Gunpowder: Alchemy, Bombards, and Pyrotechnics: The History of the Explosive that Changed the World

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Jack Kelly

Gunpowder

Alchemy, Bombards, and Pyrotechnics: The History of the Explosive that Changed the World

Jack Kelly

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Paperback

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English

Basic Books
27 April 2005

Military history

When Chinese alchemists fashioned the first manmade explosion sometime during the tenth century, no one could have foreseen its full revolutionary potential.

Invented to frighten evil spirits rather than fuel guns or bombsneither of which had been thought of yettheir simple mixture of saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal went on to make the modern world possible.

As word of its explosive properties spread from Asia to Europe, from pyrotechnics to battleships, it paved the way for Western exploration, hastened the end of feudalism and the rise of the nation state, and greased the wheels of the Industrial Revolution. With dramatic immediacy, novelist and journalist Jack Kelly conveys both the distant time in which the devils distillate rose to conquer the world, and brings to rousing life the eclectic cast of characters who played a role in its epic story, including Michelangelo, Edward III, Vasco da Gama, Corts, Guy Fawkes, Alfred Nobel, and E.

I.

DuPont.

A must-read for history fans and military buffs alike, Gunpowder brings together a rich terrain of cultures and technological innovations with authoritative research and swashbuckling style.

By: Jack Kelly
Imprint: Basic Books
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 215mm, Width: 141mm, Spine: 16mm
Weight: 316g
ISBN: 9780465037223
ISBN 10: 0465037224
Pages: 272
Publication Date: 27 April 2005
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Out of Print

Jack Kelly is both an accomplished novelist and an experienced author of popular history. He writes regularly for American Heritage, and has also written features about the DuPont family's involvement in the gunpowder industry and the history of fireworks in America. He lives in Milan, New York.

Reviews for Gunpowder: Alchemy, Bombards, and Pyrotechnics: The History of the Explosive that Changed the World

"""A faced-paced book that is historical reporting at its very best, with surprises on almost every page. Kelly's writing style is crisp and edgy, perfect for his subject matter."" ""Jack Kelly writes like a man ready for a rumble."""