A History of Weapons: Crossbows, Caltrops, Catapults & Lots of Other Things that Can Seriously Mess You Up

by John O'Bryan

Overview

“[A] menacingly illustrated book . . . nerdily gushes over the design and use of 130+ historical instruments of combat.” —Thrillist

One day a prehistoric guy picked up a rock and threw it at something. And the history of weapons began. Comedy writer and weapon nerd John O’Bryan relays the freaky highlights of man’s centuries-old obsession with weaponry. He hilariously explains the mace, the morning star, and the man catcher, while conveying factual information about each weapon: its history, uses, and badass potential. Looking through history’s highlights, readers will learn about Attila the Hun, Genghis Khan, and the “peaceful” Shaolin monks. This ultimate compendium of awesome weapons delivers all the surprisingly true details sure to impress anybody who’s ever made a gun with their fingers and said, “PEW-PEW-PEW!”

“[A] comic breakdown of weaponry.” —Lost in a Supermarket

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781452124209
Publisher:	Chronicle Books
Publication date:	10/12/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	233
File size:	20 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

John O'Bryan has written for Nickelodeon's Avatar: The Last Airbender and Disney XD's Motorcity. He lives in Los Angeles.

Table of Contents

Introduction 6

Chapter 1 The First Weapons 8

Chapter 2 It's So Much Easier to Kill People with Metal 26

Chapter 3 Ancient Chinese Secrets 45

Chapter 4 Hemlock & Sodomy [Party with the Greeks) 55

Chapter 5 The Romans: Sick Fucks 64

Chapter 6 …and You Thought Buddhists Couldn't Fight 77

Chapter 7 Barbarians, Byzantines & Beowulf: Europe's Dark Ages 98

Chapter 8 Asia Blows Up 116

Chapter 9 Japanese Beef: Samurai vs. Ninja 125

Chapter 10 Ew! What's that Boil on Europe's Neck?! 145

Chapter 11 Meanwhile, in the Pest of the World 165

Chapter 12 The Age of Discovery: "I Just Discovered How to Blow Your Head Off!" 183

Chapter 13 Fakirs, Thugs & Headhunters 199

Chapter 14 'Merica! Eating Possum & Shitting Freedom 219

Index 230