Weapons & Warfare

Book excerpt: Thousands and thousands of years ago, Stone Age humans learned to make the first simple weapons -- wooden clubs, spears, bows and arrows, and slings -- to hunt for food. Today, we have bombs that could easily wipe the entire Stone Age population with one blow. Award-winning author Milton Meltzer takes readers on a highly selective journey through the evolution of weapons and warfare. In brief, accessible sketches, Meltzer traces the ingenious development of arms from hunting tools to tactical instruments for strategic offence and defense. The provocative, human-interest history will intrigue readers interested in -- or concerned about -- humanity's ongoing drive toward new methods of making weapons and war.