the point of view of pro- or anti- 2nd Amendment readers. There are bits of somewhat dry history recounted, but there are also gripping passage of personal history and primary source quotations that cover the Civil War to the present.
Chivers' experience as a war correspondent shows in his writing. I have been following (off-and-on) his columns for the New York Times in the "At War" blog (http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/) and have enjoyed his reportage. There is a lot of "there" there: a little over 400 pages of densely-packed history, but ultimately it is worth your time if you are at all interested in the history and development of automatic arms.
Thumbs up!
